College Curricula

College: What is Was, Is and Should Be, by Andrew Delbanco takes both a historical and analytical approach to the evolution of higher education institutions in the United States. While thought provoking, some of his views balance on the verge of extremity. Many colleges provide students with the skills necessary for what is happening in society at that moment. This is exemplified in how the application process has changed from the earliest colleges to today. Also, when colleges were first introduced into society, students were recommended by members of society to attend a school, which is much different than the process today. Another aspect of what Delbanco discusses in his book is the disparity between a small liberal arts college and

Before reading the Andrew Delbanco book, College: What it Was, Is, and Should Be, my view of Liberal Arts education was positive. A Liberal Arts education consists of a curriculum based in the sciences and humanities while maintaining the freedom to pursue interdisciplinary study. Studying at a university with such a curriculum and freedom can be compared to an all-you-can-eat buffet; the student attending would not need to commit to a single area of study, trapped in confined course-load in one building on campus. Rather, that person could dish a little bit of business, with a side of art history, and a healthy helping of biology onto their academic tray and consume to their heart’s content, scraping the sides of the university in order to

One way or another, all agree that a graduate of the liberal arts will be far better equipped for the uncertainties through the influence of a liberal arts education; however, they do not share similar views concerning how that outcome is acquired. Ungar holds the view that a liberal arts education is receiving more scrutiny than necessary while Hacker and Dreifus scrutinize the structure of current college education. Meanwhile, Wallace does not suggest that a problem exists in education, but rather, the problem is the misconception of what results. Of course, it is impossible to create a perfect form of education; not every person can be satisfied with the current state regardless of what changes are made, and in my view, it is best to acknowledge this reality and shift the focus of scrutiny elsewhere—such as the views of Ungar and Wallace. Although Hacker and Dreifus offer wonderful advice, I still maintain that the focus of scrutiny should be on the education itself; however, structural improvements of education should never stop. In sum, I support Hacker and Dreifus in their concern to improve the quality of higher education; however, to me, satisfaction will always be the unattainable

Determining what students should be taught is not a task for one person but many topics are found to be intriguing and making the decision is obvious. In examination of three articles found in The Informed Argument by Robert K. Miller; Rick Livingston “The Humanities for Cocktail Parties and Beyond” it is evident that while humanities are important to teach to students, there is a better way to give them this information to make it more useful to the real world. Stanley N. Katz “Liberal Education on the Ropes” shows just how important liberal arts are to students when choosing a career. Ronald Takaki “An Education and Culturally Literate Person Must Study America's Multicultural Reality” gives great reasoning of why being well informed of different cultures as a student can change the way society can function well together. Breaking

Critical examination of the four liberal arts breadth areas, in their natural state, demonstrate that each area of study brings value and purpose to life. It is important to focus on developing weaknesses to gain fulfillment while using strengths to help others succeed.

The essay “A New Liberal Arts,” which was written by Sanford Ungar, first appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education on March 5, 2010. In his essay, Ungar uses many different rhetorical strategies to convince his reader that a degree in the liberal arts is not a lost cause but can actually be very beneficial and lead to success. In Ungar’s opinion, there are many wrong ideas and misunderstandings about the usefulness of a degree in the liberal arts. In the essay there are seven specific misperceptions that he addresses specifically. By listing out these misperceptions, Ungar is addressing them individually in order to give each one proper attention. He offers explanations to why people may think these things and why he believes that they are incorrect. Ungar’s use of style, format, and emotional and logical arguments help him to create a persuasive and influential essay for his audience and convince them to agree with his opinion.

Another important aspect of college is, achieving a liberal education. This is not always an aspect of

A liberal arts education consists of many things. It can include literature, foreign languages, history, philosophy, religion, mathematics, science, and also psychology. Every area of study benefits each student, regardless of their major. Students learn from every course they take.

Sanford J. Ungar, a journalist and president of Goucher College, is one of the faculty members actively trying to disprove the accusations against liberal arts colleges and educations. In his February 2010 article from the academic journal The Chronicle of Higher Education, Ungar gives readers multiple examples of common misunderstandings about liberal arts and then informs them why those examples are incorrect. Appropriately titled, Ungar’s “7 Major Misperceptions About the Liberal Arts” is an easy “go to” guide when a person wants to learn more about liberal arts. These readers, mainly students and parents looking toward a higher degree of education, can read Ungar’s essay and find new knowledge about the liberal arts discipline.

There is not just one study of “liberal arts,” but a broad variety of options and fields, from history to creative writing to philosophy. The entire point of a liberal arts education is to provide a wide knowledge base of education that develops skills needed for almost any career. Communication, analysis, and debate coexist in every field imaginable, from science to social studies, but liberal arts degrees create true polymaths. Those well-versed in many subjects can cross-apply their knowledge to form creative solutions to problems plaguing the Earth. With a world criss-crossed by party lines, tribal lines, and ideological lines, someone has to understand all the sides in order to rejoin the divisions. There is a broad variety of opportunities to mend these tears, from diplomacy to nonprofit activism, from cultural studies to linguistics. All that matters is a willingness to be open and

Students go to college in search of knowledge, a new lifestyle, and the hope of a job after graduation. For many young adults, college is a rite of passage into an independent, mature new lifestyle. Not only is higher education a rite of passage, for some, it is also an opportunity to have a better life. Overall, college is a wonderful part of many people’s lives, yet the way the college education system is conducted wastes students time and money. College is basically composed of two parts: general education classes and major specific classes. General education courses are the source of wasted time and money, and should not be required of students. A few of the problems associated with general education classes are that they are

Community college was created to develop and prepare highly skilled, qualified students to involve in the workforce to make the economy develop and grow successfully. Students from diverse background can benefit from attending a Community college. For example, community college offers quite a few general classes or remedial classes that a four year university would not offer and students are able to pay less money to take any courses that are necessary for them to complete their degree or certification.

This paper reviews four important trends in our educational system today across America and discusses the impact of these trends on our future educational system. We live in an ever evolving world with constant changes that are affecting every aspect of our lives daily. Our educational system has not been immune to these changes and shouldn’t be since these changes and our ability to adapt to these changes will determine our future academic success and our place in a global society.

More and more college students seems to be asking the question of why are general education courses like math and history still mandatory to graduate. In this twenty first century, fast paced world we live in college students are focused more on career planning. In countries like Europe college students are not required to take general-education classes and are more focused on their majors. The argument can be made that colleges should not require students to take general education courses. This decision in turn would help college students with finances, time and energy.

In every nation, education has an important influence on the improvement of its economy and politics. For the United States of American, community college becomes one of the main factors to determine how the country moves forward. Using table 101.20 from Digest of Education Statistics of the National center for Education Statistics, from 2000 to 2014, the increase in college enrollment has been contributed by increases in the traditional college-age population and rising enrollment rates. But increasing costs of tuition and different expenses each year have become huge obstacles for students to focus and maintain their education status and achievements. This issue brings up the controversy about whether community college education should