The Importance Of Choosing A Degree In Liberal Arts

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From kindergarten to eighth grade, we were given a set of classes focused on teaching us what was considered to be basic knowledge: math, science, english, and art. When high school began, that focus was shifted onto what students needed to know for college. If or when a high school graduate decided to go to college, the next most important - and sometimes difficult - step was choosing a major. The major you chose would also determine your degree, which still causes controversy when it comes to which degrees are worth your time and money, and the relevancy of the liberal - arts in the education system today. Liberal education is so ancient that it can’t possibly still be a necessary skill with all the technology we deal with today, can it? Both Charles Murray and Sanford J. Ungar agree that there are, indeed, important things the liberal - arts still teaches us.
Liberal - arts education began with a basis that encompassed both the trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music), meaning that liberal education is not just teaching painting and writing, but sciences and maths too (Ungar, 229). The liberal - arts were even studied by the most notable philosophers in history that are still learned about today, but they are now being seen as obsolete, especially when being compared to STEM’s curriculum. With so many college students choosing a path in liberal education, one of the biggest questions asked today is whether or not a degree in liberal - arts is relevant or beneficial in any way.
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If you asked Ungar, he would say that it is definitely still relevant because liberal education will help you in the future. Murray, on the other hand, says it 's necessary to understand the past. He also states that common core teaches you those things like, who Susan B. Anthony is or when the Sistine Chapel was built (Murray, 235) and that if you want to continue pursuing the history and culture taught to you in earlier education, undergraduate school is a good place to do so, but it is not necessary. As for time, Murray fully believes that four years is much too long. Even Ph.D.s, the symbol of expertise, don’t require four years, and for jobs like farming, hotel managing, or hospital administration, most of the experience is received on the job, making the traditional college campus increasingly obsolete. Many families see a liberal - arts degree as a luxury and think college students should focus on learning whatever will make you money and that employers aren’t impressed by a major in something like philosophy. In reality, a survey done in 2009 for the Association of American Colleges and Universities showed that more than three - quarters of employers recommend that college bound students receive a liberal education (Ungar, 228). Of course, no degree guarantees a steady career, but Geoffrey Garin suggests that “the responsibility of higher education today is to prepare people for jobs that do not yet exist (Ungar, 227)” and it has also been previously stated that Ungar believes that this is exactly what the liberal - arts do. They give students a deeper understanding of the many things that influence the world and prepare them for change. The problem with that, is that no one knows if these skills will truly

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