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The role of humanism in the education system
Humanism and its importance
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People can be heard underestimating the liberal arts quite frequently. “Why are you studying a liberal art?” “Don’t you want to get a job?” “Is there actually a point?” All it would take for these people to realize their misconception about the significance of the liberal arts is a Google search and some time as there is an extensive amount of information to read and learn about. Contrary to popular belief, the liberal arts, which include but are definitely not limited to English, philosophy, history, and languages, are some of the most important subjects a person can study within the span of his or her lifetime. These programs expose their students to a type of education that is unmatched in other, more “popular” subject areas, one that according to David Brooks in his article The Humanist Vocation, “cultivates the human core, the part of a person we might call the spirit, the soul…”
Instead of sitting students down in desks and having them cram information into their brains, liberal art programs allow their students to ponder and question what they are being taught. Students are actually encouraged to think outside the
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box and come up with well supported answers that are different from what their book or professor says. By taking what they are taught and adding their own thoughts, beliefs, and values to it, liberal art students are able to truly think in an independent and analytical manner and add a new perspective to seemingly old, repeated scenarios and questions. It is the ability to introduce new solutions and answers that sets liberal arts students apart from their peers; the consistency with which they come up with unique and original ideas is what allows them to excel in workplaces and in life in general. These students do not need someone to tell them how to solve an issue for they will have a solution before others understand the nature of the problem. Such a remarkable capability truly makes these students special and rare. Liberal art programs also help their students attain another very important ability, one that is guaranteed to be useful regardless of what career they have in mind and what they want to pursue later in life, the ability to understand “the language of emotion” as stated by David Brooks in his article History for Dollars. This skill allows liberal arts students to communicate more effectively with others, whether it be in their workplace or in public, for they comprehend the basics of human interaction. By being able to connect with others and empathize with them, liberal art majors pave their paths for success for such a capability aids in preventing disputes and arguments, increasing collaboration and teamwork, and creating more lines of communication among coworkers, friends, family, or even strangers. The lessons liberal art students are taught throughout their college education are truly unmatched by other programs available at post-secondary institutions.
Students that graduate with degrees in one of the many fields available within this overall division are generally more than ready to enter the workfield and become successful professionals. With their exceptional critical thinking skills, outstanding communication abilities, and promising potentials, they are usually on the correct path for what they strive to reach in life as soon as they exit college. Students with degrees in the liberal arts tend to achieve great heights during their lifetimes by putting to use the valuable lessons and skills they learned throughout their college education. Liberal arts students liberate themselves, their thoughts, and their surroundings like no
other.
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
“Majoring In Fear” by Mark Shiffman analyzes a shift in the attitudes of today’s youth. He claims that students are choosing more practical pathways out of fear, sacrificing their genuine passions and interests in order to attain a safer career. Shiffman believes this sacrifice is detrimental to students because a liberal arts education catalyzes introspection and spiritual growth. By leaving behind opportunities for such growth, the youth of today lack the capacity and resources for reflection on their lives. Shiffman further illustrates this idea with the claim that students who initially show an interest in the humanities later choose to further their education in Economics or Spanish (Shiffman 5).
As the economy evolves and the job market continues to get more competitive, it’s becoming harder to have a successful career without some kind of college degree. This creates a belief in many young students that college actually is a commodity, something they must have in order to have a good life. There’s many different factors that influence this mindset, high schools must push the importance of the student’s willingness and drive to further their education. College isn’t just a gateway to jobs, but it is an opportunity to increase knowledge and stretch and challenge the student which in return makes them a more rounded adult and provides them with skills they might lack prior 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 Preparing for a Career, Bok said “The practical question then is not whether many students are unwisely choosing vocational majors, but whether both liberal arts and vocational programs could do a better job of reconciling the career needs of students with the other goals of a rounded undergraduate education” ( 341). According to Bok, many students majored in vocational college because it is more beneficial for them; vocational majors are in high demand and pay more than liberal arts. Bok argued that it doesn’t matter what majors the students chose but what can college do to help students in both field. According to Bok, “Employers who complain about the college graduates they hire grumble not only about the lack of sufficient technical and vocational skills but also about deficiencies in speaking, writing and other competencies long associated with a traditional college education” (343). Bok states that most college graduates are lack of writing, and speaking skills because students does not take liberal arts major seriously; they take liberal arts because it is a
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
Critics argue that “overemphasis on liberal arts can be detrimental to people” and ask “why doesn’t one just go to technical school to get what they are really after?” It’s because most jobs require the mental capacity to adapt as time passes. This mental capacity is obtained through studies of the liberal arts. For example, one might ask: what possible use could an executive IT (information technology) Manager have for a class like history 2393: Japanese history?
In the article “The New Liberal Arts,” Sanford J. Ungar presents the argument of why liberal arts schools are still competitive and useful today. The beginning of the article immediately addresses the problem that Ungar is defending, “Hard economic times inevitably bring scrutiny of all accepted ideals and institutions, and this time around liberal-arts education has been especially hit hard.” The author provides credibility through his time of being a liberal arts presidents, applies statistics about the enrollment and job security outside of liberal college, he addresses the cost factor and how a student may find compensation, and that a liberal arts college is not preparing students for success. The article “The New Liberal Arts,” addresses
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.
College is a popular topic for most, and Sanford J. Ungar and Charles Murray have a unique way of explaining both their opinions. In his essay, “The New Liberal Arts,” Sanford J. Ungar advocates that the liberal arts should be everybody’s education, regardless of the fact that most Americans are facing economic hardship. The first misconception that he begins to explain is “a liberal arts degree is a luxury that most families can no longer afford”. Career education” is what we now must focus on.”
A look back at the institution of education over the past 20 years will reveal that once upon a time a bachelor’s degree was long since considered the marker of ultimate success, the highest level of achievement that one could make in their lives. In those days, if for some reason you failed to march across the stage on graduation day after an epic, four-year stretch of high tuition, long nights studying, and unrelenting professors that found great joy in riding your back, then you had indeed failed at life.
Over the past few years, people have begun to see going to college as a way to achieve the American Dream through career-readiness. People used to go to college, hoping to get a better well-rounded education. For most the well-rounded education, it usually came with the courses required for a liberal arts education. The courses would provide a level of analytical and in-depth understanding that would prepare the students for both life and whichever career path chosen. No matter the amount of money paid, parents would be willing to gi...
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.
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
There is a debate about if liberal arts are still applicable in today’s society. Well, Sanford Ungar, in his work “The New Liberal Arts,” unveils eight misperceptions of modern day liberal arts in our post-secondary educational institutions. Society has labeled liberal education as too expensive, unnecessary, and out of date. Liberal arts are the baseline for education and the author exploits the untold truths of the benefits of obtaining a liberal arts degree. Ungar reveals to us that liberal arts still hold a worthy place in society ranging from communication skills, better writing, and having a degree that covers a wide range of topics that could be applied to a plethora of jobs in the work force. He tests