Reimagining the Classroom

Chapter 4Cosmos: Science and Math through Cosmology and Ecology

Among the most popular trends in education today is an emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). While the renewed emphasis on hands‐on learning that comes with technology and engineering has its benefits, there is an unspoken reduction of math and science to that which is most beneficial to the global capitalist system. Certainly, technology can be employed to, say, reduce pollution or benefit the global south; but, if we are honest, this is seldom emphasized. Moreover, an overemphasis on that which is marketable—whether it is a job or a product—stymies the cultivation of a deeper understanding of scientific principles, a contextualization of the scientific ...