By Sophie Chan, Online Editor

In early October, when the Nobel Foundation began announcing the winners of the 2025 Nobel Prizes, The Washington Post commented on the awards with an article titled “The most important Nobel prizes — this week’s awards underscore the mighty power of hard science.” This sentiment that the sciences are the most important field of study is one that has steadily gained traction in recent years. 

Believing that science, technology, engineering, and math fields (STEM) are advantageous to career security and advancement, students are gravitating in increasing numbers towards STEM fields. In 2020, humanities degrees accounted for less than 10% of all bachelor’s degrees awarded, an all-time low figure for the field. Unfortunately, with the increased dominance of STEM fields, there has also been a devaluation of the humanities. In articles ranking the “most regretted college majors,” the top entries consistently include humanities majors like journalism, communications, or education, with some articles even going as far as to call those degrees “useless.”   

However, to call the humanities “useless” is to ignore the vital skills that the field nurtures. “Especially in a world that is increasingly technological and in which people are using tools like AI to read, write, think, and create for them, it is crucial to continue to study the content and practice the skills honed in humanities courses,” English Teacher Ms. Jackson argues. “They teach us how to view the world around us with a critical lens,” adds Luisa Griffith-Gorgati ’26, who noted that “understanding the humanities is also critical to remain politically aware.” Indeed, as misinformation spreads rampantly online and AI progresses, students must possess critical thinking to remain rational in their decisions. In the absence of critical thinking, we will have a less informed and engaged society that might overlook things without even realizing it. The humanities also lay the foundations for the STEM field —quantum mechanics was first imagined by a writer, Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity was inspired by a philosopher, and the humanities teach the ethics and responsibility that make science humane. 

Like any other academic institution, Winsor has also been susceptible to trends in the wider academic community. Some, like Ms. Jackson, believe that Winsor is a place “where humanities subjects and conversations about important human issues are valued highly in coursework, in assemblies, and in extracurricular activities,” but others disagree. “There have been times where I’ve overheard my literature or history classmates complaining about writing assignments—especially STEM kids,” says Griffith-Gorgati. While Winsor offers science internships for students interested in STEM fields, no such equivalent exists for students interested in the humanities. Winsor also classifies STEM classes in ways that the humanities subjects do not. Since Class III, students have been divided into levels of math, and in Class VI, students are also categorized into Honors or Standard sciences. “It sometimes seems as though we measure each other’s intellectual capacity based on how they’ve succeeded in Math or Science rather than English or History,” observes Sisi Ansari ’28. She elaborates, “it seems as though there’s more pressure to perform well in STEM classes, as your abilities in those classes will determine what level you’re placed in.” Together, these perspectives show Winsor’s diverse relations with the two fields of study. 

As technology advances, it might seem impossible to deny STEM’s significance, but we must not lose sight of the disciplines that have taught us how to think, analyze, and argue. As Winsor and academia continue to evolve, the goal should not be to pit STEM and the humanities against each other, but to pioneer a new path where both go hand in hand.