Mix, rather than separate Arts and Science students
Published on: Sunday, August 23, 2020
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For illustration only - credit: malay mail.
THE practice of streaming students has been in place for years. In the 60s, it was done after the Lower Certificate of Education results. Students who did well in science were placed in the science class. The rest went into arts. There were, however, some who preferred to join the arts stream, despite being eligible to do science.
The belief then was that children who did science were on a better career path. That is now proven baseless.
Look at the civil service science graduates who are subservient to their art graduate colleagues. In the private sector, most CEOs are not graduates in science.
They are either accountants or lawyers. This partly explains why more students prefer to pursue the arts rather than the sciences. This is not just a Malaysian phenomenon. The argument that the world needs more scientists to solve global problems may no longer hold water.
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We are now witnessing a growing convergence of the two disciplines. With the rising global interest in innovation, the convergence is becoming even more obvious. We know that innovation, for example, involves critical thinking and design, where the arts dominate.
The same goes for design where science alone, without creative skill, will not produce optimal designs.
The Covid-19 pandemic has also highlighted the strong convergence of arts and science. While science helps develop the therapy and vaccine, introducing both to the community is challenging without adequate social acceptance.
The art of changing attitudes and the behaviour of society becomes critical in implementing the therapy.
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We have seen evidence of this in the recent pandemic lockdowns, where some people simply refuse to comply with guidelines.
Again, it is a clear demonstration of the need for convergence. It has now become obvious that both the arts and the sciences are converging in many fields of human endeavour. Therefore, instead of streaming students into science, creating more public literacy in both the arts and sciences would be a better option.