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. An example of a Liberal Arts and Sciences College in modern times is University College Utrecht, a university located in the heart of the Netherlands. In 2012 I applied to be a student at University College Utrecht and was offered admission for the Fall 2013 semester. It was a long process to decide what bachelor programme to choose. It was an endless doubt between a regular degree and a Liberal Arts and Sciences degree. It was hard to make a choice, as it was impossible to predict what the future might bring. Today, I am convinced I have made the right decision to follow a Liberal Arts and Sciences education. As a Liberal Arts and Sciences student at University College Utrecht I hav... ... middle of paper ... ... often not well-informed or their information is out of date. In summary, I personally believe that a Liberal Arts and Sciences education is a way of thinking, not a type of institution. Liberal Arts and Sciences students will have a broader view on subjects because of their multidisciplinary education and their extensive knowledge. This has many advantages over the regular undergraduate students. For example, these students will become more valuable community members, will lead to more innovations and will be more effective and disciplined in conducting research because they are trained in academic skills. One might think that a Liberal Arts and Sciences education is too broad to be a good foundation, but they usually are not knowledgeable. All in all, a Liberal Arts and Sciences education is a better undergraduate programme than a regular undergraduate programme.
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
A common misunderstanding about the liberal arts is that they are leisure studies, and in the time of recession students should be looking for STEM degrees. Ungar states that the liberal arts will be a better
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,
The article, The Value of Higher Education Made Literal by scholar Stanley Fish focuses on sharing his opinion of higher education and what it has become in recent years. Mr. Fish’s argument is essentially over the “logic of privatization” where students are pictured as “investors” or “consumers” in courses of study that maximize successful employment outcomes. He also believes arts, humanities, and social sciences are overlooked while study courses in science, technology, and clinical medicine are prioritized. Fish also strongly believes the value of higher education has changed due to the desires of students over time, desires of becoming extremely financially secure enough to buy more than needed to justify years of money and hard work applied when in school.
We live the truth every day, working to keep the ideal of democratic education alive. The best reason to care for college, who goes,and what happens to them when they get there, is not what it does for society, but what it can do for individuals.like the elder guy said, you thought me how to enjoy life. What he meant is college helped him read, help him crave for works of art, heightened his alertness to color from melody. He was grateful for such an education given to him. As a person regardless of what kind of origin we have, we have the right to pursue happiness. In america today at every kind of institution education is at risk. Student are persuade and program, trained to live from task to task. To many colleges do to little to save them debilitating frenzy that makes liberal education marginal if it is offered at
Why do college students need courses in the liberal arts? Is it beneficial or just a waste of time? Will it make them or influence them to become better workers once they graduate or will it just go down the drain and be useless? Student loans are increasing every year, and each student just wants to finish their degrees at a lesser price and a quicker pace, so they can start working and pay for those debts. In today’s society where some to most students are very much career – driven, they decide to specialize early on their degrees which means taking all the classes that are required in their respective majors. Students are only required to take minimal courses or subjects in the liberal arts such as humanities, philosophy, communication, etc. Also, students are more keen to focus on what they think or believe can offer high salary base pays professions especially in this current state of our economy. Even though students specialize early in the degree that they have chosen has its advantages, college students would benefit more if they are required to take core classes in the liberal arts to develop not only a well – rounded education but also prepare them for the real world. By taking subjects in the liberal arts along with their field of specialty, students will develop strong critical thinking skills that will be beneficial in problem solving once they have a job. They will also have competent oral and written communication skills that are necessary in any organization, and their creativity and innovation will be enhanced.
Many people who possess academic ability study liberal college education don’t have interest in pursuing one. Certain students may be in college for vocational training because they are interested in that particular field of work. If someone tries to push them by setting up a demanding academic curriculum that they are not interested in, they may transfer to another school or even give up on their education. Many students at college today do not choose liberal education courses because their interests and the skills they wish to develop can be found elsewhere. This does not make these students lazier than others who do not want to put in the work to become a master chef, for example. A liberal education just doesn’t make sense for everyone because not many people enjoy reading for hour after hour and day after
In his book Black Leadership, Marable describes what we will refer to as the Tuskegee phenomenon, in which he asserts Booker T. Washington’s favoring of just this type of “quick fix” vocational education to be erroneous. Over the next few pages, I will examine Marable’s arguments and I will attempt to extend their application into society as we know it today.
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 college education gives a person the opportunity to be successful in life, either financially or morally dependent on the goals that they set for their life. They will choose a college that offer programs for the major of their choice, where they will specialize and receive a degree. The decision to pursue a higher education will give the opportunity to earn a better income over someone who does not have a degree. College is more of life preparation course that will help make sure a successful career. If a person pursues a career in engineering, physics or mathematics their curriculum would include more liberal art preparation courses, in order for them to earn their degree, so someone pursuing a degree in these types of careers are attending college for job preparation. On December 10, 2009 at Hamilton University in Clinton, New York, college professors debated current college curriculum (Liew). They talked about how their college could make a leap from being good to being great. At the 22nd American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges conference held in Long Beach California on November 14, 1996 the topic of changing curriculum was discussed (“Mich”). The University of Louisiana, Lafayette, is eliminating its philosophy major, while Michigan State University is doing away with American studies and classics, after years of decline in enrollments in those majors (Zernike). The purpose of a college education is to meet the student's liberal art’s needs so that they can compete and understand the connection between a degree and a job that will enable them to compete with other world economies, give them a well-rounded education that will enable them to earn a higher income, and retain a lifetime full of knowledge.
In my view, offering classes to students whose minds and interests are distant from liberal arts is a waste of time and money. Why I have this opinion? First, while I was in medical college, students ignored philosophy and sociology classes there for the reason of being busy with major disciplines. Since they were mandatory classes in order to graduate, students got credits even for their rudimentary knowledge in liberal arts. This examples drives me to an idea, that making available liberal arts classes for broad range of students do not reach the goal, which is development of minds. Second, Samuelson argues that only the elite has an easy access to liberal arts, which is far from the truth. The education starts way earlier than in college. Every public school performs a screening tests annually to determine whether a student is capable of advanced education for gifted children. On the top of that, the education is free of charge. Furthermore, any adult who is able to read have an access to "high goods of humanity" through choosing certain books. All public libraries in the United States are also free, so you do not need a penny to develop your mind at any period of your life. Where is a will, there is a
The basic economic relationship behind demand and price, is as price increases the demand on a product reduces (Frank 4). This relationship depicts rational human beings interacting in the marketplace (Frank 4). The product that colleges produce are degrees and educated alumni. The price of colleges have skyrocketed in the last decade by a whopping seventy percent (Frizell). The reaction to the increase in price of college, hasn't reduced the demand, in fact it has increased (Frizell). So, does this mean that somewhere along the line have americans become irrational in their economic decisions or has the value of a college education match the rising prices. Sadly, enough the value of a college degree in the current american economy is worth the cost. The foremost reason is the return in income and standard of living enjoyed by college graduates in general (Webber). Another reason is the greater benefit the country, America, gains from having more of it citizens educated at a the college level. The impact economically, and socially can only uplift the American society to new heights.
A liberal arts education is not often chosen in first world countries. Most people avoid the free thinking involved with this way of learning because it ends up being too much work for them to handle or they will just refuse to even try. Anthropologists are obviously not those people because without this way of thinking and going about tasks, they could not do a thorough job and without them, we would know nothing about our neighbors around the world. A liberal arts education does truly aide in thinking critically about all the cultures anthropologists
Although I was first attracted to Michigan because of my family’s love for the University, my family is neither the only nor the main reason why I am applying. I’m looking for a liberal arts education—a program that teaches skills and knowledge applicable to a wide array of careers— with the opportunity to delve into research. Coming from the Windy City, I also need a bustling campus, active student body, and dynamic college town. Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts balances these factors and creates an environment I will thrive in.
Centuries ago during the Renaissance especially, learning the liberal arts were extremely important and deeply rooted in the education system. St. Kate’s requires its students to take courses in that are in the “humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and formal sciences” departments in order to receive a degree. My TRW class allowed me to be given the feel of English, Theology, History, and Theater classes and expand my knowledge of the four. If a college were to only have students take the courses needed for their desired major, they would miss the opportunities to broaden their horizons. This curriculum fueled my brain to think more critically and never settle for less. I became close to those in my small discussion