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What are the benefits of having the liberal arts education
Benefits of a Liberal Arts degree
Advantage of liberal arts education
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A liberal arts education is a term used to sum up a broad learning style. There is more to taking classes in college rather than your majors courses. The importance of a liberal arts education is coming more and more profound in today's society. Coming from a college preparatory high school a these courses rarely were spoken of. When I starting my classes and realized they were liberal arts courses I noticed a lot more was happening in class. I noticed the lessons I was being taught had complexity and was not set on my criminal justice degree. Prior to attending college I had no stance on whether a liberal arts education in schools. After my brief three weeks I have a firm idea on the role this form of education should have on college students. The liberal arts education should be taken such as elective courses are taken. This states that they are required to obtain a degree, yet they are not the main focus of one's studies. When reading the first paragraph one may ask …show more content…
Instead of taken courses with no sustancial teachings or simply busy work this is where students should find themselves getting a taste of a liberal arts education. An elective course can be what one is interested in as well. Through my experience so far I can bluntly say that courses that are considered liberal arts are in fact interesting. From reading person accounts and people beliefs the information taken in is useful and also easy to learn. By taken courses in the honors college I have done much reading which is giving me a liberal education. I will be the first one to come out and say reading is not my favorite way to spend my time. However the readings have been over useful topics and information and still gains my interest. So to follow my argument that liberal arts education should be taken as electives students will want to take these courses as they are more interesting than typical busy work
All though “The New Liberal Arts”, Sanford J. Ungar uses seven misconceptions about liberal arts on why learning the liberal arts. And explain why is still relevant and will be for coming years. The first misperception that he advocates is that a liberal arts degree is no longer affordable. Vocational training is better alternative to liberal arts in today. In this recession it is a financially wise decision to obtain a career oriented education instead. Students may not able to find jobs in the field that they are training after graduate. Ungar argues that especially collage students find it harder to get good jobs with liberal arts degrees, which is not the case. Which is the second misperception is that graduates with liberal arts degrees
If they are taught correctly, liberal arts classes have the potential to help “students cross social boundaries in their imaginations. Studying a common core of learning will help orient them to common tasks as citizens; it will challenge or bolster… their views and, in any case, help them understand why not everyone in the world (or in their classroom) agrees with them,” explains Gitlin in his article “The Liberal Arts in an Age of Info-Glut.” By exposing students to this in high school, they will be more prepared when this moment occurs in their careers. I, along with many students throughout the country, have been exposed to incorrectly-taught liberal arts classes. Students taking English, for instance, must read specific novels while assessing a theme that is already pointed out to them.
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.
It’s strange that history, English, history has nothing to do with one’s major but it’s a requirement. Bok said “ Liberal art programs seldom take adequate account of the crucial importance of students’ careers- career that will inevitably affect what kind of persons they become, how well they balance the claims of work and family and what opportunities they have to serve others besides themselves” (345). This statement concluded liberal arts major is important, without it, students wouldn't be able to be successful in school. One wouldn't know how to think critically and analyze what one is learning without learning the basic subjects. Even before college, students are required to learn nothing but the basic subjects such as history, English, and math. Liberal arts take a big role in students’ education because it teaches one how to read, write and use critical thinking in the real world such as work, college, and real life
In the article “The New Liberal Arts,” Sanford J. Ungar presents the argument of why liberal arts schools are still competitive and useful today. The beginning of the article immediately addresses the problem that Ungar is defending, “Hard economic times inevitably bring scrutiny of all accepted ideals and institutions, and this time around liberal-arts education has been especially hit hard.” The author provides credibility through his time of being a liberal arts presidents, applies statistics about the enrollment and job security outside of liberal college, he addresses the cost factor and how a student may find compensation, and that a liberal arts college is not preparing students for success. The article “The New Liberal Arts,” addresses
Sanford J. Ungar, a journalist and president of Goucher College, is one of those faculty members actively trying to disprove the accusations against liberal arts colleges and educations. In his February 2010 article from the academic journal The Chronicle of Higher Education, Ungar gives readers many examples of common misunderstandings about liberal arts and then informs them why those examples are incorrect. Appropriately titled, Ungar’s “7 Major Misperceptions About the Liberal Arts” is an easy go to guide when a person wants to learn more about liberal arts. These readers, mainly students and parents looking towards a higher degree of education, can read Ungar’s essay and find new knowledge about the liberal arts discipline.
Liberal arts education produces analytical thinking, and professions are looking for that as an alternative to just specializing in one subject. “Who wants to hire somebody with an irrelevant major like philosophy or French,” but in reality, everyone is finding it harder to find a job in this economy, not just liberal arts majors. He then answers the question about “being a low income, or first generation college student,” and Ungar begins to state that it is ignorant to consider that just because an individual is the first generation that they cannot be given the same kind of education as someone else who is not a first generation. Some may believe that liberal arts does not take part in the mathematical and scientific side of education, but it does in the broadest parts. Sanford Ungar has the right idea that more people should major in the liberal arts, and I definitely like how he put his essays into the “seven misconceptions.”
Now, let us define liberal arts or liberal education. According to Michael Lind, liberal arts should be understood in its original sense as “elite skills” (54). We all know that liberal arts include cour...
“Hence you see why “liberal studies” are so called; it is because they are studies worthy of a free- born gentlemen. But there is only one really liberal study – that which gives a man his liberty. It is the study of wisdom”, said Lucius Annaeus Seneca, the Roman Stoic philosopher who lived during the time of Jesus Christ. Historically speaking, learning liberal arts we learn ourselves to be passionate, loyal, brave and what is more important, generous. The word “freedom” has been the fundamental component of any American Dream. Today we celebrate our nation’s independence and allowance to govern ourselves.
In modern times, the importance of liberal arts is questioned. The article “Myth: A Liberal Arts Education is Becoming Irrelevant” by Carol T. Christ makes the argument that a liberal arts education provides a broader range of knowledge which is useful because it produces a critically thinking student. Obtaining a career is the main focus of college education. Knowing this, Christ emphasizes how a liberal arts education is useful when looking for employment. She refutes the conception that a liberal arts education is irrelevant in today’s society by identifying the useful qualities it provides the employers look for such as, “Flexibility, creativity, critical thinking, strong communication skills (particulary writing)” (Christ,
In ancient civilization, a liberal arts education was considered essential for free people to take place in civic life; without them people would not be willing to disregard one's traditional values, and analyze a broad variety of arts, humanities, and sciences to create new opinions and ideas. In the 21st century many Americans are doubtful that liberal arts degrees are actually worth the cost of college. In his essay “The New Liberal Arts”, Sanford J. Ungar discusses seven “misconceptions” of liberal arts degrees in modern-day America.
Liberal arts classes help you learn how to think, which is help full for any job because knowing how to think and how to organize your thoughts can help you be the best you can be in where you work. It can also allow you to move up in the business as well as make your own business. Knowing how to think and how to organize your thoughts can help you learn how to explain your ideas and thoughts to people around you as well as make it easier for you to be able to figure out whether or not your ideas are good or not. So you would be able to clearly express and act out your ideas and clearly speak your mind so ever one understands
Higher education is optional, but to enter a respectable career, one must continue their education in order to achieve his financial and/or personal goals. Teenagers who attend college use their extended schooling to further obtain knowledge. The primary objective of higher education is to enhance one’s abilities for his future. A student can learn from school in numerous ways, but liberal education is not a way to attract students into further and higher education. However, students can learn a lot more through experiences that have affected their personal lives. I agree with author Mike Rose’s theory that education needs are reached to obtain a higher academic level by teaching students information that can be related to their personal experiences and mentality.
As the world becomes more specialized it raises the question, should undergraduate institutions change their curriculum requirements to better equip students? The goal of a liberal arts education is to enlighten individuals and prepare them for the complex and diverse world by requiring the study of literature, philosophy, mathematics, and sciences. As professional careers evolve into more specialized fields the argument that a liberal education is no longer needed rises. Some educators feel that future professionals would be better primed for the future by focusing specifically on subjects that deal with their intended field. However, a liberal arts education provides benefits that go beyond the classroom. The experience of studying a wide range of material makes an individual well rounded, creates opportunities, and allows for personal evaluation. Broadening one’s knowledge in vast areas develops communication, problem-solving skills, and social responsibility regardless of intended careers.
For the past 8 years, I’ve lived in a town with a smaller population than some of my friends’ high school graduating classes. I loved those 8 years, but living in such a tight-knit community has its limitations. For example, out of 49 students in my class, I was the only one to leave the state of Arkansas, or even go to a private university. Of course there is absolutely nothing wrong with staying close to home, that’s the comfortable and convenient choice, and that choice was nearly mine as well. However, I visited Baylor and I immediately knew that this was the place I wanted to spend the next four years. It felt like home and I haven’t regretted my decision once.