wallace vs ungar

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Recommended: The role of education in modern life

According with Ungar, liberal education has been largely rejected for the media and families with restricted income. But liberal arts has a lot more to offer than what the people think. Ungar defends the liberal education and show us some misconceptions about it but in my opinions is Wallace with his commencement speech that pointed the real value of the liberal education. In his speech, Wallace show us a better view of how the real value of the liberal arts education is that the students get aware of their environment, learn how to live a better life, and get tools that encourage them to keep learning for the rest of their lives.
The liberal education get the students to be aware of their environment. According to Wallace, the real meaning of the liberal education is that people learn to chose what to think and be aware of their environment opposite to the common believe that education is just filling ourselves with knowledge. In his speech Wallace states: "the really significant education in thinking that we are supposed to get in a place like this isn't really about the capacity to think, but rather the choice regarding what to think about" (Wallace 199). Like in the parable he used to start his speech, in which the two young fish did not know what water was, through liberal arts we learn how to chose what to think and that lead us to be aware of our environment and know what is water. This is the real value of education, be aware of everything as he said it toward the end of his speech: "the real value of a real education, which has almost nothing to do with knowledge, and everything to do with simple awareness; awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight al around us, all the time" (Wallace 20...

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... detailed picture on how is this as we saw it in the last paragraph but is good enough to mention it.
Additionally, liberal education will encourage people to keep learning for the rest of their lives. When people is aware of their own reality, they learn how important is to keep up their education, the real value of the liberal education is that make us conscious or our own reality and this lead us to keep learning. "to stay conscious and alive in the adult world day in and day out. ... your education really is a job of a life time" (Wallace 209).
Ungar agree some how with Wallace in this point when he closes his essay "They come to terms with complexity and diversity, and otherwise devise means to solve problems - rather than just complaining about them. They develop patterns that help them understand how to keep learning for the rest of their days" (Ungar 196)

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