I Am A First Year Student, Majoring And Mechanical Engineering At Wentworth Institute Of Technology

In recent discussion of the purpose of a liberal arts education, a controversial issue has been whether it is “just filling you up with knowledge”. On one hand, some argue that it is just a good prerequisite to have. From this perspective, the point of earning a degree is to get a better career. On the other hand, however, others argue that a degree “has actual human value”. In the words of David Foster Wallace, one of this view’s main proponents, “a liberal arts education is not so much filling you up with knowledge as it is about ‘teaching you how to think’”. According to this view, having a degree affects how you think. In sum, then, the issue is whether a liberal arts education teaches you how to think positively or not through your banal “adult life”

Mark Edmundson speaks out about the apparent decline of college level education in his article, “On the Uses of a Liberal Education: As Lite Entertainment for Bored College Students”. Edmundson believes liberal education is declining due to students losing passion and colleges selling students what they want: a good time.

In the article The Liberal Arts Are Not Elitist written by Martha Nussbaum it was said that “Education is not just for citizenship. It prepares people for employment and for lives of rich significance.” That to me is what the goal of a liberal education is, to provide a basic knowledge in multiple areas of content such as: math, reading, writing, history, and science, with addition to preparing a person for global citizenship and to live a fulfilling life. To be a global citizen, means that the person needs to be aware of what is going on in the world around them, to contribute to society, understands how the world works, takes responsibility for their own actions and to be self-sufficient. I strongly believe to receive a true liberal

William Cronon in his article, “Only Connect . . .” defines liberal education as “not something any of us ever achieve; it is not a state. Rather, it is a way of living in the face of our own ignorance, a way of groping toward wisdom in full recognition of our folly, a way of educating ourselves without any illusion that our educations will ever be complete” (5). Being liberally education means you are open to learn and knowing that is there no limit to how much you can learn. Personally I think this is a very important topic especially to me because I am the first in my family to go away to a university. I value education and it is a true privilege for me to attend Belmont University. Thus far, I consider myself to almost fully liberally

Secondly, they read and understand. This means that an educated person can be able to read a part of a scientific research paper and enjoy it, but also they can also for example watch an episode of say, Saturday Night Live and laugh at the jokes and enjoy that as much as the scientific journals. Third, an educated person can talk. By this it doesn’t mean you can just talk, it means that you can carry on a conversation with someone and they be able to understand you. Fourthly, they can write. Cronon believes that a liberally educated person can move people with their writing, make them read more and most of all make people learn from reading. Fifth, they can solve a wide variety of puzzles and problems. This doesn’t mean just word searches and the occasional crossword puzzle but it means actual real world problems or jobs. Sixth, they respect rigor as a way of seeking truth. This here just basically says that if you work hard you will figure out the truth of things. Seventh, they practice humility, tolerance, and self-criticism. People who are liberally educated are able to step out of their own prejudice despite how they were raised, and

In the article, “Only Connect: The Goals of a Liberal Education,” by William Cronon, William lists and explains the qualities of an educated person that he admires the most. While reading this article, I related to a lot of the points that he listed. William lists qualities that I value in myself and in others around me. As I read through the article, I also noticed that I am starting to see these qualities in me and that they are growing as I get older and as I complete a higher education.

While the term liberal education is heard from the most prestigious university to an inner city community college, the phrase itself has a hazy definition at best. While educators across America struggle with the definition of the phrase, William Cronon uses purpose, structure, and appeals in his essay "Only Connect: The Goals of Liberal education," to define a liberally educated being and the characteristics that such an education should impart. Cronon capitalizes on inductive structuring to lead the reader along, gently building each new statement upon a foundation of previous ideas. This effectively leads the reader to a strange

In the article, What Should It Mean to Have a Liberal Education in the 21st Century?, D.G. Mulcahy presents Paul Hirst’s view of the traditional liberal education. Hirst, qtd. in Mulcahy’s article, explains that traditionally there are seven subjects of knowledge that humanity has used to understand reality. These seven subjects are math, the physical sciences, human culture throughout history, morality, art, religion, and philosophy (Mulcahy 469). These subjects are part of the majority of colleges’ liberal education or general education curriculum. While this is the intent of the more traditional Liberal Arts education, the system has evolved to meet the needs of a modern society.

A Liberal Arts education has helped people to lead a life of great circumstances. The message established in “The New Liberal Arts” by Sanford J. Ungar is clear. Throughout the article it talks about the misperceptions of going to a liberal arts school and how it affects the outcome of ones future. Throughout the passage Ungar states misperceptions of a liberal arts education and then after he gives his response on why he disagrees. When addressing “The New Liberal Arts” I agree with Ungar when he states the misperceptions throughout the article. The misperceptions are what society has developed about people who graduated from Liberal

It may seem like a Liberal Arts degree is for someone who can understand the depth of it, but that is completely untrue. The flexibility and use of a Liberal Arts degree is for everyone who is interested and is worth more than the loud politicians that wave them about so eagerly to raise their credibility which is why Sanford J. Ungar, former president of Goucher College, wrote The New Liberal

Murray obviously argues that liberal education is critical but he believes that it should be taught to high school students. Murray makes a good point on (Pgs. 238-239). He supports his argument by showing the skills that students get by being taught a liberal education in high

Education is a process where one learns and apply the same learned information to a practical situation. Isaac Newton, a physicist and a mathematician, managed to discover the indescribable universe we now know, because of what we call liberal education. He did not study physics only but he learned other subjects including mathematics. He understood the basis needed to discover now called the imaginary world, universe. Moreover, author Sanford J. Ungar also portrayed the same idea about the importance of liberal education. He pointed it as a way to create capable and cultivated human beings. Liberal arts broaden the way humans think, such that we not only focus on one skill to tackle a problem but to look at range of skills. Additionally, the author also answered the wired misconceptions that are already in peoples’ minds by proving them wrong.

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.

In recent discussions of liberal arts degrees, a controversial issue has been whether they are worth getting rather than a vocational degree. On one hand, some argue that getting a liberal arts degree is a waste of money and there are very limited jobs out there that a liberal arts degree could be used for. On the other hand, however, others argue that in order to be a well-rounded person and to be more interesting, a student should work towards a liberal arts degree. According to this view, even though there is not one specific job that the individual will be trained for while obtaining a liberal arts education, he or she will be feeding their brain and giving himself or herself a chance to develop better knowledge of subjects in social sciences, literature, and mathematics. In sum, then, the issue is whether getting a liberal arts education is worth it or not. My own view is that I believe being an intellectually developed person is extremely important; therefore, I agree that pursuing a liberal arts education can be very valuable.

The value a liberal education has for me is almost immeasurable. I say this because I come from an immigrant family and will be the first to have completed college. Since I was a child my family always stressed how important a