Liberal Education: A Study in Thought

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Some have recently argued that a liberal education, as opposed to a vocational education, is a waste of time, money and effort because so much of these are spent on the pursuit of knowledge not at all relevant to the chosen major. As Bob Newman of Paradigm Media states, "We all know that career colleges and trade schools get a bad rep in the education industry. For many, they’re viewed as the “other option” or Plan B. What surprises me about these stereotypes is that the data available shows that career/trade school grads can make way more in the long run than students with a Bachelors or even Masters degree.” The common consensus is that college is a mere ticket to the corporate world of high pay, early retirement jobs. If this is true, then there is no point in wasting time with courses that do not further the chosen profession. A vocational school offers a much more direct and economic avenue of knowledge. I disagree: a good college education is not primarily about career opportunities and should not merely prepare a student for one specific vocation but also help them to understand that there is more to true education than the mastering of a single discipline. Skill is but a single piece of a much larger puzzle. Furthermore, as a young adult one cannot possibly be certain what is wanted from life thus exposure to a little of everything should not only be offered but genuinely desired. In such a respect a liberal education is quite obviously preferable as it provides knowledge and experience from various perspectives. Liberal Education prepares you not only for a vocation but for life in general.

In such an assessment of collegiate preference one must first look at the query of what is it that a student wants from their ...

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Giamatti, A. Bartlett. "The Earthly Use of a Liberal Education." A Free and Ordered Space: The Real World of the University. New York: W.W. Norton, 1990. Print.

Institutional Goals for Graduates." Texas Lutheran University - a Challenging Academic

Environment That Sets a Path for Life-long Learning. TEXAS LUTHERAN UNIVERSITY. Web. 10 Feb. 2012.

Newman, Bob. "Career School Grads Make More Money." Paradigm Media. Paradigm Media Consultants, 24 June 2011. Web. 05 Mar. 2012.

Roth, Michael. "Michael Roth: What's a Liberal Arts Education Good For?" Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. 8 Dec. 2008. Web. 17 Feb. 2012.

Titus, Greg. "Vocational Education: What It Is and the Training, Skills, Trades, and Careers Vocational Education Includes." Welcome to CourseAdvisor - Online Degree and Online Class Options at CourseAdvisor.com. Web. 17 Feb. 2012.

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