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Liberal arts education why is it important
Liberal arts education why is it important
Importance of the liberal arts
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A liberal arts core or curriculum is defined as the areas of study or learning that cultivate intellectual thinking and ideas rather than technical work or skills. By providing work within this curriculum students can achieve excellence throughout their college career. Although there is this aspect, a liberal arts core is often questioned if it is really necessary for a successful college career. This paper will discuss how and why a liberal arts curriculum is important as well as how this curriculum can lead to pursuing excellence during a college career as well as having success after college. A liberal arts curriculum is often debated in many circumstances. Some people believe the liberal arts curriculum is not necessary for a college career, but this is not true. A liberal arts curriculum provides the teachings of necessary skills and ideas that are not taught by just learning a technical skill. People who pursue a liberal arts curriculum are often more successful in college and after college because this curriculum provides teaching in areas such as human development, communication …show more content…
In this children’s book, Seuss presents a character, a small boy dressed in yellow, who represents “you” goes out of their known town into a large and unknown place. Here they discover everything is different and your knowledge and confidence isn’t always enough to make it. Seuss states “Out there things can happen, and frequently do, to people as brainy, and footsy as you,” which shows that everyday knowledge isn’t always enough, sometimes you need extra skills, like a liberal arts curriculum provides, to help you succeed in the real world. Seuss also states “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go,” which shows that more knowledge can only help bring you further in
Since high school and now through my second year of college I have had one goal for my future, that goal was to graduate college with a degree in criminal justice. Not being interested in math or science, I was discouraged by the fact of taking classes that had nothing to do with my career choice. Thus being said, many people that I talked too felt the same way as I did. Which constantly led me to question what the importance of a liberal education was. After reading an essay called The Liberal Arts Are Not Elitist by Martha Nussbaum and relating it to an essay by William Cronon called The Goals of a Liberal Education, my perspective changed. An education is more than just a degree in your field of study, but an overall basic knowledge in which will inspire people to be the absolute best they can be.
In recent years, many have debated whether or not a college education is a necessary requirement to succeed in the field of a persons’ choice and become an outstanding person in society. On one hand, some say college is very important because one must contribute to society. The essay Three Reasons College Still Matters by Andrew Delbanco shows three main reasons that students should receive their bachelor’s degree. On the other hand, many question the point of wasting millions of dollars on four years or maybe more to fight for highly competitive jobs that one might not get. Louis Menand wrote an article based on education titled Re-Imagining Liberal Education. This article challenges the main thought many americans have after receiving a secondary education. Louis Menand better illustrates the reasons why a student should rethink receiving a post secondary education better than Andrew Delbanco’s three reasons to continue a person’s education.
Over the past few years, people have begun to see going to college as a way to achieve the American Dream through career-readiness. People used to go to college, hoping to get a better well-rounded education. For most the well-rounded education, it usually came with the courses required for a liberal arts education. The courses would provide a level of analytical and in-depth understanding that would prepare the students for both life and whichever career path chosen. No matter the amount of money paid, parents would be willing to gi...
An undergraduate that is primarily focusing on a liberal major has the tendency to become lazy. “Colleges have allowed widespread grade inflation and shown increased tolerance of late or incomplete work” (46). A ripple effect swept through the majority of students and led to apathetic habits. The realization of this, made colleges decide what kind of educational opportunity that can help in the improvement of the little effort being put into liberal major responsibilities. “A much more controversial step would be to allow undergraduates to take a small number of elective courses in practical vocational subjects, such as accounting, marketing, or finance”
The view of what college is and what the experience of college offers, differ dramatically between an individual and the society he or she lives. College has traditionally been viewed as the place young adults go to find themselves, find their career, and start their adult lives. Some have argued that education has veered too far away from tradition, while others argue that the whole idea of Liberal Education needs to keep evolving to meet the demands of the modern world. Those in favor of change argue for more diversity within the curriculum, such as more non-western world education and feminist thought. However, the traditional educational ideal has not completely vanished. At the majority of colleges in America the Liberal Arts, or General Education, is the core requirement that every student must take regardless of major. A liberal education studies the idea of what it means to be a good human being. The Liberal Arts are important to everyone because it tries to grasp each individual’s uniqueness and find their place in society. These classes aim to challenge students to become better people, better citizens, and overall create a better society. Liberal Arts try to grasp the knowledge and skills humans have used to rationally understand human existence for thousands of years. By creating culturally diverse campuses and studying topics like philosophy; students learn to question life, question society, and find answers to what it means to be a good person. All of these innovations together along with better informed and intelligent students help form societies focused on equality and the future of human civilization.
A college education gives a person the opportunity to be successful in life, either financially or morally dependent on the goals that they set for their life. They will choose a college that offer programs for the major of their choice, where they will specialize and receive a degree. The decision to pursue a higher education will give the opportunity to earn a better income over someone who does not have a degree. College is more of life preparation course that will help make sure a successful career. If a person pursues a career in engineering, physics or mathematics their curriculum would include more liberal art preparation courses, in order for them to earn their degree, so someone pursuing a degree in these types of careers are attending college for job preparation. On December 10, 2009 at Hamilton University in Clinton, New York, college professors debated current college curriculum (Liew). They talked about how their college could make a leap from being good to being great. At the 22nd American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges conference held in Long Beach California on November 14, 1996 the topic of changing curriculum was discussed (“Mich”). The University of Louisiana, Lafayette, is eliminating its philosophy major, while Michigan State University is doing away with American studies and classics, after years of decline in enrollments in those majors (Zernike). The purpose of a college education is to meet the student's liberal art’s needs so that they can compete and understand the connection between a degree and a job that will enable them to compete with other world economies, give them a well-rounded education that will enable them to earn a higher income, and retain a lifetime full of knowledge.
Education— or rather, the act of being educated— can take a wide variety of forms; the term education in itself is very broad and nonspecific. People learn new things every day whether they are conscious of it or not, which begs the question “what constitutes an education?” Higher education, for example, typically consists of being affiliated with some institution such as a university, or a lone college. Such educations may also follow the liberal arts methodology, depending on the values of the institution that is being attended. A liberal arts education, as opposed to some more straight forward methods of education such as STEM, allows for far more freedom of choice in your education—in fact, a broad education is encouraged at such institutions. Therefore, a true liberal arts education would lead to a far more-well-rounded pupil than those that follow more direct—or
For a while now, educational experts have had a challenge on the relevance of liberal arts education. Many Liberal arts colleges are now considered to be dismissed as outmoded or “in trouble” by some colleges. Some even say there’s no point in obtaining a college degree, if Steve Jobs or Bill Gates who are millionaires never completed an undergraduate degree. We are raised and prepared to believe that a person needs a higher education degree in order to be successful in life.
College students may still be majoring in liberal arts due to being too specialized in college or not researching enough about the college they will be attending. Going to college for the first time without an open mind and being too narrowly minded could be the never-ending cycle of college. Which can possibly lead to a career mistake and in “Why Focusing Too Narrowly in College Could Backfire,” by Peter Cappelli, he explains exactly why. Peter Cappelli points out
One question that may come to mind is, “What is liberal education?”. The answer is simple, liberal education is an approach to learn, that teaches people the ways of life. Liberal education has come to be a “necessity” in our world today. According to Huffington’s Post. “All successful careers require critical thinking, teamwork, sensitivity to cultural, demographic, economic and societal differences and political perspectives” (Ray).
Education", really drives home the importance and benefits of a liberal arts education. And when
College is a time for students to be introspective, allowing for self-discovery and personal growth. The liberal arts core is essential for offering classroom experiences to broaden student knowledge as well as to catalyze this process of personal development within higher education. No matter what major or career path a student intends on studying and pursuing, the liberal arts core is always beneficial. For my major specifically, talking with patients is essential. Speech pathology is a career and major that requires interaction with clients and their family members. Practicing communication is ultimately the main method of therapy, yet communication is impossible without having something to talk about. The liberal arts core educates future
There is a debate about if liberal arts are still applicable in today’s society. Well, Sanford Ungar, in his work “The New Liberal Arts,” unveils eight misperceptions of modern day liberal arts in our post-secondary educational institutions. Society has labeled liberal education as too expensive, unnecessary, and out of date. Liberal arts are the baseline for education and the author exploits the untold truths of the benefits of obtaining a liberal arts degree. Ungar reveals to us that liberal arts still hold a worthy place in society ranging from communication skills, better writing, and having a degree that covers a wide range of topics that could be applied to a plethora of jobs in the work force. He tests
According to literary critic Clifton Fadiman, “Theodor Geisel Seuss provided ingenious and uniquely witty solutions to the standing problem of illiteracy among children (qtd. in Kaplan).” Due to various influential figures and profound experiences during his lifetime, as well as expert use of creative literary techniques, Theodor Seuss Geisel’s children’s books continue to compel readers of all ages – allowing them to escape into different worlds filled with nonsense.
The importance of school has been emphasized for the people that come from the working class or people that do not have the most money, since a very young age. They have the idea from their parents that education will ensure a better future with a sure thing for financial security. However, not everyone wants to have the same education. Liberal education is an approach on college education that empowers and prepares people to deal with complexity, diversity, and challenge as said by Association of American Colleges & Universities website. It should not be confused with general education that is part of liberal education by being the education that is shared by all students. The lessons that are given are taught in a broader sense so that kids can learn about a certain subject for themselves and gain more interest in the certain subject to then go on to