Liberal Education

The question at hand is: should professors take time and add vocational training to help students in their desired career field in addition to keeping up with the aspects of liberal arts? According to Bok, some professionals as well as university members argue that students can still get a career in their respective field without the vocational training and just a liberal arts degree. Respectively, many students worry that without the prior training for their potential career, it will be more difficult without the experience, especially when competing for the spot. As an alternative, Bok would suggest creating vocational subfields to correlate with their courses. In addition, this will allow the student to decide if that career path is right for them or not. Which is why both a liberal arts education and vocational education go hand in hand. It helps a student become a more well-rounded worker and scholar. They will have the skills to see the bigger picture and comprehend it as well as the knowledge of the career.

Vocational Education has been around throughout history in ways that were not noticed as a trending way for education. After the wars, families were self-sustained through personal knowledge and self-learned skills needed to survive. As society, advanced, newer, more efficient ways of completing tasks and learning took place, to include assistance outside the home, so families could better provide for itself. It was through these advancements that paved the way to vocational education as we know it today. There has been

Published in Harper's Magazine’s September 1997 issue, Mark Edmundson’s essay, “On the Uses of Liberal Education: As Lite Entertainment for Bored College Students,” presents a very personal argument for an apparent crisis in liberal education–the lack of passion in students. According to Edmundson, a professor at the University of Virginia, “liberal-arts education is as ineffective as it is now…[because] university culture, like American culture writ large, is, to put it crudely, ever more devoted to consumption and entertainment, to the using and using up of goods and images” (723). He believes that consumer culture is responsible for students’ dispassionate attitude towards his class because they view liberal education as a paid service or product that should cater to their wishes. Further, he writes that universities feed into consumer culture, maintaining a “relationship with students [that] has a solicitous, nearly servile tone” (725). In this way, Edmundson lays out the reasons for why he thinks liberal education is failing.

In the 1997 article, “On The Uses of a Liberal Education: As a Weapon In the Hands of the Restless Poor,” published by Harper’s Magazine, the social critic Earl Shorris described how political power could be achieved by a rather non-vocational educational discipline, the humanities. He emphasizes on how the knowledge of a liberal Education can be used as a form of weapon within the lives for the poor.

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

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.

One of the main reasons vocational education would be a good aspect to bring into the Public School system is that it would bring the importance and purpose of doing well in school back into students’ minds who are struggling in their four years of high school. When asked her opinion on vocational education a student responded positively saying, “Kids actually have fun taking these courses, and we’re not as worried about our grades because [what we are learning about is] so interesting and we want to learn about it”

Critical thinking means to think correctly in to find knowledge that is relevant and reliable. In terms of a liberal arts education critical thinking is crucial because a liberal arts education teaches students skills that are needed in the rapidly changing world that usually requires a lifetime of self-learning and understanding. Critical thinking is something that people usually must learn on their own; however, as a liberal arts school it is taught, so we have a better understanding of thinking critically.

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.

There are many benefits to getting a Liberal Arts degree in today’s economic market. It is a message to your employer that you are willing to take on new information, and learn more then what is necessary to succeed. It shows initiative and the ability to expand your horizons beyond yourself. In a Liberal Arts education there is more purpose then just learning the career field of choice. It is a program that teaches critical thinking and self-thought. It teaches the student how to learn and teach themselves, to achieve more than just memorization of facts.

Although, it is common for an undergraduate student to change their career path, adults often alter their job direction as well. The reasons for an individual to begin a new job are endless. In an article by Betty Southwick it is estimated that in the year 2009 twenty percent of workers will start a new job. Especially in our current economic downfall with an estimated 2.4 million Americans unemployed, according to the Associate Press, it is extremely important for one to be proficient in multiple skills and have a broad knowledge base. The background information learned in a liberal arts education gives one the knowledge to succeed if they are forced to find work outside the field in which they have a degree. A liberal arts education creates a well-rounded individual. If liberal arts education were replaced with specialized education, in universities, students would be at a disadvantage. Focusing solely on one area handicaps an individual and limits their knowledge base. Therefore, making opportunities harder to come by during rough economic times like our society is currently experiencing.

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

To be a productive global citizen one must grow intellectually and the most effective way to accomplish this is to procure a liberal education. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistic, in October of 2016 2.2 million youth ages 16 - 24 enrolled in college (BLS, 2017, P. 1). These students no matter their chosen major will be well versed in an array of subjects thanks to general education requirements. The Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) defines a liberal education as an education that “intentionally fosters, across multiple fields of study, wide ranging knowledge of science, cultures, and society; high level intellectual and practical skills, an active commitment to personal and social responsibility, and the demonstrated ability to apply learning to complex problems and challenges” (AAC&U, 2007, p. 4). For this paper I will be focusing on how a Liberal education is invaluable to those attaining a baccalaureate in a science, specifically nursing. This paper will discuss: i Why I chose to pursue a liberal education. ii The value a liberal education has for me and for my future nursing practice. And finally iii I will explain what autonomy means to me and my future nursing practice.

Some have recently argued that a liberal education, as opposed to a vocational education, is a waste of time, money and effort because so much of these are spent on the pursuit of knowledge not at all relevant to the chosen major. As Bob Newman of Paradigm Media states, "We all know that career colleges and trade schools get a bad rep in the education industry. For many, they’re viewed as the “other option” or Plan B. What surprises me about these stereotypes is that the data available shows that career/trade school grads can make way more in the long run than students with a Bachelors or even Masters degree.” The common consensus is that college is a mere ticket to the corporate world of high pay, early retirement jobs. If this is