Published in 2014, “Necessary Edges: Arts, Empathy, and Education” by Yo Yo Ma takes a step back to reflect on our fading arts programs in school systems. The surrounding context of this essay seems to have a couple parts: an introduction that reflects on his highest points in life and the beef of the actual essay, why we should incorporate arts in STEM. Like mentioned before, his bio is very clear-cut. Not too much fluff and just straight to the point.

The imposed context surrounding this essay is my intent for reading. Surpassing the fact that it was assigned to me, I believe this essay still holds an importance. I believe it is something of an eyeopening view on how the arts are being pushed away. Our society seems to favor athletes and those who are doing hard science and everything in between- BUT the arts.

The intentional context is what Yo Yo Ma was trying to convey through this text. His goal of this article is to provide evidence for why we should incorporate the arts in STEM, creating STEAM. The arts can be an integral part of science, allowing for a basic foundation of creativeness. The arts show us how to be opened minded and think critically, interpreting the world around us.

Three words that I looked up were:

  • Bandwidth: the energy or mental capacity used to deal with a situation
  • Magnate: a wealthy and influential person, especially in business
  • Lascivious: feeling or revealing an overt and often offensive sexual desire