How does a liberal arts education impact the workplace?
Liberal arts education exposes us to new ideas, attitudes, and ways of understanding our surrounding. It broadens our chance to explore new areas that we may have not had experience with before. According to the essay “How liberal arts offer the very ‘workplace skills’ critics demand ” by David Maxwell ,we should start appreciating liberal art education because it helps prepare college students for the workplace. Some ways liberal arts education impacts the workplace is by teaching scholars how to think critically, have great success at work, and to see things from a different point of view. Liberal arts education impacts the workplace by teaching students to think critically.Our brain is a muscle. Therefore, the brain needs to be drilled with different techniques. The variety trains the brain for critical thinking and analysis. Maxwell stated “but the core focus is on a set of intellectual abilities that include inquiry and analytical skills, critical and creative thinking, written and verbal communication, quantitative literacy, information literacy, problem solving, teamwork, and ethical reasoning”.This references that critical thinking helps us to understand the pros and cons of every outcome.Improving its use in the workplace
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Why?Because more often times than not higher education to a high school senior means a chance at success .Maxwell states “the recent Hart survey indicates that 60% of the respondents think that having both field-specific knowledge and the broad range of liberal education outcomes is important.” Most employers have agreed that having liberal educational background is most important for recent college graduates to achieve long-term
The article, “Critical Thinking? You Need Knowledge” by Diane Ravitch, discusses how in the past people have been deprived from the thinking process and abstract thinking skills. Students need to be given more retainable knowledge by their teachers to improve their critical thinking skills. (Ravitch).
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.
Liberal educations benefit students in the long run, long after students have paid their loans. People are able to be informed on national topic, while also being able to be self dependent. Two qualities that are essential in the modern society. I believe it is important to have such a basic understanding of education and knowledge, just like what Nussbaum agreed too in her essay. However, I also believe the curriculum should be centered around making students a better person. Institutions should try to produce good people with the right intentions instead of just focusing on testing intelligence, similar to what Cronon focused on in his essay. If we can incorporate both of these important features into our liberal education system, then and only then, will we be thriving as a society. Graduates will have a good understanding of knowledge from an array of different fields, as well as having important traits that will carry on for the rest of their
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
In Sanford Ungar’s essay, The New Liberal Arts, he dismisses the doubts of a liberal arts education with ease. He does this by listing out seven misconceptions of a liberal arts education, followed by his explanations of why these thoughts are exactly what he calls them: misconceptions. Misconception one claims that a liberal arts education is a luxury most people cannot afford, and instead they should focus on career education. He combats this by saying career education is a one way route, that eventually comes to a dead end, but that a liberal arts education opens up many new pathways, some that may not even exist yet. Misconception two states that college graduates can barely get a job with a liberal arts degree, he then goes on to say that most employers want
“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.
Robert Harris, a renowned writer and experienced professor, published “On the Purpose of a Liberal Art Education” in 1991. He was astounded by how many students mumbled about a generalized education plan; therefore, he need to explain why a general education not only gives a first-year student a foundation for later learning but also improves a student’s life. Before Harris could write his paper, he investigated the claim; thus, Newman’s The Idea of University shaped Harris's opinion on a liberal education. Newman and Harris both agree that a generalized education helps train the mind to see culture in every situation. Moreover, this article states that a liberal arts education will teach students how to think, how to learn, how to see the world as a whole, how to become good teachers, and how to be happier.
As people try to begin to understand liberal arts from a Christian point of view, there have been many writers that have written on this topic and have many different opinions about it. Three of the most famous writers are Holmes, De Gaetano, and Cross. A Christian liberal arts education makes us better leaders, people, and followers of Christ because it helps us know right from wrong. A liberal arts education teaches us to distinctly know the difference between right and wrong, and the path that God has chosen for us to follow. This type of education also gives students the freedom to become everything God has granted us with the ability to become.
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
Educators have long been aware of the importance of critical thinking skills as an outcome of student learning. More recently, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills has identified critical thinking as one of several learning and innovation skills necessary to prepare students for post-secondary education and the workforce. In addition, the newly created Common Core State Standards reflect critical thinking as a cross-disciplinary skill vital for college and employment. Despite widespread recognition of its importance, there is a notable lack of consensus regarding the definition of critical thinking. The purposes of this literature review are to (a) explore the ways in which critical thinking has been defined by researchers, (b) investigate
Once students graduate high school, they are a vital part of society; to help the community they will need to have the proper education. When these students enter the community on their own, they will need to possess critical thinking skills to solve difficult problems. “Schools don’t teach kids how to really think critically,” says Annmarie Neal, a psychologist and vice president for talent management at Cisco systems (Clemmitt “Critical Thinking” 315). When students leave high school and college, they will need to be able to think through tough situations. They will be given a problem, but, unlike in schools, the answers will not be as clear as multiple choice questions. Critical thinking is an important skill for students to have to enter
The idea of a liberal education is what universities are moving towards. A liberally educated person is someone whom is educated in many different areas other than their major area of study. Colleges encompass a liberal education in their curriculum by including a liberal studies program. A liberal studies program requires certain courses, and various electives outside a student’s major. The reason for these required classes is to broaden the minds of the students, so they can tolerate different views and understand the behaviors of different people they may encounter in their lives.
Liberal education is what provides students with a broad knowledge of the wider world, it prepares them to deal with change and complexity as well as in depth study in a specific area of interest. With it we can develop a sense of social responsibility, intellectual and practical skills and the ability to apply these skills in real world settings.
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
According to Albert Einstein, the value of an education in a liberal arts college is not the learning of many facts, but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks. In our days large number of people value liberal arts education, considering it much more effective and noteworthy for reaching success, rather than other educational systems. A liberal arts education seeks to transform the student into a life-long learner, invoke creativity, and promote critical and effective thinking to build traits for success.