Among the sciences, arts, and humanities, students at RCDS are exposed to a wide range of curricula. So why is the student body more STEM-focused than ever? As the twenty-first century science-mania leaks into the RCDS atmosphere, the school’s priorities have shifted towards STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. The difference between STEM and STEAM is heavily debated, but the effect is still the same: “to keep these groups out of their silos,” as Catherine Bischoff, STEAM Coordinator at RCDS, said. “To solve most of our world’s problems right now, we can’t focus on just one area.” 

Many students have fallen victim to this issue, however, neglecting academic interests like English or the Humanities in favor of STEM. Where does this obsession stem from?

With over six electives available this semester in addition to the standard biology, chemistry, physics, and math classes, the STEM departments at RCDS–Science, Math, and Computer Science–have a considerable presence in the Upper School. For the students who enjoy STEM, the course variety is appreciated and enjoyed; some students wish even more offerings existed in these departments. Students less interested in STEM or unsure of their interests, however, may feel more inclined to take STEM classes due to external pressure, the popularity of these programs, and the perceived benefits.

Compared to the other departments, the STEM disciplines simply offer more courses. Between introductory and upper level courses, electives, and the utilization of the Makerspace, STEM has a considerable academic presence. The number of electives is due in part to student interest. Bischoff attributed the popularity of the robotics team over the past six years to the students, the extracurricular program now offered in grades 3-8 in addition to the Upper School. “The students came to us,” Bischoff recalled. “So that’s how they started.” Students have learned how to effectively utilize the science, math, and computer science offerings at RCDS.

On the other side of the spectrum, English electives are so underutilized that they often have too few students for these programs to run. Dr. Vivek Freitas, who has taught Creative Writing the past two years, explained that most interested students will put the course as their second or third elective choice, then receive their first choice. Meanwhile, with so many graduation requirements, students often will try to minimize their other electives. “English is often the first to get dropped,” Freitas said.

This rejection of English is abnormal, too. “It’s kind of a standard thing for most high schools to have creative writing, and for a lot of students to sign up for it,” Freitas admitted. “It’s unusual that we don’t have many people signing up for it.” Students are not negatively impacted by not choosing to take an English elective, of course; the Honors English Seminars, now in their third semester of operation, have created such a rich curriculum for upperclassmen that an English elective like journalism, creative writing, or expository writing exists more for the possibility of doubling. With too few students to run these electives, however, the students who hope to take them are unable; meanwhile, “people are still wrapping their brains around [the Honors Seminars] and what kind of choices they have,” Freitas said.

The rise of STEM can be attributed in part towards institutional pressure. In a survey sent out to the student body, students were asked if they felt pushed to pursue any subjects at RCDS. The majority selected the sciences and math. Unsurprisingly, the bulk of these students also selected English and the humanities as the areas they felt most discouraged from pursuing, though many reported not feeling deterred from any singular division. “RCDS is an academic school, lots of students are interested in science,” wrote one student. Academic is not equivalent to scientific, yet many students agree with this sentiment; 88.9% of the surveyed students selected Computer Science, Math, or the Sciences as the academic area with the most perceived student interest. This pressure to excel in Science and Math and abandonment of the humanities is a result of RCDS’s science-oriented undertones.

While RCDS has a holistic curriculum, the school still holds STEM as its prime focus. The computer science requirement, for example, was implemented in order to satisfy the International Society for Technology and Education, or ISTE, Standards; “the benefit of adopting the ISTE Standards at that time was that they helped us to update our perspective on what technology skills were needed for students to thrive after graduation,” explained Katie O’Shaughnessey, Assistant Principal and previous Director of Academic Technology– one of the main advocates for a computer science requirement. Exposing students to the growing field and essential skill in the modern world is a legitimate reason to have this requirement; in fact, O’Shaughnessey emphasized that the requirement was not meant to garner a larger group of computer science students. However, this requirement is more pertinent to the STEM disciplines. 

Furthermore, the STEM teachers are finding creative links between science and the arts. Bischoff discussed adding science courses that can fulfill the arts requirement for Upper Schoolers. But are we putting the proverbial cart before the horse? Do the arts requirements not exist for the same reason a computer science one does? Students at RCDS are absorbed in an academic bubble; creating an opportunity to potentially avoid the arts requirement would seem to hurt more than help expose students to a broader curriculum.

The STEM mania has expanded into other departments. Clemmie Everett, Chair of the Humanities Department, even noted wanting to teach a “Science in Society” class. The Humanities department, which offers AP European History, AP Psychology, and AP Art History in addition to electives like Economics and Politics or Underrepresented Groups, maintains a large amount of student interest in such a STEM focused school. While sophomore students have previously opted to take AP Environmental Science or AP Computer Science over Modern World, the addition of a third credit to the Humanities graduation requirement has shrunk this already small group of students, and though students are not required to take history all four years of high school, Everett explained that many choose to anyway. Due to the AP level of many history electives, seniors who have fulfilled their requirements still find these courses worthwhile.

The student body at RCDS heavily focuses on anything potentially advantageous in the college process. Taking AP Computer Science as a sophomore, for example, is one more AP score to add to a resume while Creative Writing I and II won’t replace a year of English. In the Humanities department, AP classes like European History or Psychology are essentially electives–or the third credit required to graduate. Students tend to “believe that pursuing the sciences is the best way of getting into college,” as a second student wrote. STEM electives and upper level courses are more worthwhile in students’ minds than English electives, seen as an extra class with no incentive, despite the depth a student could cover if they were to fully utilize the English electives. “Creative Writing 1, Creative Writing 2, independent study, then publish a book,” Freitas said. “We could do that.” Students don’t seem to recognize the potential within the humanities divisions; only 50% of surveyed students knew about Creative Writing and an even smaller 30% were familiar with Historical Research, though Everett noted that the small group of students interested in historical research was fitting for the nature of the elective. 

Even students who don’t necessarily enjoy subjects like math and science feel compelled to excel at STEM. The competition at RCDS drives students to take more difficult classes in the STEM disciplines, whether or not they enjoy them or hope to pursue them, causing the student body to appear more STEM-oriented. “Though not immediately obvious, RCDS does attempt to brand itself as a STEM-focused school,” one anonymous student wrote. “Many students find themselves pigeonholed—either by the influence of the school, their peers, or some other outside factor—into Science, Math, or CS courses. There has also been a recent surge in the past two or three years of students skipping a level or course in math, science, or both; this puts additional pressure on all students—regardless of whether they are actually interested in those areas—to try to do the same, if for no other reason than to ‘keep up’ with their peers.” The competitive culture surrounding English at RCDS simply is not the same as that of STEM. 

Many students believe that STEM is the only viable path for their future, causing them to pursue these upper level courses in place of other interests. Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math are diverse and fascinating areas of study, but only to those who truly enjoy them. Whether students are unaware of their opportunities or less inclined to follow a different path than their peers, the rise of STEM in the Upper School has resulted in a declining interest in English, with less than a third of the students who chose Science as their academic area of interest choosing English. STEM is on every student’s mind these days. The abundance of STEM at RCDS is a gift and a true testament to the dedication of the faculty– but a myriad of English and Humanities opportunities are becoming overshadowed as a result. Has our push for STEM gone too far? Have the options for the other “non-STEM” courses been marginalized?