S.T.E.M., which stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, is the focus of the Obama administration's latest education movement.  In cooperation with the "Race to the Top" competition, Obama is encouraging students, parents, and the community at large to get involved with these specific areas of study.  Recruiting such high-profile faces as Elmo and Sally Ride, Obama's team hopes to incite a nationwide focus to develop excellence in these areas.  To read more about this, click here. A while back, I wrote about my theory of education.  I likened the learning process to a coat stand with hooks on all sides and at all levels.  The idea is that as we learn, we develop hooks and after developing hooks we can deepen our study by adding more layers of understanding, which in this mind picture, are represented by the coats, gloves, hats, and scarves hanging on the hooks.  In this picture it was important to have a solid base knowledge to support continued growth, but equally important to develop all sides of the coat stand so as to not overload one side or another. It seems to me that the Obama administration's solitary focus on the S.T.E.M. subjects will lead to unbalanced students.  Sure, we want to encourage students to pursue excellence, and in particular in the subject or subjects they most enjoy, but not forsaking all the other worthy topics of study.  I believe we ought to be seeking a balanced system of education, one that allows students to excel in subjects of all types.