Like many young people, I had very little idea about what I wanted to pursue for a career when I enrolled at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM). One of the benefits of liberal arts requirements is that you have the opportunity to take classes that you might otherwise overlook. For me it was a course in human biology. Taught by a charismatic and enthusiastic professor, the course I took only to fulfill my liberal arts requirements became the course that started me down a career path in science. To figure out where I wanted to take my new biology major, I became involved in undergraduate research with Dr. Ellen Brisch. Dr. Brisch’s research focused on the sexual development of fish embryos in estrogenic waters downstream of a wastewater treatment plant. Estrogenic activity from chemical pollutants can negatively effect the sexual development of many aquatic species, leading to male infertility and population decline1, 2. To study the extent of this phenomenon in Moorhead, MN, we collected water from multiple sites along the Red River of the North and reared medaka (Oryzias latipes) embryos in these samples. Embryonic development as well as hatching time were examined and compared to estrogenic and non-estrogenic control waters. We found that embryos hatched in estrogenic water and water sampled downstream of the wastewater treatment plant hatched significantly earlier than those in non-estrogenic control water, as well as water samples from other areas of the river.
From the outside, it is hard to see why I would want to earn a liberal arts degree. Time and time again, the lifetime earnings of workers who studied in the liberal arts are outpaced by their peers who worked in engineering. These “hard sciences” of math and engineering are lauded as the “right choice” for future success by ambitious parents and counselors, while liberal arts degrees are the butt of jokes. However, for me, a liberal arts degree means a lot more than just making money. It means a global vision and universality across disciplines, as well as many future opportunities to change the world radically.
In his essay, The New Liberal Arts, Sanford Ungar addresses common misperceptions related to a liberal arts education. He speaks to their usefulness, the employment opportunities after graduation, their value despite the cost of tuition, and other misconceptions. His overall message is, despite the recent emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and math degrees, as well as technical or vocational training, liberal arts degrees are still important and are a valid option to consider when deciding on your educational future. While his essay could easily apply to anyone with these misperceptions, it appears to be targeted directly towards students in high school or early college who are trying to decided on the direction of their education
Education in America is important; due to rising costs, he claims many think liberal-arts degrees are too expensive for the average family to afford. Ungar suggests that a liberal-arts degree prepares people for adapting in their respective career field. Career specific majors are not offering students the broad range of qualities one needs for job opportunities. While he acknowledges the stronger start of students with prior experience in college, it is those students with little experience that end up with the most original ideas, making them valuable to an employer.
As the world becomes more specialized it raises the question, should undergraduate institutions change their curriculum requirements to better equip students? The goal of a liberal arts education is to enlighten individuals and prepare them for the complex and diverse world by requiring the study of literature, philosophy, mathematics, and sciences. As professional careers evolve into more specialized fields the argument that a liberal education is no longer needed rises. Some educators feel that future professionals would be better primed for the future by focusing specifically on subjects that deal with their intended field. However, a liberal arts education provides benefits that go beyond the classroom. The experience of studying a
Many teachers don't encourage their students to not pursue a liberal arts degree, why might this be? Joseph R. Urgo from The Baltimore Sun answers many of these questions in his article "Why We Need The Liberal Arts". The Liberal arts is, "the academic course of instruction at a college intended to provide general knowledge and comprising the arts, humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences, as opposed to professional or technical subjects. Joseph R. Urgo article he explains why we need more students to be encouraged into liberal arts instead of being told " a liberal art education won't prepare you for a job," Or "what can you do with a degree in Philosophy? English?" What many teachers don't tell their students is that a liberal arts degree can be applied in many other fields of work.
“A successful liberal arts education develops the capacity for innovation and for judgement” (Source B). Liberal arts colleges offer a wide range of educational pursuits that accommodate to many people’s wants and needs. It also opens your eyes to different perspectives and asks you to step outside of your comfort zone. The expectation is to use the lessons learned and apply them to your everyday life in the future. “Many liberal arts students become innovators and productive risk takers” (Source B). It is well aware that a traditional college is not for everyone but that should not restrict you from going to college, there are various options that can satisfy
“Misconception No.1: A liberal arts education is a luxury that most families can no longer afford. ‘Career-education’ is what we must now focus on.” (Ungar, 2010, pp.191) As Ungar has claimed, there is a recent misconception that a liberal arts education is no longer a necessity but luxury because it doesn’t provide an instant career launching education. With so many people having to a need to spend as little money as possible, they are determined to only spend money on preparation for their future career. For this reason they go to college only to take courses that are necessary for their future. “She is in college to take vocational training. She wants to write computer code. Start a business. Get a job in television. She uses college to take vocational courses that pertain to her career interest.” (Murray, 2008, pp.228) Murray explained the story of a girl who is in college solely for preparation for her career. Because of this, she isn’t interested in a liberal arts education. If the course doesn’t directly pertain to her desired career, she prefers not to take it.
The use of a liberal arts degree is considerably useful and you should certainly strive towards one. The professor in this essay believes that the perception of getting a liberal arts degree is commonly misconceived as being a degree for hobbies and not for the workforce. The argument centers around the many uses of a liberal arts degree that offer people multiple opportunities for them to find a career. The point of this essay is to evaluate and provide facts of the uses of these degrees and how these degrees will help you in the workforce.
As of today, college is no longer an option or privilege, it’s a necessity. College education is the most important education of them all because it sets in stone the rest of your life. Higher education is touted to lead to a number of benefits, including financial security and prosperous career. In fact, about 84 percent of Americans claim that a higher education is very important to get ahead in life” (Vista Success). Furthering my education is highly important in life because a college degree can dictate a lot of things such as income and job position. Getting a bachelor’s degree is the right decision for me because it’s an important asset that will give me advantages in my career such as in salary, job security, and long life
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.
Liberal Arts are academic subjects such as literature, philosophy, mathematics, and social and physical sciences as distinct from professional and technical subjects. This approach to education provides students with specialized ability in a chosen major as well as builds a foundation of skills and knowledge that can be applied among many career paths and academic pursuits. Employers value the ability to solve problems, adapt to change, work across disciplines, and collaborate with others, which are distinctive tenants acquired when you pursue a major in liberal arts. Clearly, all successful careers require critical thinking, teamwork, sensitivity to cultural, demographic, economic and societal differences and political perspectives. A
I had to start from community college to get familiar to college education and environment. Before getting enrolled in high ranked college or university it was very to important for me to get familiar to education. Choosing major was not that difficult for me because of my determination and
After high school, a choice that many students have to make is whether to go to college or not. There are many factors that go into one’s decision. There are pros and cons to going to college and also there are pros and cons for not going to college. But the decision that will give someone the better opportunity to have a more successful life is to go to college. The money that one will earn after getting a college degree will be more than the money a person will make without getting a college degree. As our society has continued to evolve, education has become the optimal route to professional success: pursuing a degree is the best way to receive training, to gain expertise in a given field, and even to guide you and help you make choices
Fry and Toone (1986) found when they inject fertilised seabird eggs with DDT and its metabolites. The male chicks produced have varying degrees of intersexuality depending on dosage, reproductive system with both male and female structures. The female chicks had a partial to full developed right oviducts, instead of just left functional structures. In the area where the eggs were collected, there was multiple female-female pairing and low hatchability of eggs. Males exposed as embryos to estrogenic pesticides showed decreased to no sexual behaviour. (Fry and Toone, 1981) Louis Guillette noticed that male alligators from Lake Apopka in Florida have vestigial penis, follicle-like testis and elevated estrogens/testosterone ratios and the female hatching’s ovaries were producing multiple egg follicles and eggs with several nuclei (Luoma, 1995, Guillette et al., 1995) The females also had above normal estrogens levels. When he and his colleagues did a similar injection study with DDT and DDE, they produced results similar to those found in the field. The reduction in penis length and the abnormal gonads made the hatchlings reproductively incapable. Both the bird and alligator studies were prompted by the contamination of large water bodies by organochlorins and the low breeding success of the animals living and feeding in these areas.
Taking advantage of the liberal arts curriculum at Yale can lead to opportunities to develop my critical thinking skills and understand how various fields interconnect. Through this, I can eventually contribute to the community.