The beginnings of liberal arts are found in ancient Greece, where certain subjects were deemed essential for a person to know in order to fulfill their civic duty. Today, those who have degrees backed in the liberal arts are expected to have an extensive skillset in areas such as complex problem-solving, teamwork, intercultural awareness, communication, and integrity. Liberal education also enables critical thinking and the capacity to put tougher issues into a larger context, as well as provides students with grounds in ethics (Ray). Students who receive a liberal arts education are preparing themselves to be the best citizens they can be; however, there is a documented downtrend in the civic habits of these students. A report from the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities finds that college students are the demographic least likely to vote, with the student voter turnout falling to the lowest level on record in 2012 (Gilman). Liberal arts schools such as Lebanon Valley College should compare the importance of …show more content…
As an institute of higher education, Lebanon Valley College should hold civic engagement to a higher standard by promoting voting and political education, through the distribution of resources and the requirement of general education classes regarding politics. The demographic of college voters is always the demographic least likely to vote, however this does not mean that this age group is apathetic. With increased education in the college setting, the liberal arts student can fulfill their responsibilities of citizenship by becoming an active voter. College students represent a unique niche of the American population, and no other group can vote with the ideas and needs of these students in mind. Colleges such as Lebanon Valley should encourage political activism and civic responsibility as part of their commitment to creating a world-ready
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. Then, they must answer a question that has only two answers. This type of curriculum not only eliminates the development of opinions, but it keeps the students from being exposed to most of the author's beliefs and the author’s point of view, which is the main purpose of liberal arts classes. Without this exposure, students are left incapable of working with others and accepting their opinions in order to develop solutions to
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 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.
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,
Many americans tend to believe that in today's day and age, college students should study more “important” jobs such as politics, engineering, or farming and that these jobs offer a better career path than French or philosophy, however this is not the case. According to Ungar, “A 2009 survey for the Association of American Colleges and Universities actually found that more than three-quarters of our nation’s employers recommend that collegebound students pursue a ‘liberal education.’” (Ungar par. 7). This quote proves that achieving a liberal arts degree can actually be more beneficial to college
Instead, Sanford J. Ungar presents the arguments that all higher education is expensive and needs to be reevaluated for Americans. He attempts to divert the argument of a liberal arts education tuition by stating “ The cost of American higher education is spiraling out id control, and liberal-arts colleges are becoming irrelevant because they are unable to register gains i productivity or to find innovative ways of doing things” (Ungar 661). The author completely ignores the aspects of paying for a liberal arts degree or even the cost comparison to a public university. Rather, Ungar leads the reader down a “slippery slope” of how public universities attain more funding and grants from the government, while liberal arts colleges are seemingly left behind. The author increasingly becomes tangent to the initial arguments he presented by explaining that students have a more interactive and personal relationship with their professors and other students. Sanford J. Ungar did not address one aspect of the cost to attend a liberal arts college or how it could be affordable for students who are not in the upper class.
Why are many young Americans so uncomfortable with liberal arts? And why are many high school graduates shying away from this particular form of education? Just like anything else that is popular, once the liberal arts has been accurately, or inaccurately, discredited, the aftermath inevitably spreads. As more and more information is being mistakenly spread, numerous liberal arts colleges are taking the fall. To combat this, university officers are speaking out to discredit the invalid claims.
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...
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.
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.
People go to college for many reasons, such as getting a higher education, getting more job opportunities or to earn more money. but, college provides more than just that. College can help expand your understanding of the community as well as with the world. According to Melissa McCreery College’s mission is “to graduate students with integrity and a broad worldwide who will positively impact the planet and contribute to society.” College does this by providing a wide range of Liberal Arts classes. Which according to Robert Harris “teaches you how to think” and “allows you to see things whole.” Which in other words helps you to strengthen your mind, think for yourself and get a well-rounded education.
Our society so values education that sociologists have recognized the problem of "over-education" (Hadjicostandi). Many people are spending years pursuing degrees which they simply do not need for the jobs they perform. It is therefore prudent for students to question whether pursuing a liberal education is really as important as our society believes. What is the point of a college education? Does it have any purpose beyond its material benefits. Are these benefits worth their cost? These are important questions that need answering. In the end, we may see that there is far more to this debate than simple accounting. Perhaps what makes education worth pursuing is that it gives us the freedom to makes these kinds of decisions about what is best for us.
Liberal Arts and Sciences education once started in the ancient Greek as the well-known artes liberales. There were seven of them, separated in the trivium and the quadrivium. The trivium contained the core liberal arts, namely grammar, logic and rhetoric. When the Church defined the education, they extended the trivium with the quadrivium subjects arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy. The Greek believed that every young man, if they could afford it, should be educated in the seven liberal arts in order to take an active part in civic life. The goal of these studies was to make a well-informed, virtuous and eloquent person. Nowadays, the artes liberales is still a renowned manner of education, but the methods have slightly changed. For instance, it is now called Liberal Arts and Sciences and it is divided in three academic cultures which together include all academic fields. These cultures are the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences. There are many colleges all over the world which offer a Liberal Arts and Sciences degree.
This study makes a few important contributions to the study of civic learning outcomes. First of all, it shows that there are multiple of dimensions of civic learning and fairly reliable measure, these can be readily assessed. Next, this study also establishes that students can be exposed to different perspectives on and off campus have extensive effect on civic learning through variety of curriculum and co-curriculum. The study confirms previous research that shows that connections with diverse peers and learning about diversity enhance civic learning. Third, there is contact between habits associated with student learning and civic learning outcomes.