Jobs are looking for you to be well rounded, and having a liberal arts degree opens the door for you to be able to accomplish that. Ungar goes on to explain how there is a misperception about college graduates not being able to find jobs with a liberal arts education. Ungar uses a survey to show that companies actually prefer employees that have the skills and knowledge that a liberal arts education offers. Ungar states that some believe a liberal arts education is unsuccessful.
For instance Ungar has this to say about students receiving a liberal arts education, “They come to terms with complexity and diversity, and otherwise devise means to solve problems-rather than just complaining about them. They develop patterns to help them understand how to keep learning for the rest of their days” (232). Although I agree a liberal arts education can accomplish that, a person can also learn that through a job, in Mike Rose’s “Blue Collar Brilliance” he speaks of his mother, who dropped out of school in 7th grade (275). Without having an education Rose’s mother became a waitress, though her job seems simple it is not, she had to assess her duties at the restaurant and determine what order would help her accomplish her tasks in a timely fashion. Rose’s mother also had to deduce the moods and needs of each and every customer, according to Rose “her tip depended on how well she responded to these needs, and so she became adept at reading social cues and managing feelings, both the customers’ and her own” (275).
There are advantages to this though, someone who gets a liberal arts degree might be better at certain things such as comprehension, problem solving, and critical thinking. Many of those skills are wanted by employers when they are looking to hire a college graduate. On the other hand, Murray believes pursuing a liberal arts degree is a waste of time. Murray, claims are mostly valid because on average it takes longer for a liberal arts graduate to find a job, and they start off making less than the average professional career. He believes people are looking for innovators not just
Ever wanted to throw down that textbook and read something enjoyable for once? Well, go ahead! Chunk that dull textbook out a window and pick up a comic; it will be more beneficial to your education than you think. The skills and values that liberally educated people should posses can vary from different views, yet the list of ten qualities that William Cronon created in his article, “’Only Connect…’ The Goals of a Liberal Education”(1998), is an inspirational goal for the liberally educated. Cronon’s list of qualities includes solving problems and puzzles, empowering others, and understanding how to get stuff done in the world.
A higher education pushes individuals to think, question and explore new and valuable ideas. An excellent education teaches students how to credibly think and prioritise when learning. David Wallace, who gave the Kenyon commencement speech, quoted, “[Learning how to think] means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and to choose how you construct meaning from experience”. In his speech, Wallace is endorsing the idea that a higher education doesn't just throw knowledge at students, but it teaches them how to selectively compose their thoughts and construct a meaning from knowledge. Wallace also makes the point that individuals need to learn to adjust their “natural default setting” to become less self-centered.
These logical claims support the article's contention that a liberal arts education will prepare graduates for living more successful and fulfilling
The Purpose of a Christian Liberal Art Education As I was reading the article I found all the topics to be very important in life. I feel all the topics in the article are a great resource to know that we use all these in everyday life and how the topics show that Liberal Arts Education is important to my future. The most important topic I found was that a liberal arts education enhances wisdom and faith. The reason I found this important is because wisdom and faith are very important in life because both topics contribute to knowledge and happiness. Wisdom helps a person by helping that person gain knowledge about every aspect of life and to get an understanding of life.
In my opinion, I agree with Murray’s claim that four year college is not worth, job satisfaction for intrinsic reward, and the dark side of the Bachelor's degree. In my view, Murray’s is right, because college requires student to take 32 courses in four years or longer and not all courses are relate to the field they study with. More specifically, I believe that four years college will take more time to achieve our goal and knowledges doesn’t teach us how to make a living in our society. Murray described in his article, “More people should be getting the basic of a liberal education. But for most students, the places to provide those basics are elementary and middle school” (235).
Sanders offers a new perspective of angle on the concept of learning. When thinking of learning, most jump to memorization or intelligence, but Sanders argues that is not actually learning. He views learning as improving one’s self-image and comprehension so that they can use those skills in the future. He also offers a new perspective on the questions to ask about a college education. One shouldn’t ask how can I get my degree, but rather how they can get the most out of their degree.
Pascarella et al. (2005) further define a liberal arts education as one with “a strong emphasis on teaching and student development, a common valuing of the life of the mind, small size, a shared intellectual experience, high academic expectations, and frequent interactions inside and outside the classroom”. Further, students of liberal arts education are encouraged to raise questions, challenge assumptions, and make their own discoveries. A significant amount of learning takes place outside of the classroom.
Ungar’s essay, Charles Murray discusses why a liberal arts degree is unnecessary in his essay, “Are Too Many People Going to College?”. Murray believes that the basics of a liberal education are indeed important, but that students should be provided the basics of liberal arts in elementary and middle school (Murray 223). In this essay, Murray cites E.D. Hirsch Jr.’s book Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know.” Hirsch Jr. and Murray believe that there is a “body of core knowledge” that all students should have, and that “this core knowledge is an important part of the glue that holds the culture together” but that this core knowledge should be taught in grades K-8 (Murray 224). Murray discusses how young children are much better at memorizing facts than adults are, to support his position that kids should be memorizing this core knowledge at a younger age (Murray 224).
Being educated in the liberal arts field will give many benefits as well as its accompanying widespread knowledge. Firstly, it teaches students how to think through drilling different techniques in the brain to make it a more useful instrument. Techniques such as critical thinking are a workout for the brain that aids you to think for yourself throughout ideas in different contexts. Another benefit is that it teaches students how to learn as it allows them to develop the required skills to become lifelong learners, which will be needed to be able to perform in excellence throughout their career. Liberal arts education enhances students’ wisdom and faith.
Liberal education emphasizes the importance of critical thinking, communication, and intellectual curiosity, and conversatio is a key way in which these skills are developed. Through conversatio, students learn how to listen to others, express their own ideas clearly and persuasively, and engage in respectful and thoughtful dialogue with others. Conversatio also encourages students to explore different perspectives and to appreciate the complexity of the world around them. By engaging in conversatio, students develop the skills and habits of mind that are essential to a well-rounded liberal
Ungar he says “the Association of American Colleges and Universities found that more than three-quarters of our nation’s employers recommended that college bound students pursue a liberal education… 89 percent said they were looking for the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing… and develop better critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills” (228). Since more employers is looking for employees with skills that a liberal education provides they would have a better advantage over the employee who didn’t gain those similar
In David Foster Wallace’s “ Kenyon Commencement Speech,” he discusses the importance of liberal arts education in “teaching you how to think” (Wallace, 199). He mentions how education is beyond the knowledge we learn, but about simple awareness will impact the choices we make for better or worse. The real value of education cannot be found in a career (you may or may not be fired from), but it can be found in the way you view things through a different perspective and by considering how other factors can contribute to everyday life. This new approach in thinking will allow us to appreciate our lives and overcome our inner “default setting” towards the world (Wallace, 199). I agree with Wallace’s argument because the purpose of higher education should not be about having career-specific skills and obtaining a degree, but about intellectual and personal growth will help us survive in the real world.
