About Stem
Know how it works.
Why Stem
You are growing up in a society full of rules, decisions and messages. If you know how they come about, you can take part, ask critical questions and make your voice heard. Stem always starts from something you know: your class, your town, the messages on your screen.
Neutral about parties, clear about facts
Stem explains institutions, procedures, rights and skills. It never names, ranks or judges parties or politicians and takes no side in current debates. The examples are set in a made-up town, Ergenshoven, with made-up parties A to E. Facts about Belgium and Europe are only included when they are certain.
Four blocks, always in the same order
Why, See it, Get it, Do it. Then the pitfalls, where you meet it in real life and a bit of history. Every topic shows what you need to know first and what comes next, so you see the route through the subject.
Exercises that never run out
Where possible, a generator makes every exercise: different votes for the seat allocation or a different vote in the Security Council each time, with the right answer, a hint and a worked solution. Where it is about knowledge, Stem picks from fixed sets and shuffles them. Thousands of exercises per topic are tested automatically.
Who makes Stem
Stem is made by Neal Van de Velde (nealvdv), who also made Draad, Ruit and Spoor. Questions, mistakes or ideas are always welcome.
Calm and private
No ads, no tracking, no required account, no streaks or notifications that make you feel guilty. What you can do is kept only on your own device.
What does Draft mean?
A topic labelled Concept has been written with care, but not yet reviewed by a citizenship teacher. The label only goes once it has been. If you spot a mistake, let us know.
Draft: Not yet reviewed by a citizenship teacher.0/17of the 17 topics have been checked. Teachers are working through them.
Stem and Kaft
Stem is part of Kaft, a family of learning apps with one app per subject. Part of Stem is free, for the rest we ask a fair price. That keeps Stem free of ads and tracking.
What does Stem cost?
The learning path and the first 3 topics are free. For all of Stem, choose one of these plans:
- All of Stem€4 a month · €36 a year
- Kaft bundle, all apps€8 a month · €69 a year
There is also a family plan, a school plan and a free social rate.
You sign in and pay on Kaft. After that, every topic opens here.
All prices on KaftThe Kaft family
Each app has its own subject and its own face, with the same way of working: understanding over cramming, calm and without ads.
Where we come from
Stem is made from a Christian conviction: every person is valuable and deserves respect, including those who think differently, and the truth is worth the effort. The lessons themselves are neutral: they explain how our society works, without taking sides and without promoting a religion. What you notice is the way it is done: honest about facts and respectful of every voice.