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The New Liberal Arts by Sanford J Ungar
The new liberal arts analysis sanford j ungar
The New Liberal Arts by Sanford J Ungar
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People go to college to get a good paying job, have job security, and get a degree. Well at least that’s what it should be about. That’s what Charles Murray believes in his essay “Are Too Many People Going to College.” Murray counters the argument of Sanford Ungar who believes colleges should have a more liberal approach towards its classes and have students actually learn a broad range of real life skills instead of just going into a career just because it pays well. In Ungar’s essay he explains the misperception that Americans have on obtaining a liberal-arts degree and how they believe it doesn’t translate well to the real world.
Michael Metzdorf Dr.Tomko WRT-101-039 3/4/16 Comparing and Contrasting Two Articles Both articles, “Are Too Many People Going to College?” and “Blue-Collar Brilliance,” differ in many ways from each of the author’s own experiences. The first article “Are Too Many People Going to College” argues a bachelor’s degree is a necessity and your ticket into the working world. If a person doesn’t get a 4-year-college degree society will judge him or her as being not as smart or less than someone who possesses a bachelor’s degree. However, “Blue-Collar Brilliance” argues that while it’s still important to get a bachelor’s degree, there are still some good high paying jobs that don’t require any college education at all.
The article “Liberal Arts and The Bottom Line” by Lane Wallace suggests that business executives that are being taught more liberal art based courses will be taught how to be a well-rounded human being. Instead of being all about what Wallace refers to as the bottom line, which can do great harm to the economy and the company’s employees, it is presented that business executives that took liberal arts courses are less concerned about the business bottom line and more about the well-being of the people around them. Wallace’s argument that liberal arts shapes a person into a more well-rounded human being is not effectively supported in the article. Being a business executive comes with the responsibility of trying to increase its profits.
Caroline Bird’s argument against postsecondary education is incorrect, specifically her beliefs that students are exposed to too many options and graduates only desire jobs that save people. First, Caroline Bird shares her belief that “a college experience that piles option on option …merely adds to the contemporary nightmare.” Although too many options are sometimes overwhelming, limiting choices would also create undue pressure for students. For instance, as a student, I am exposed to several options: what classes I should take, what major I should major in, what professors I should take, etc.
In his Essay “Are too many people going to college,” first published in a 2008 issue of AEI, Charles Murray explores many insights onto the topic of furthering education as well as exploring various other options to pursue after high school. Who exactly would think that too many people are going to college? Well with more and more students flooding campuses at the end of every school year and less and less going into trade schools, a shift in the job market is just beginning to be seen on the horizon. Charles Murray’s essay “Are too many people going to college” shows that not only are there other avenues to pursue a potential life long career, but that much of the time pursuing these avenues may offer better results for some wanting to go to college.
Ungar’s theory of attending college and earning a degree, is extremely useful because it sheds insight on the difficult problem of many people debating whether or not going to college and earning a degree is the correct decision after graduating college. I agree with Ungar, that graduating high school students should go on and earn a higher education, which is a point that needs emphasizing, since so many people believe that without a college degree they will be successful. High school graduates that have entered the work field after high school graduation, of course, may want to dispute my claim that in order to become successful person you do not need a college education. Many may argue that they have become a successful without a college
As a college student who is currently spending thousands of dollars to further my education and achieve a career goal, it was, at first, disheartening to read Caroline Bird ’s essay “College is a Waste of Time and Money”. However, after thoroughly examining her points, I now see that her essay is illogical. In her piece “College is a Waste of Time and Money”, Caroline Bird argues against the idea that “college is the best place for all high-school graduates” (1); in other words, college isn’t for everyone. Throughout her writing, Bird supplies her readers with evidence that explains how, for some individuals, college is a waste of not only time and money, but of intellectual effort, as well.
This fact indicates that people who work actively in the arts are more creative, since it proves people who are more active in the arts create more inventions. In addition, this evidence demonstrates another job in which an arts education is valuable: being an inventor. In addition, a Michigan State University study found that the arts are valuable tools “...for the economic recovery of Michigan and the nation” (Source A). In July 2011, Michigan’s unemployment rate was 10.9 percent (Source A). Using education in the arts will help people obtain more jobs, which is essential in this time of high unemployment rates.
One specific item that was brought to my attention from the article was the purpose of the liberal arts education, and the “requirements” as noted from an institution but interpreted in my understanding. It is competency in communication, using the modes of thought characteristic of the major areas of knowledge, a knowledge of our basic cultural heritage, and a thorough understanding of at least one subject area (Cronon, W., 1998). My interpretation of this would be agreeing on the importance/competency of communication, but emphasizing the knowledge of culture as it applies from a global perspective, critical thinking as it should be applied and accentuating the understanding of at least one subject area. After reading the article, my understanding of the meaning of a liberal arts education, is heightened by the learning outcomes and prominence of the breadth areas as they are applied to my knowledge and 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).
I’ve always been fascinated with psychology and writing because I believe those subjects improve one’s cognitive understanding and ability to connect with people. Marcus’s success in the business world through his charisma and way of creative thinking and his endorsement of psychology’s value to successfully connecting to people made me want to create a diverse skillset. This segues into key takeaways I had from points shared by Shaily Baranwal and Daniel Pink on the importance of liberal arts in the short-term and long-term future. I’ve always had a great admiration of artists for their ability to cultivate culture and create beautiful crafts, but I’ve never valued the cerebral aspect of it. Despite the infamy associated with Baranwal’s contradictory lecture, the points she introduced on the value of developing new talents and garnering a diverse skill set were important to me and has motivated me to spend time outside of Ross to improve my skills.
Getting a degree from liberal art college isn't a bad thing especially if you go to
Going to college for many students is just a normal part of life. It is what will enable them to get an education that eventually will lead to get a well-paid job and the resources and the status to live a comfortable life. But for college professor, Andrew Delbanco, the American college has a higher purpose. In the article “College at Risk”, Delbanco states that colleges should be promoting critical thinking among students, through knowledge of the past and the interaction with each other; as well as, help them discover their talents and passions and figure out what they want to do in life. This type of education is called liberal arts and for Delbanco, it represents the ideal education.
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
Why Have Arts in Schools? President Barack Obama once said, “The future belongs to young people with an education and the imagination to create.” In schools, one of the most overlooked and underfunded subjects are the arts. During the 1930s, art education was greatly supported in the U.S. However, as time progressed the focus of education shifted to more standardized tests, science, and math.
