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achieving an academic success
liberal education introduction,conclusion
achieving an academic success
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In order to properly understand the struggle of the intellectually excellent, it is first important to understand what makes one intellectually excellent. According to John Newman, intellectual excellence is achieved through Liberal Education (Newman 58). This intellectual excellence is not what brings around merit or righteousness. Having this knowledge is what can make a man more able to learn. It is not the rudder of a man’s inner self. Newman says this about pursuing intellectual excellence: “Intellect too, I repeat, has its beauty, and it has those who aim at it” (Newman 59). In the preceding passage, John Newman discusses that every object has beauty, but there is an example of every type of object that is the most perfect. The same can apply for knowledge. Intellectual excellence is that perfection of knowledge. While it is technically unreachable, as no man can harness all of the universe’s knowledge, those who strive for the beauty of knowledge are reaching for intellectual excellence. Those with intellectual excellence can be students, whether in middle school or college, or instructors. It is relative to the learner itself as well. In a college setting, those who are achieving intellectual excellence are those who, most often, are in liberal arts educational pathways. Those who are business majors, for example, are confined to only their field of education. They do not need to know about Vivaldi, Michelangelo, and other classic artists. They only strive to learn that which they need to, simply because there is no benefit in other knowledge. Those in liberal arts majors, however, are more likely to achieve this excellence. Menand states that “liberal-arts students are more likely to take courses with substantial amounts ...
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...l have those qualities: critical thinking, understanding of the key events of history, and the skill to know how to answer to situations intellectually. Most students as colleges will only know how to throw back an answer to a question that they have pointlessly memorized, know only what matters to them in the span of history, and will only react to a situation with a half-willed attitude.
Works Cited
Lemann, Nicholas. “Schoolwork.” Newyorker.com. The New Yorker. 27 Sept. 2010. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.
Mead, Rebecca. “Learning by Degrees.” Newyorker.com. The New Yorker. 7 June 2010. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.
Menand, Louis. “Live and Learn: Why We Have College.” Newyorker.com. The New Yorker. 6 June 2011. Web. 4 Oct. 2011.
Newman, John Henry. “Knowledge Its Own End.” Reading the World: Ideas That Matter. Ed. Michael Austin. New York: W.W. Norton and Co., 2010. 54-59. Print.
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,
Newman says that the scope of education should broaden and encourage more learning outside of the career track, while Freire says how the material is learned should be broadened and laid out where it is learned for its entirety and not just its basic ideas. They feel that “the learned professions altogether... [are] the most popularly beneficial and… most intimately divine of all human pursuits” (Newman, 57). Simply said, education is something of high importance that should be desired and acquired by all. If one does not embrace education, he or she will not gain knowledge or understand its importance. Fredrick Douglass, a famous slave that worked to gain knowledge, and ultimately helped abolish slavery understands this concept. In his biography, “Learning to Read,” he describes his struggle of learning to read and write. He says, “I wished to learn… [and] after a long, tedious effort for years, I finally succeeded in learning” (Douglas, 50). As a slave, being educated was a difficult task, but Douglass understood its importance and desired to pursue it. At first, he despised, the education, “while they [(the arguments in the Columbian Orator)] relieved me of one difficulty, they brought on another even more painful than the one of which I was relieved,” but it eventually lead to his understanding of “abolition” and helped him free “[him]self and fellow-slaves” (48,49). The education Douglass learns from the Columbian Orator and local newspapers, among other places, is a prime example of liberal knowledge. He learned it “for the sake of knowing it.” Douglass’s example solidifies Newman’s idea that liberal education is valuable because it is proven to have “value and dignity” (Newman, 58). His example also exemplifies Freire’s point that “Liberation is a praxis: the action and reflection of men and women upon their world in order to transform it” (65). Freire believes that one
All in all, “Hidden Intellectualism” is a pleasant journey through the nuances of educating future intellectuals, especially with Gerald Graff at the helm navigating as only a venerable ship captain can.
Imagine a cardiovascular surgeon about to crack the sternum of a dying patient; tension is high while the clock of life ticks desperately slower and softer for the poor soul on the cold steel table that saw death the hour before. Is it logical that at that moment the purveyor of life is contemplating whether his freshmen philosophy class back at SMU has thoroughly prepared him for what he is about to do? Not likely. In higher learning institutions, liberal art classes like philosophy are not meant to be directly applied to one’s life or career; however, they are structured and devised to be a strong base that the individual can expand upon through scientific learning and experience. This is precisely the reason colleges and universities require and place much emphasis on these classes; nevertheless, there has been a shift away from the liberal arts towards the direction of highly specialized areas of science and business because of their growing integration in everyday life. Although people need a limited number of liberal arts classes to attain a basic understanding of ourselves and our evolution, state universities are aptly moving towards technical education, because, in this fast paced world, many people don’t have the time or money to spend studying the humanities alone.
As mentioned throughout this analysis, Sanford J. Ungar’s main purpose of his essay, “7 Misperceptions About the Liberal Arts” is to inform Americans that liberal arts education is not an unpopular decision to make. Although The Chronicle of Higher Education published this article in 2010, it is still very relevant today. I believe Ungar has accomplished his purpose by adequately refuting each misperception in his essay. By using the three appeals of reason, emotion and ethics equally, Ungar leaves no doubt that liberal arts is an education that should not be sought after.
Aside from school or Universities, our world is a huge classroom. All of us learned things that are not taught in school, but there are some methods that we follow in order to simplify and to understand more regarding the task of different fields of knowledge. In our society today, most people learn by mimicking others and their actions that are influenced by past experiences. There is knowledge that is handed down from mouth to mouth generation that never committed in writing. When I think about knowledge, the first thing that comes up with my mind is education. Education requires self-determination, dedication, and experience. According to John Henry Newman’s philosophy of
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.
William Cronon’s article “Only Connect’: The Goals of a Liberal Education” was a fascinating read as it exemplified that what made an individual a good student was not a proficiency in certain subjects, but rather a set of ten qualities that made a good character. My top strength of intellection is certainly an asset in college, at least in terms of academic success. One of Cronon’s characteristics was that a good student respects rigor, especially in the pursuit of the truth, something that I endeavor to do anytime I am in an academic setting. Every single class I have ever signed up for has been challenging in some way, not only because it looks good to take the challenging course, but also for my own benefit. I would have gained nothing without some degree of challenge, for example, if I had not taken an extremely demanding biology course in high school, I would not have discovered how much I love biology and want to go into a biology-based career. My strength of intellection allows me not only perform well academically but it also gives the knowledge to explore my options. Because of this I will seek out the truth in order to expand upon my own knowlege and wisdom. Another one of Cronon’s values that I hope to embody is the understanding of how to get things done, something that I have related to my deliberative strength. I am the first to admit that I am a horrible procrastinator however, I also will always get my assignments done, whether it is an essay or simply doing laundry. Due to this very serious personality flaw I have essentially taught myself how to be more deliberative, I have to be deliberative otherwise I would never get anything done. I now understand that if you have a task then you are obligated to complete that task, and sometimes
Chaffee, John. The Philosopher's Way Thinking Critically About Profound Ideas. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2009.
Masterman, M. (1970). The Nature of a Paradigm. In I. Lakatos, & A. Musgrave (Eds.), Criticism and The Growth of Knowledge (pp. 59-90). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
A crucial topic being debated on in today’s society is core principles and disciplines. When debated and discussed, these two immense topics bring up discussion on liberal art colleges and their education. “Liberal Arts” can be translated in many different ways depending on perspectives. So what exactly is a liberal arts college/education? Patrick Connelly states, “A liberal arts college is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences. It aims to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual capacities for students” (Pg.18). Students who attend liberal art colleges experience broad and vast knowledge to create intellectual capacities that public universities will not provide. Essentially a liberal arts college gives a selected “Core” education to students to develop their skills and improve their weaknesses. Liberal arts are thought to be extremely necessary or very pointless depending on perspective. For example, two articles by two different authors explain liberal arts in a completely different way and opposite perspectives. The first
As the world becomes more specialized it raises the question, should undergraduate institutions change their curriculum requirements to better equip students? The goal of a liberal arts education is to enlighten individuals and prepare them for the complex and diverse world by requiring the study of literature, philosophy, mathematics, and sciences. As professional careers evolve into more specialized fields the argument that a liberal education is no longer needed rises. Some educators feel that future professionals would be better primed for the future by focusing specifically on subjects that deal with their intended field. However, a liberal arts education provides benefits that go beyond the classroom. The experience of studying a wide range of material makes an individual well rounded, creates opportunities, and allows for personal evaluation. Broadening one’s knowledge in vast areas develops communication, problem-solving skills, and social responsibility regardless of intended careers.
In John Henry Newman’s The Idea of a University Newman relates is idea that the goal of a university should be that of training, “good members of society.”(48) Someone who can have a positive contribution to the future of humanity. Although this work was written in 1852 it is still among the most famous articles to attempt to define the aspects of a liberal arts education.