Liberal Education: What Is A 21st Century Liberal Education

In the words of Robert Hutchins’ The Great Conversation, “Everyone is to speak his mind. No proposition is to be left unexamined. The exchange of ideas is held to be the path to the realization of the potentialities of the race.” What then, does it mean to be liberally educated in our world today? According to Hutchins, “Liberal education” serves a purpose for human excellence in which education is not the means of ending man or life. It is to analyze and comprehend the methods in basic problems where it can be answered and proven.

In Western civilization, liberal education’s traditional purpose was to train man to recognize basic problems, make knowledgeable distinctions, and understand that there is more than one approach to a problem. The

(AACU) there are other kinds of education than a liberal education. The AACU defines the liberal arts as a distinctive field of study that we commonly learn in school, such as Artes Liberales and General Education. “Artes Liberales” is more of a modern foundation of the liberal arts and dwells on the technical subjects of life, while “General Education” provides a broader development of teaching. As time continued, education in the twenty- first century did as well. During the twentieth century, liberal education was an option for those who were lucky enough to have an education, but now it has become a necessity for every student to grow successfully in life. Although, from AACU Practicing Liberal Education: Formative Themes in the Reinvention of Liberal Learning, Carol Geary Schneider’s says that liberal education fosters “life long learning” and “active engagement” with what we have learned. She states that practicing this type of education affects the American society to feel uncertain about the traditional definition of “liberal education.” Reinventing the theme as we practice this method will prepare to develop a higher standardized education, for example, rational analysis and judgment, “social responsibility and civic engagement,” and “integrative and culmination learning. ” In terms of Schneider’s conception, there will be a dispute against society and