'though maybe being an astronaut helps, in seeing that we're overdoing it with
yet another education acronym:
...mention the odious and increasingly pervasive term “STEM education,” and instead of cheerleading gear, I reach for my ... pistil. In my disgruntlement, I am not alone. For readers who heretofore have been spared exposure to this little concatenation of capital letters, or who have, quite understandably, misconstrued its meaning, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, supposedly the major food groups of a comprehensive science education...
The term also sounds didactic and jargony, which is why Sally Ride, the former astronaut who now travels the country promoting the glories of science education to girls and other interested parties, said she consciously avoids it.
“With my NASA heritage, I’m perfectly capable of speaking entirely in acronyms, including the verbs,” she said. “But this is not very helpful when talking to the public.”
Yes, please. And could we please rid ourselves of "ELA" (English Language Arts, which is itself an abuse of the English language) while we're at it?
