Are Liberal-Arts Colleges Worth It? In the article, “Are Too Many People Going to College, Murray argues through various points that liberal-arts colleges are not a practical way to succeed along with the concept of college changing due to social norms. He begins by claiming, “… People should be getting the basics of a liberal education. ћthe places to provide those basics are elementary school and middle school. He believes that knowledge about history, science, works Of music, art and literature is important, but this should be taught during primary school due to the natural advantage children possess in memorizing, Which is What the majority Of core knowledge is. Murray emphasizes strongly on the best interest of the student which is brother he addresses the social norm issue. Continuing education after high school is drilled in students’ heads since day one; the world has embedded the illusion that without a degree, an individual cannot be successful in life.
Murray then suggests that the presence of a B. A. Is more valued rather than the actual education learned in order to achieve one. An employer assumes that the person with the BAA will be an asset and the person without a BAA is incapable; his mindset is only easier and more convenient for the employer to not thread through these when seeking employers, In this day and age, an individual is looked down upon if they do not further their education.
The problem addressed with being told college is the necessary way to go is that students begin to aspire for high-paying jobs without knowing the difficulty accompanied by them. Murray reports that, ‘they (students) end up at a four-year institution not because that is where they can take their courses to meet their career goals but because college is_. Where B. A. S are handed out and everyone knows that these says you’ve got to have a B. A. “. People believe that a B. A. Paves the path to a better job; however this is not always the case.
Poor instance, Murray observes a man deciding whether to pursue a white-collar career that he possesses mediocre skills for that requires a B. A_ or pursue an electrician career that he possesses extraordinary skills for. The man finds out that exercising his expertise at a high level Will be more beneficial not only financially but “even as people in white-collar jobs lament the soullessness of their work, the intrinsic rewards of exercising technical skills remain undiminished.
In the article, ‘The New Liberal Arts’, Anger opposes Murray by stating that students should pursue a liberal- arts degree. He addresses various misconceptions by presenting the points and clarifying the flaws in them. He begins by stating the false belief that families cannot afford a liberal-arts degree and should turn to “career education” because this career path is more practical. Down the “career education” path, students are being treated without a thought for their personal interest such that communicate their needs and educational institutions willћ. Urn out students… To till them. Liberal-arts help individuals to think critically and analytically as opposed to only being taught one skill (vocational schooling), A common misconception is that liberal-arts are based solely upon the study of arts, and that studying in the STEM field is more practical. However, liberal- arts are actually the foundation of the STEM field. The courses are broad and lay out a base to help prepare for various careers. NCAR states, “It is far wiser for students to prepare for change—and the multiple careers they are likely to hue—than to search for a single job track that might one day become a dead end. For example, liberal education includes the quadric (of the four, arithmetic and geometry are tint), Which is essential in STEM. Liberal education also provides a wider perspective on things because liberal-arts colleges teach to “think outside the box” rather than learning a sole skill and believing that, that way is the only way to get the problem solved.
Anger reasons that having a liberal-arts background would not hurt to retain by stating that “No evidence suggests, however, that success in scientific and technical fields will be greater if it comes at the expense of a broad background in other areas of the liberal arts. ” In discussions of liberal-arts, Murray and anger both agree that having core knowledge is necessary; however, Murray believes liberal-arts teachings should stop before high school.
As well, they both respect the individual’s interest rather than treating them like an object that needs to adhere to going to college just say they have gone to college, Although agree With Murray up to a point, I cannot accept his overall conclusion that a specialized career path is more beneficial than a liberal-arts degree, In this economy, believe pursuing a liberal-arts agree is a better choice because as anger stated, it is only better to prepare yourself for many careers rather than one.
With pursuing a B,A_ in a specific field, the individual is faced with more competition and is only taught that one skill for that one career _ What would happen if the market value of the career you have chosen falls drastically and you get laid off? The need for that certain job would be eradicated and you would have a difficult time finding another job using a degree that poses useless now.
The knowledge gained by a liberal-arts degree Will make the individual a well-rounded person Who Will have moderately even skill levels as opposed to the knowledge gained by a technical degree that Will provide one really high skill level and various Other low skill levels. If anger is right that a liberal-arts degree is beneficial, as think they are, then we need to reassess the popular assumption that a liberal-arts degree is not profitable.
Angers point that a liberal-arts degree promotes critical thinking and to think on our own leads me to believe that this path results in an intellectual and versatile worker, In my opinion, this outweighs a specialized worker any day because to assess average skills in various areas as opposed to a high skill in only one area will pose a grand spectrum of careers. If one field of study is out of business then the individual still holds a skill set that could be useful for another job. There is a reason why liberal-arts have been around for decades.
Students who strive for a certain job path trot a young age, to course, may want to question whether or not liberal-arts degrees are useful, These types of people know right off the bat what they want to do and ensure that they attend vocational school fresh out of high school. Referring to Murals article, the brilliant, young lady who wants to be a lawyer takes vocational classes because she thinks to attend these career- specific schools are more productive and a better use of time because it pertains to her career interests.
Murray supports her by stating, “… Expertise comes from burrowing deep into a specialty, not from dozens of courses? ‘ admit that this reasoning does seem logical; however, technical schools do not teach interpersonal skills. This is extremely significant in being successful at any job. For example, being a doctor strongly utilizes this skill through surgeries and/or immunization to the patient their illnesses. At first glance, college freshman might say that a liberal-arts degree is useless.
But on closer inspection, they can realize the benefits Of attending a liberal-arts college. The issue Of liberal-arts matters because this issue is what society revolves around. Without achieving a higher education, poverty and unemployment rates increase, according to College Board. As well, the market value of a job fluctuates depending upon higher education. If the individual gets laid off, then finding another job with a broad liberal-arts degree is much easier.
This is because studying liberal- arts equips the individual with various skills appeal to more types of jobs as opposed to a career-specific education. Also, human capital is increased by higher education. Generally, the higher a skill set level, the higher the income. For instance, careers that are more “rare” and necessitate a higher skill set level have a higher market value. With many college freshman believing education in a specific field is more practical, this will result in an abundance of technical colleges and degrees. The market value for a liberal arts degree will then rise.
