Every academic or pedagogical conversation that I come across these days always seems to emphasize STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). This certainly implies an irrelevancy toward a liberal education, the humanities and the arts.

Although technical training will certainly be an important component of our economic well-being, it could come at the cost of critical thinking and creative skills. Even Marco Rubio during a recent Republican presidential debate waded in: “We need more welders and fewer philosophers!”

Maybe we need both? Better yet, a welder with a background in the humanities might just be a better welder and a better citizen.

Larry Hoffner, retired