Reflective Essay: The Value Of A Liberal Arts Education

There is immense value in the broad and deep learning provided by a liberal arts education. Students are not only allowed, but encouraged to pursue passions while also discovering and developing new ones. It exposes students to new ways of thinking and new areas of study, enhancing their ability to see and understand the web of connectivity throughout the world. It provides a framework in which to develop and practice critical thinking skills and the broad base further supports one’s adaptability, allowing one to stay highly effective in a rapidly changing world. A liberal arts education goes beyond the classroom to impart timeless skills that enable students to be lifelong learners and thrive in an unpredictable environment. It provides an education for a lifetime, not just a job.

A liberal arts education is uniquely valuable because it does what other styles of education often fail to

It teaches one to see the connectivity of everything, which is especially vital as the world becomes seemingly smaller and more interconnected. My injury led me to attend a semester school, Outdoor Academy, which was my first experience with anything similar to a liberal arts education. Every Friday was a “cornerstone day,” which was basically “liberal arts” day. Each week a different topic was the focus of the day, and we used various methods to explore and learn about them. We learned to see the connection each topic had to us individually, as a community, and its impact on a global scale. Each week I learned new ways to think about the web of connectivity and used that to deepen and broaden my knowledge and problem solving skills. I learned to more deeply appreciate the value of viewing the world from multiple perspectives. I loved learning in this way and especially appreciate that a liberal arts education would broaden my thinking even