The Liberal Arts Ungar Analysis

“The Liberal Arts”

In this essay “The Liberal Arts”, Ungar depicts the importance of having a liberal arts degree and the misperceptions we have grown to believe. He focuses on the main points as to why liberal arts have become irrelevant to society. Liberal arts are expressed in this essay as the foundation of life, and how a liberal arts degree helps individuals grow personally and career wise. His views on this matter establish a deeper understanding to the importance of obtaining a degree in liberal arts. Three main points that really stood out to me include the expense to having a liberal arts career, misperception of the education career path, and the importance of a liberal arts degree.

First and foremost let me begin with the understatement of college being too expensive and how hard it’s to get a degree without having any sort of financial assistance is the first main point of Ungar’s essay. In fact, college has gotten even more expensive due to the tax raises and the issues that affect our economy. As mentioned in Ungar’s essay, “A liberal-arts degree is a luxury that most families can no longer afford” (227). Obtaining a liberal arts degree has become so expensive due to the fact that many people find it to be an irrelevant source of degree. The

government in connection doesn’t provide as much support for the colleges to make it more affordable for students to attend this kind of degree. “The best way to understand genuine national priorities is to follow the money, and by that standard, education is really not all that important to this country,” with that said Ungar makes a great statement to the leading reason as to why students don’t approach this career path (231). Students are afraid to take an extensive course that will require a long financial assessment into the future. Indeed obtaining a degree in college is an expensive investment that will be regarded in the future.
For this reason many people believe that the way to a career path is by taking a shortcut and getting straight to the high-paying jobs as mentioned by Ungar in his essay. Indeed this is a misperception that can really impact an individual’s life by not taking all the preparations necessary to be a successful person. Many students lack on the sources that taking a liberal arts degree provides in the sense of learning how to excel in writing and reading, as well as communicating in the outside world. As Ungar states, “America is the only country in the world that clings such an old-fashioned form of postsecondary education as the liberal arts”, many other countries provide a different route to a career path by engaging in the liberal arts as soon after high school (230). America doesn’t impose liberal arts as a career path as much as other countries nor is supported with the equality of other degrees.
Ultimately, America is lacking in the importance of taking a liberal arts degree and the
benefits it provides to an individual as perceived by Ungar in his essay.

By taking a liberal arts degree, students are obtaining knowledge and critical thinking that high-paying job careers won’t provide. As for example, “Plenty of philosophy and physics majors work on Wall Street, and the ability to analyze and compare literature across cultures is a skill linked to many other fields, including law and medicine”, a liberal arts degree is so important because not only does it give you life skills but prepares you for far more advancement challenges (228). Ungar expresses liberal arts as a degree where students will learn not just to make a living, but also living a life that ponder values and

character.
Ungar has definitely depicted great points to the misperception of having a liberal arts degree and how America lacks on this aspect. His view on this subject not only portrayed the importance of having a liberal arts degree, but also the many advantages this degree provides both career wise and in life. Through Ungar’s views on this matter we were able to have more knowledge on the expense to having a liberal arts career, misperception of the education career path, and the importance of a liberal arts degree. Indeed taking a liberal arts degree not only satisfies an individual’s career but promotes lifelong skills that many other degrees lack in the long run.