NASA Astronaut Alvin Drew Speaks Out For Arts Education

"Seeing things that we weren't ever evolved enough to go experience, and not having the words to convey that to somebody so I can give them that same experience was very frustrating," former NASA astronaut Alvin Drew remarked during a recent White House panel discussion on education.

As reported by Inverse, Drew has proposed that STEM, the acronym used in politics to promote a basic core of science, technology, education, and math, be changed to STEAM, adding an A for arts and humanities.

Drew has traveled to space twice, once aboard the space shuttle Endeavor and once to the International Space Station, and realized upon returning to earth that he lacked the creative communication skills to describe his experiences.

"If you have the best idea in the world but you can't communicate it to everybody else, then that idea stays locked up in your head."

"A lot of what we do in science and technology is intimidating to people because you're learning a new language...learning math is not different from learning Russian." The key, Drew stresses, is the ability to convey advanced scientific concepts "without filling sheets up with equations that put people off."

White House Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith concurred that "art and tech aren't separate from each other. Bringing up the example of STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS, she notes "It took a lot of technology to make those movies and also an extraordinary imagination and a lot of art."

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