Throughout high school, students develop skills, enhance their knowledge, and ultimately discover their career interests. However, Southern Lehigh High School does not offer equal educational opportunities for every field, especially for the humanities.
In contrast to the number of advanced STEM courses available to students, Southern Lehigh does not offer AP European History, AP Human Geography, AP Microeconomics, or AP Macroeconomics. While Southern Lehigh does offer AP Spanish, that is the only AP world language course offered. Students taking French or Chinese do not get the same opportunity to take AP level language courses that Spanish students have. Southern Lehigh also offers four AP social studies courses and two AP English courses.
“As a woman, I agree women in STEM are very important, but we also need women’s roles in humanities as well,” junior Peighton Davis said. “I think the school should offer the things we need to succeed in both areas, and it just seems to be lacking in humanities.”
While STEM classes are required for students in grades 9-12, English is the only humanities course required in all four years, and while we are fortunate to have world languages, studio art, and cooking, these classes are optional.
STEM classes get plenty of opportunities to have guest speakers to come in and talk about the lessons they are learning about in their classes. Guest speakers are brought in despite the challenges that come with timing, connections, and finding the right people.
Earlier this year, Southern Lehigh did bring in a guest speaker with the help of social studies teacher Mr. Brian Dow and the Junior State of America club, to talk to 11th and 12th grade students about how important it is to vote and how we can register to vote. However, that’s only one opportunity compared to the many speakers brought in for STEM. For example, in May 2023, students were given the chance to spend a day with a nurse. There are also alternate learning opportunities in STEM such as the Animal Sciences and Emerging Health programs.
While guest speakers and opportunities are brought in by the teachers who teach these subjects, the school and administration should try to get more student opportunities in the humanities. If they don’t, it could discourage students from pursuing careers in the humanities because they don’t get as much exposure as in STEM courses. This would help all students no matter what they do after high school.
Social sciences are a big part of humanities, and help people think critically in any situation, no matter the field of study. By studying societies and understanding how people behave and interact, you can help to build better societies and relationships with everyone you come in contact with. This applies to everyday life and can help everyone no matter if you are a scientist, a math teacher, or an artist.
“It is important for [social studies or social sciences] classes to help people learn about the world they live in that they are going into as adults,” said social studies teacher Mr. Tom Beaupre. “It helps people in liberal arts and humanities classes have critical thinking.”
Social sciences classes include soft skills, which help people learn good communication and interpersonal skills, leadership, problem solving, work ethic, time management, and teamwork. It helps people know how to interact with others in real-life situations, preparing them for adulthood.
