Silicon Valley influences Saratoga’s academic environment

We’ve seen the boom of Apple. We’ve seen Google gain fame and fortune. We’ve seen Facebook become one of the most successful ventures in the world. As residents of the Silicon Valley, we see technology as an integral to our lives.

Since this is the case, it is no surprise that the students here feel additional pressure to excel in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Senior Anish Srinivasan acknowledged that this mindset affects student course selection and that this pressure results from the principal industry of the area.

“[As engineers], my parents both are engaged in STEM jobs, so they definitely put a heavy emphasis on the sciences [as opposed to] the humanities,” Srinivasan said.

With so many parents making good livings in STEM-related fields, students are surrounded with role models for their future, according to senior Max Chang.

“We have grown up in Saratoga seeing headlines about people like Zuckerberg making it big,” Chang said. “And it makes people feel like the only way that they can excel is to go into high tech and to study STEM subjects.”

Income is a large influence, and it is not unfounded. A survey, done by the National Center for Education Statistics, of all undergraduate students in the U.S. who graduated in 2008, shows that students who graduated with STEM degrees averaged an annual income of about $65,000 four years after graduating, whereas students who majored in anything else, such as English or history, had an average income of $49,500.

With social, parental and monetary pressure to excel in STEM courses, some students take classes in science and mathematics that are far beyond their comfort level.

For sophomore Lea Moustakas, these pressures pushed her to choose the enriched and honors options of her math courses. After signing up for these classes, she realized that they would require hours of intense work and a high level of dedication. While she did remain in the classes, they were exhausting and took time away from her extracurricular activities and other classes.

Another reason students sign up for STEM classes is the pressure to take multiple honors and AP classes.

Advanced English and history courses, such as AP US History and English 11 Honors, start being offered during junior year, whereas students have the option of taking advanced math and science courses, such as Algebra 2 Honors, as early as their freshman year. This early introduction of more rigorous courses makes many students feel pressured to jump into an endless slew of AP/Honors STEM courses as underclassmen.

“I am personally a much stronger student in English and history than I am in math and science,” Moustakas said. “Still, because so many people took Enriched Geometry and Algebra 2 Honors, I felt that it was necessary to do the same.”

Some students are exceptions to this trend. Seniors Blake Propach and Andrew York are taking both AP English Language and Composition and AP English Literature and Composition this year. They say their desire to take these advanced English classes originates from their love of the subject.

“I’m hoping to go into film school and I love to tell stories, so taking these classes is helping me further my interests and follow my passions,” York said. “I really just love English.”

But these days, fewer and fewer students are choosing low-paying majors like English, and more students are pursuing  STEM subjects such as engineering and computer science.

Even so, many of the students who pursue STEM in college do not finish their degrees or change to other majors, according to US News. In fact, 48 percent of bachelor’s degree students who entered the STEM field of study from 2003 to 2009 failed to complete their studies or switched to another, non-STEM major.

At the same time, the same study showed it is becoming more common for students to switch from a humanities-based major to a STEM-based major.

Many students in advanced STEM classes are unable to keep up with the pace of those classes without outside help. In a recent survey of Calculus BC students at SHS, over one-fifth of the students said that they had tutors.

Economics teacher Todd Dwyer said many students and parents have forgotten that the humanities and STEM have equal importance.

“We do ourselves a great disservice by ignoring tangible benefits to the humanistic disciplines: history, literature, art, theater, music and languages,” he said. “In the humanities we learn how to think creatively and critically, to reason and to ask questions.”

Dwyer said acknowledging the importance of patterns in human history and human actions makes contributions just as great as those of the STEM fields.

Although many students feel a need to take STEM-dominant classes, assistant principal Brian Safine maintains that the school’s course offerings aren’t overly focused on STEM. For instance, this year, the school is offering 20 advanced humanities courses as compared to 11 advanced courses in math and science. Furthermore, to graduate, students are required to take only two years of math and science versus four years of English and history.

“Our school offers very strong courses in both the STEM and the humanities fields,” Safine said. “We really like to see students exploring their options and trying out all different fields during their academic careers.”

While being in the heart of Silicon Valley may create a bias toward STEM, the school has tried to balance the differing interests of its students, he said.

“Education should be individualized and focus on [the student’s] strengths,” Safine said. “We, as a teaching staff, like to encourage students to take courses that fit their interests and talents.”

For Chang, these efforts by the school have changed the way that his school career has progressed and opened his eyes to the various possibilities beyond the focus on STEM.

One of the most influential classes that Chang took was English 11 with Amy Keys. Chang said she helped him try his hand at creative writing and the class discussions were rich with enlightening insights.

“Getting exposure to so many differing topics has led to a much more interesting and intellectually stimulating experience,” he said. “I hope to pursue a career that will allow me to blend my interests in STEM and the humanities together.”