The SchoolsCompared.com Interview. ‘Bob Dylan, The Future of Education and Not Trading Away Kindness for Cynicism.’ Dr Saima Rana On The Record.

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“The Arts and Making a Better World”

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SchoolsCompared.com: In the UK there has been a huge switch of students to study the Social Sciences in subjects that question everything and seek answers to problems in the “real world.” Mathematics may still be the most popular subject, just, but subjects like Psychology, Economics and Sociology are now knocking on its door. Why is this? Are young people growing up in a world in which they have been totally failed by all of us in messing up the world in economics, climate change, wars, in every possible way etc. and therefore have no choice but to take over from us and our transparent inability to provide them answers, solutions and explanations? Have we ruined the world? Are you confident that young people can make a better job of it than we have? Is GEMS now investing in these growth subjects that ask the big questions?

Dr Saima Rana, CEO/Principal, GEMS World Academy; Chief Education Officer, GEMS Education; and, Chief Education Ambassador, The Varkey Foundation:

Well, there are a lot of assumptions in what you’ve just said. On the switch to the social sciences in schools over the last decade or so I think there is a genuine re-interest in those big questions that were prevalent in the 60’s and early seventies. There are many factors that may be influencing this. One may indeed be, as you point out, that the world is increasingly looking like it is one in crisis and that this is engaging young people in the pursuit of answers – both to why we’re in a mess and what can be done. I think there are reasons for thinking that this is a motivation – young people are very concerned about the big existential and idealistic questions – who am I, where am I going, how can I make the world a better place, who should I blame? And so forth. But to be honest I think these have always been questions students have asked so that doesn’t really explain – or at least can’t be the only reason – why we’re seeing the switch to these subjects in schools. I think as well as the perception that the world is in crisis there are internal reasons. One factor that I think is very important has been the general erosion of spaces in the curriculum that gave students opportunities to think about these issues. For example, the arts subjects have traditionally been the places where students had the opportunity to think about crises of all kinds and express themselves. But over the last decades we’ve seen a growing hostility towards these subjects by governments and policies being introduced to curtail the arts. They have increasingly been seen as non- statutory and their status diminished. I think this has led to students struggling to find other places where they might still find room to critique relevant issues. Psychology, economics, sociology all address some aspects of what they want to discuss, hence the increase in uptake. The lack of coursework, the movement to encourage rote learning and so on are also factors.

Pictured: Taylor Swift imagery used as part of a “Storyteller”  Exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design, NYC. For Dr Saima Rana, we underestimate the importance of the Performing Arts, Creative Industries, The Arts and the opportunities outside STEM at our peril.

At GEMS, we welcome the uptake in these subjects while at the same time actively promote the arts curriculum so that the broad and balanced curriculum offer, as well as our emphasis on extensive additional activities after the formal taught curriculum has been taught, can readdress the bias against these subjects. In fact at GEMS we take a sophisticated view of the curriculum. We know that STEM subjects are vital in our technological, scientific, and math-oriented information world, and so we ensure these subjects are strong and thriving. But we also know that without the arts and the humanities and these growing subjects education is impoverished. We also recognise that billions are made in the creative industries and that the idea that only a STEM education can get you a good livelihood is nonsense.

I think the uptake of these subjects is therefore a reflection of changes going on not just in the perception of the world out there and the failings of adults but also of changes to schools that have downgraded creativity, critique and complexity that constitutes a healthy intellectual, normative, and emotive life.

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