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Liberal arts education why is it important
Liberal arts education why is it important
Importance of the liberal arts
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A liberal arts core or curriculum is defined as the areas of study or learning that cultivate intellectual thinking and ideas rather than technical work or skills. By providing work within this curriculum students can achieve excellence throughout their college career. Although there is this aspect, a liberal arts core is often questioned if it is really necessary for a successful college career. This paper will discuss how and why a liberal arts curriculum is important as well as how this curriculum can lead to pursuing excellence during a college career as well as having success after college. A liberal arts curriculum is often debated in many circumstances. Some people believe the liberal arts curriculum is not necessary for a college career, but this is not true. A liberal arts curriculum provides the teachings of necessary skills and ideas that are not taught by just learning a technical skill. People who pursue a liberal arts curriculum are often more successful in college and after college because this curriculum provides teaching in areas such as human development, communication …show more content…
and problem solving. With the use of skills gained through a liberal arts curriculum people will have better interviews due to improved communication skills, the ability to connect more with people of different ethnicities, religions and even genders due to a better understanding of different lifestyles as well as the ability to work effectively when placed in a situation that needs a problem solved quickly and efficiently. All of these skills gained through a liberal arts curriculum are extremely important in the career I am studying to pursue, being an Emergency Medicine Physician’s Assistant. By studying a liberal arts curriculum a person can pursue excellence by having skills and knowledge not everyone in their field may due to others not following this curriculum. This excellence can be represented through communication skills such as having knowledge of different languages, grades and knowledge due to a required GPA, and even the ability to excel in problem solving. With these skills provided by liberal arts, many can excel above and beyond what is expected of them in their field of study. Oh The Places You’ll Go by Dr.Seuss helps to show how the ideas taught in a liberal arts curriculum are important for our years after college.
In this children’s book, Seuss presents a character, a small boy dressed in yellow, who represents “you” goes out of their known town into a large and unknown place. Here they discover everything is different and your knowledge and confidence isn’t always enough to make it. Seuss states “Out there things can happen, and frequently do, to people as brainy, and footsy as you,” which shows that everyday knowledge isn’t always enough, sometimes you need extra skills, like a liberal arts curriculum provides, to help you succeed in the real world. Seuss also states “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go,” which shows that more knowledge can only help bring you further in
life. As you can see a liberal arts curriculum is very beneficial to students. By providing knowledge and skills, such as communication and problem solving, you can only become more successful when going out into the real world. These skills can help you to pursue excellence in college as well as in your career after college. With these skills and knowledge implemented into your everyday lifestyle, just as Dr. Seuss said it, oh the places you’ll go.
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
Many americans tend to believe that in today's day and age, college students should study more “important” jobs such as politics, engineering, or farming and that these jobs offer a better career path than French or philosophy, however this is not the case. According to Ungar, “A 2009 survey for the Association of American Colleges and Universities actually found that more than three-quarters of our nation’s employers recommend that collegebound students pursue a ‘liberal education.’” (Ungar par. 7). This quote proves that achieving a liberal arts degree can actually be more beneficial to college
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.
Liberal arts education produces analytical thinking, and professions are looking for that as an alternative to just specializing in one subject. “Who wants to hire somebody with an irrelevant major like philosophy or French,” but in reality, everyone is finding it harder to find a job in this economy, not just liberal arts majors. He then answers the question about “being a low income, or first generation college student,” and Ungar begins to state that it is ignorant to consider that just because an individual is the first generation that they cannot be given the same kind of education as someone else who is not a first generation. Some may believe that liberal arts does not take part in the mathematical and scientific side of education, but it does in the broadest parts. Sanford Ungar has the right idea that more people should major in the liberal arts, and I definitely like how he put his essays into the “seven misconceptions.”
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...
An undergraduate that is primarily focusing on a liberal major has the tendency to become lazy. “Colleges have allowed widespread grade inflation and shown increased tolerance of late or incomplete work” (46). A ripple effect swept through the majority of students and led to apathetic habits. The realization of this, made colleges decide what kind of educational opportunity that can help in the improvement of the little effort being put into liberal major responsibilities. “A much more controversial step would be to allow undergraduates to take a small number of elective courses in practical vocational subjects, such as accounting, marketing, or finance”
The view of what college is and what the experience of college offers, differ dramatically between an individual and the society he or she lives. College has traditionally been viewed as the place young adults go to find themselves, find their career, and start their adult lives. Some have argued that education has veered too far away from tradition, while others argue that the whole idea of Liberal Education needs to keep evolving to meet the demands of the modern world. Those in favor of change argue for more diversity within the curriculum, such as more non-western world education and feminist thought. However, the traditional educational ideal has not completely vanished. At the majority of colleges in America the Liberal Arts, or General Education, is the core requirement that every student must take regardless of major. A liberal education studies the idea of what it means to be a good human being. The Liberal Arts are important to everyone because it tries to grasp each individual’s uniqueness and find their place in society. These classes aim to challenge students to become better people, better citizens, and overall create a better society. Liberal Arts try to grasp the knowledge and skills humans have used to rationally understand human existence for thousands of years. By creating culturally diverse campuses and studying topics like philosophy; students learn to question life, question society, and find answers to what it means to be a good person. All of these innovations together along with better informed and intelligent students help form societies focused on equality and the future of human civilization.
College students may still be majoring in liberal arts due to being too specialized in college or not researching enough about the college they will be attending. Going to college for the first time without an open mind and being too narrowly minded could be the never-ending cycle of college. Which can possibly lead to a career mistake and in “Why Focusing Too Narrowly in College Could Backfire,” by Peter Cappelli, he explains exactly why. Peter Cappelli points out
One question that may come to mind is, “What is liberal education?”. The answer is simple, liberal education is an approach to learn, that teaches people the ways of life. Liberal education has come to be a “necessity” in our world today. According to Huffington’s Post. “All successful careers require critical thinking, teamwork, sensitivity to cultural, demographic, economic and societal differences and political perspectives” (Ray).
Education— or rather, the act of being educated— can take a wide variety of forms; the term education in itself is very broad and nonspecific. People learn new things every day whether they are conscious of it or not, which begs the question “what constitutes an education?” Higher education, for example, typically consists of being affiliated with some institution such as a university, or a lone college. Such educations may also follow the liberal arts methodology, depending on the values of the institution that is being attended. A liberal arts education, as opposed to some more straight forward methods of education such as STEM, allows for far more freedom of choice in your education—in fact, a broad education is encouraged at such institutions. Therefore, a true liberal arts education would lead to a far more-well-rounded pupil than those that follow more direct—or
For a while now, educational experts have had a challenge on the relevance of liberal arts education. Many Liberal arts colleges are now considered to be dismissed as outmoded or “in trouble” by some colleges. Some even say there’s no point in obtaining a college degree, if Steve Jobs or Bill Gates who are millionaires never completed an undergraduate degree. We are raised and prepared to believe that a person needs a higher education degree in order to be successful in life.
Education", really drives home the importance and benefits of a liberal arts education. And when
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
College is a time for students to be introspective, allowing for self-discovery and personal growth. The liberal arts core is essential for offering classroom experiences to broaden student knowledge as well as to catalyze this process of personal development within higher education. No matter what major or career path a student intends on studying and pursuing, the liberal arts core is always beneficial. For my major specifically, talking with patients is essential. Speech pathology is a career and major that requires interaction with clients and their family members. Practicing communication is ultimately the main method of therapy, yet communication is impossible without having something to talk about. The liberal arts core educates future
The importance of school has been emphasized for the people that come from the working class or people that do not have the most money, since a very young age. They have the idea from their parents that education will ensure a better future with a sure thing for financial security. However, not everyone wants to have the same education. Liberal education is an approach on college education that empowers and prepares people to deal with complexity, diversity, and challenge as said by Association of American Colleges & Universities website. It should not be confused with general education that is part of liberal education by being the education that is shared by all students. The lessons that are given are taught in a broader sense so that kids can learn about a certain subject for themselves and gain more interest in the certain subject to then go on to