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.
Recent research shows that higher education is extremely valuable for those whom attended a university and graduated with at least a four-year bachelor’s degree. (Dam, N.P.) Those students who have graduated with a four-year degree are making more money than those who only graduated High School. The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics has come to a conclusion that someone with a four-year degree makes an average of $20,748 more each year than someone who doesn’t have a degree. (Ebersole, 2012) A student who doesn’t attend college will make an average of $1.2 million throughout their lifetime and a student who graduates college will earn an average $2.1 million throughout their lifetime.
. Many of us view higher education as an investment that will pay off in the long run, but many others would tell you that you are just wasting time and money. Some may think that college isn’t worth it; there are many useless degrees out there that people have paid for and are unable to find jobs. In an article, Wala Blegay wrote, when College is Not Worth The Money and he said, “Most fields don’t even require you to hold a degree. Your dream career path might not even require a degree.” This is true because there are many jobs that don’t require a college degree, if ...
... middle of paper ...
...ert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter. “Tuesdays with Morrie” is about how we should work for money, instead of doing what you want for people we love for free. The second, “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” is about getting an education to teach students how to work, even by earning a higher salary by working; it’s a waste of money. No matter what college degree you earn, it will still be a waste of time and money; for example, a computer science major gets you a high salary, but you will be a slave to entrepreneurs. (Greenspun, 1999)
In conclusion, college is worth it at the end, as those with a higher educational degree will of course be making more money than a person with a high school diploma. More jobs should be created for those students who are majoring in Liberal Arts while more students should focus on majoring in any of the STEM degree due to all the job offers available.
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
Instead, Sanford J. Ungar presents the arguments that all higher education is expensive and needs to be reevaluated for Americans. He attempts to divert the argument of a liberal arts education tuition by stating “ The cost of American higher education is spiraling out id control, and liberal-arts colleges are becoming irrelevant because they are unable to register gains i productivity or to find innovative ways of doing things” (Ungar 661). The author completely ignores the aspects of paying for a liberal arts degree or even the cost comparison to a public university. Rather, Ungar leads the reader down a “slippery slope” of how public universities attain more funding and grants from the government, while liberal arts colleges are seemingly left behind. The author increasingly becomes tangent to the initial arguments he presented by explaining that students have a more interactive and personal relationship with their professors and other students. Sanford J. Ungar did not address one aspect of the cost to attend a liberal arts college or how it could be affordable for students who are not in the upper class.
In the past several years, there has been a growing trend in the number of college-bound individuals getting two-year degrees from community colleges or earning certification for their desired career field at vocational schools. Such schools certainly seem to have some valuable qualities: all boast of having lower costs than other colleges, of their absence of student loans, of allowing people to make more money quicker, of being narrowly focused so students don’t have to take classes they don’t need. They attempt to point out apparent weaknesses in liberal arts colleges as well, claiming that such an education is unnecessary in today’s world. However, for every reason to go to a community or two-year college, a vocational track, or an apprenticeship, there is another, stronger reason for going to a traditional, four-year college, and the liberal arts degree gained at four year colleges far outstrips the degree gained at a two year school or through a vocational track.
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.
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.
College is the place where people go to retain the necessary training for a job that requires specific skills, which results in earning a higher pay check. In today’s world, employers are scouting out for individuals with the proper dexterities to fill the shoes for that specific job. Blanche D. Blank, the author of “A Question of Degree," argues that possessing a degree of higher education isn’t the only way to have a very successful life. This statement is highly argumentative, due to the fact that college graduates still out-earn people without degrees. Obtaining a college degree is one of the best things someone can do for themselves, when it comes to looking for a stable job. There is also so much more to college than just receiving a
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.”
The federal government provides a protected status, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (“SIJS”), to immigrant youth that cannot be reunited with one or both of their parents due to abuse, neglect, abandonment, or another similar basis under state law. In order for Tatiana to be eligible for SIJS, federal law requires that a “juvenile court” issue a special finings order, an order that states the necessary factual findings that are a perquisite to petition United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) for SIJS.
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...
In addition, the writer of “The Benefits of a College Degree” wrote that”One of the most important and obvious reasons to earn a college degree is to increase your earning potential”(“The Benefits”). While it is true that college is indubitably expensive, the years of learning a particular trade or skill for the future of career of these students is important and worth the cost. Also, students can apply for a variety of scholarships for different amounts of money to help pay for college and lower the amount of debt caused by schooling. Furthermore, multiple students believe that a college education is not needed for their future and that they can get good paying jobs without it. This philosophy does not apply to any good paying careers with the exception of the military and some construction jobs. The good paying jobs require at least a bachelor’s degree in many cases, except for a few that require an
There is a graph that was published in the article “Value of a College Degree” and it does a phenomenal job showing the difference between having a high school degree compared to having some sort of college education. Although it shows that the average person who gets a bachelors in college tends to make about 500 dollars more than someone that only has a high school diploma, it also shows that the unemployment rate for people with a bachelors degree is about half that of someone with only a high school diploma
In Charles Murray’s essay entitled “Are Too Many People Going to College?”, he discusses the influx of Americans getting a college education. He addresses the topic of Liberal Arts education, and explains that not many people are ready for the rigorous challenges a liberal-arts degree offers. In addition, Murray explains that instead of a traditional degree more people should apply to technical schools. He believes that college should not be wide spread, and that it is only for those who can handle it. These viewpoints harshly contrast with Sanford J. Ungar’s views. Ungar believes college education should be widespread, because a liberal-arts degree is, in his opinion, a necessity. He argues that a liberal-arts college is the only place that
Civil rights guarantees rights to U.S. citizens and residents by the constitution and legislation. Freedom of speech and freedom from certain types of discrimination are some civil rights protected by the constitution. The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the U.S. constitution. Specific rights for U.S. citizens are reserved, and rights that are guaranteed by the constitution cannot be removed or abridged by another state. In 1857 the Dred Scott v. Sandford case declared that slaves could not sue in court because they were not citizens. In 1865 the thirteenth amendment was enacted to stop slavery, to enforce this amendment congress was given power to enact laws that were necessary. The fourteenth amendment ratified in 1868 states that every person born or naturalized in the United States is a citizen, and ensure the state does not deprive a citizen of his/her rights. The first civil rights law guaranteed equal rights for all people who lived in the United States. The second law guaranteed each citizen equal right to sell, rent, purchase, or inherit real or personal property. The third original law provided citizens with the right to bring civil action for a violation of protected rights. The fourth made violations of these rights a criminal offense. The civil rights act of 1964 is the most comprehensive civil rights legislation in U.S. history. Title VII of the act prohibits employment discrimination based on the employee's color, sex, religion, race, or national origin. Despite the decision of the Plessy v. Ferguson case many people still pressed for the Jim Crow laws to be ended. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People which was founded in 1909 was one of the organizations pressing to end the ...
People with a college degree tend to make more money than those who didn’t attend college. This is because most of the jobs that have a higher earning require a college degree. People that only get their school diploma don’t make as much money as someone with a college degree. A study done suggest that people who have a college degree are more likely to get hired because they have an education compared to those who don’t. According to the United States Bureau people who achieved the current degrees earned the following median salaries. People with a doctorate degree earn $100,000 or more. With a bachelor’s degree people earn $58,000 and people with an associates earn $42,000 or more(Lucier). A High School diploma is not worth as much as a college degree. A High school diploma means less today because of the shaping of the world. People who only have a high school diploma earn only about $33,000. These numbers also depend on the type of field that you are going into. For example, people that have a bachelor’s degree in engineering or management will earn a little bit more (Lynn). They will earn more because these fields are really important. In my opinion the United States has been transformed
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.