A Study on Financing, Liberal Arts, and Equity

There was a time when America’s education system was top-notch according to the culture and society. With time, a myriad of things has changed, but unfortunately what has not evolved is the American education system. The country is still following a system which was not designed for the current global economic climate. Equality, as positive as it sounds is not as sufficient when it comes to education. The system treats students equally yet expect a similar culmination and outcome. Every child has his individuality and distinct abilities; one cannot judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree. Conversely, a few of the prominent reasons why the education system is failing are overcrowded schools, the rise of technology, and following the same old school hours.

America used to thrive on its education system and that is why it became one of the greatest nations in the world. Education is the backbone of our country, and we must give high priority to improve its current condition. Unfortunately, in the past couple of decades, the education system has been regressing. It has been on the decline and not as effective. The quality of education in a country has an influence on GDP growth, social cohesion and social well being in general. In order to improve the quality of education in the U.S., the following must be taken into consideration: the structure of our education system must be reanalyzed, we must compare and contrast our education system to systems of other countries with higher rankings, and finally, there must be a solution.

In his article “ The New Liberal Arts,” Sanford J. Ungar talks about how undergoing a Liberal-Arts education is criticized by many and in his arguments he brings seven very important points of misconceptions. The first point he discusses how many assume that liberal education is not a necessity but he argues that students need to know what they want as a career. Choosing an education that is right for them rather than being driven by other economic factors. To a job the is unsatisfying and they can barely make a living from. Ungar also argues that even with a liberal arts degree or any other degree, in economically tough times it will be just as hard to get a job. Companies will look to hire individuals based on what other and new skill sets they may have to offer.

Martin Luther King Junior said, “Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.” Higher education does not exist for the sole purpose of preparing students for future jobs; it’s there in order to prepare individuals for life where they are expected to participate in their community, their government, and the lives of those around them. Liberal arts, in particular, exist for the broadening of students’ minds in order for them to be successful not only in their chosen career but also in their lives outside of it. Liberal arts lost their past popularity during the last few decades, but they shouldn’t be disregarded in favor of technical and professional degrees because they still provide students with skills that are perhaps less tangible, but no less necessary for life in modern world.

The author concludes that the debate of liberal education will continue throughout generations to come. That students should immerse themselves within liberal arts not to just make a living, but to become more complex and diverse, to find creative ways to solve new problems, and develop as a person as a person. (Ugar 196) By incorporating the gained knowledge of the liberal arts, undergraduates can pass it down to the future

Being slightly educated in liberal arts is essential to being a well-rounded person. Knowing liberal arts widens a person’s horizon, creating a different mindset. Although knowing some liberal arts is a good quality to take out into the real world, it is not necessary to get a degree in liberal arts if the person does not plan to pursue a job in the liberal arts field. There are more cons than pros in getting a full liberal arts education. Although a liberal arts degree makes for a well-rounded person out in the real world, it takes up a lot of time and money, and will narrow a person’s chances of getting a job.

“Public education does not exist for the benefit of students or for the benefit of their parents. It exists for the benefit of social order,” (John Green). In America, students must endure 12 years of mandatory schooling, and ideally, it should benefit the individual student, but does it actually prepare students for the “real world”? And even after the effort to force students to learn by legally requiring them to go school, “57% of students will not graduate from over 2,000 schools across the nation,” (Waiting for Superman). The American education system focuses on standards, therefore, does not prepare students for the real world.

Liberal arts prepare diligent students for success by providing them opportunities to learn about themselves and about others around them. The liberal arts shape students’ perspective making them become more diverse in how they view the world. It teaches students qualitative thought and quantitative thought and how those two types of thought come together to form conclusions and effective decisions. Not only does the liberal arts require students to think critically, but it also creates students who know how to write and speak efficiently. A student who know how to talk to people and knows how to explain their thought process will eventually become leaders and great citizens for society.

Now that I am in college, I have pondered upon whether a liberal arts education is better than a vocational education; a topic that did not cross my mind in high school. A liberal arts curriculum includes the studies intended to primarily provide general knowledge such as language, philosophy, literature, and abstract science and to develop general intellectual capacities, such as reason and judgment, as opposed to professional or vocational skills (merriam-webster.com). As students wanting to achieve a higher education, we have to think about what we want for ourselves. Either you want to grow as an individual and obtain a major in whichever field you chose, or just learn what best interests you. People have many misconceptions toward what the liberal arts are and how they can benefit you. We often hear things like, “A liberal arts degree will not get you a real job.” or “A liberal arts degree is a luxury not a necessity.” Although this is what the majority of the people who are not aware about the actual facts say, this is not true. An examination of, The New Liberal Arts by author Sanford J. Ungar, and Are Too Many People Going to College? by author Charles Murray, will reveal to us why one gains more knowledge at a liberal arts school. Murray argues that a liberal arts education is only for the elite, but I believe that they shouldn 't be the only ones to attend because my vision of a liberal arts college is one where all students come in with the appropriate amount of

Liberal craftsmanship education implies arts subjects, for example, writing and history, as unmistakable from science and innovation. Generally, in the United States, there has constantly existed a pressure in advanced education between the liberal arts education of the individual and the accomplishment of particular and down to earth targets. Liberal arts education schools in the United States have generally tilted the equalization for instructing the entire individual. Character building was seen as equivalent in significance to scholarly improvement. The center of the liberal arts education experience is a guarantee to the energy of learning.

In today's society, students are questioned on their degrees and studies. If a student studies a certain topic, their relatives may wonder and question what type of life is set out for the child based on their education. Although others may fail to see what students will do with their knowledge, the student withholds capabilities that extend beyond their own knowledge. With the obtained knowledge the students possess, they could change the world. These topics that seem to have no use to a student are called the Liberal Arts. In an article titled "Why We Need the Liberal Arts" by Joseph R. Urgo, from The Baltimore Sun, these philosophies and theories are explained and brought to a further extent.

Liberal education consists in reading and analyzing complex intellectual material every day, this kind of education is intellectually too demanding for most young people and only a few percentiles are indeed good at it, however, a large proportion of people who are able to assimilate a liberal education have no interest in doing so. Liberal arts education has been criticized due to misperceptions by students, society, and media. Ungar points out seven misperceptions about Liberal arts education and also provides a response for each one of them. Students can make a living with a liberal-arts college degree by finding a job easily in the future, the field of study in liberal arts education is broader, and it is more affordable.

With the current global economic climate, it seems apparent that the now established education system is unable to meet the needs of our hyper-connected society, a society that is in a constant state of evolution. Let’s examine some problems that prevent de US education system from regaining its former preeminence.

Currently the education system in the United States is funded mostly on a state and local level, who always borne over 90% of the public elementary and secondary education finances (need cite). The original Department of Education was developed in 1867 to collect information on schools and teaching that would help the States establish effective school systems (need cite). Fast forward over one hundred years to 1980, when Congress established the Department of Education as a Cabinet level agency, and note that education standards and improvement continue to be of great importance to the government. It is important to note that the state and federal government play separate roles in the education of students, whereas the federal government has the means to

In today’s world, liberal education is very important. Part of this importance arises from the fact that the youth and young generations of today are beginning to place more emphasis on their talents and skills. They have discovered that the old ways of studying for a certain job is not necessarily the only way to succeed in life. They are now attending liberal arts colleges and taking up courses like music and art to better their talents. In the process, they end up learning social responsibility and ethics.