Who is an authority in STEAM? #MakerEd #PBL #EdChat

 There was a tweet sent out by an awesome educator, Scott Nunes, that sparked an interesting sharing of ideas. 

Who is an authority on STEAM?

— 𝕊𝕔𝕠𝕥𝕥 ℕ𝕦𝕟𝕖𝕤 (@MrNunesteach) April 6, 2021

 This was a follow up question to the tweet,

These ideas really had me thinking. For the first question on who is an authority on STEAM, some people responded by naming people they thought were an authority. I took it the question as something a bit more abstract. More of "what makes someone an authority on STEAM".  You can find my thread here, 

Finally had some time to digest and read all of the replies. I'm trained as a 6-12 ELA/SS teacher. My interest in PBL led me to Makerspaces. Makerspaces led me to learning to code to help students. Everything snowballed after that.

— Nicholas Provenzano (@thenerdyteacher) April 7, 2021

Overall, I think the A in STEAM covers the humanities. I think ELA is in STEAM. I think social studies is part of the A in STEAM. I think STEAM is school. Because of that, I do not believe there is anyone that can claim to be THE authority on it. I think there are people that bring tons of knowledge to the STEAM arena, but it is next to impossible to be THE authority. Being an expert in STEAM doesn't make you an authority on it either. I do not have experience in urban/rural STEAM, but there are those that do. How can I be an authority in STEAM for those areas where I lack experience? I have written books, spoken internationally, and worked with schools from across the country on MakerEd, STEAM, PBL, and other topics. I have learned from every group I have worked with over that time. While I think I can help educators on their learning journey, I do not have all of the answers and can't claim to be the THE guy in these areas. Everything I have learned has come from experience and what others have done before me. I am lucky that I have the opportunities to share that learning with others and I make sure to connect people with others that can be more helpful than me. It's important to know that you don't know everything. That is how we grow. 

Ultimately, I warn everyone to be wary of anyone that claims to be THE authority in any field. It suggests that they have very little to learn from others and that is not someone you want to bring into your school/district. 

What are your thoughts? What makes someone an authority on anything?