Liberal Arts Education Vs Traditional Education Essay

In “Preparing for a Career”, Derek Bok, president of Harvard Law School and author, argues how universities, more specifically liberal arts colleges, should include training for a certain occupation with regular college classes to better prepare a student for the real world after college. Considering that Bok has earned his degrees at some of the most well-known universities like Stanford University and Harvard, he has a better understanding at what students are missing and what they need to be successful. However, on the other hand, not many professors and students see or agree with Bok’s point of view. They do not agree that students need the vocational training during their years in a liberal arts college, even though students need both; an education that helps them become critical thinkers and skilled communicators as well as skilled workers in a certain career. So why not help students with their career along with their regular core courses?

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

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.

A liberal arts degree is much more than a piece of paper representing a waste of time and money, as some may believe. Instead, a liberal arts degree is a piece of paper representing true utilization of what further education should really be. Often times, people get caught up in the question of where they're going, but while it's important to strive for success, they forget to strive for quality. This applies to college students in the sense that, when choosing a major, practicality is often prioritized over passion.

In his essay, “Only Connect…,” Cronon lists characteristics of a liberally educated person. These characteristics include being able to listen and understand, talk to anyone, write to persuade, read well, solve problems, and nurture and empower others (Cronon). These characteristics of liberally educated people directly align with skills desired by employers. People with these traits have the skills necessary to succeed in practical situations, like those encountered in the workforce. This essay helped me understand that by providing a liberal arts education, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh is also providing students with skills needed to succeed in their future careers. Through examining the structure of a four-year education at the University and consulting the perspectives of a UW Oshkosh professor and an outside professor, I came to understand that the University integrates career preparation with liberal arts education throughout because a well executed liberal arts education will provide proper career preparation. At their core, liberal arts and workforce development have very similar

A big concern in todays’ world for graduating college students is being able to find a job right out of school. More times than not, there are many problems that occur when a student chooses a specific career path. In the short exert “Why Focusing Too Narrowly In College Could Backfire”, written by Peter Cappelli, he discusses in his opinion, as well as many others, the right path students should be taking. The lead way students should be following to secure they get a job in a field they will enjoy. Many students have trouble picking a college to go to let alone what major they want to focus on. Students are told to pick a major and start taking the classes for it as soon as possible without realizing they might not even enjoy that field of work. There are many struggles in college with picking the correct classes and

More often than not, young students are taught to believe that they must go to a prestigious university to obtain a Bachelor’s degree or higher in order to have a fulfilling and satisfying career. This may hold true for some people, but others do not need to follow this same path. For students who choose a career that isn’t considered conventional or isn’t high in pay, they tend to be looked down upon which pressures them into choosing career paths that they do not have a passion for, or the skill set to actually accomplish which makes college a waste of time and money. While everyone should be encouraged to get an education beyond high school, people should be encouraged to get the education that is relevant and proper for them to make sure they are getting their money’s worth.

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

According to my site supervisor, there is only one career lesson delivered to each grade level at the middle school. She said that it is not until students get to high school that the counselors really begin to focus on careers and future plans. Upon further research, I discovered that this was consistent across all middle schools in the district. I feel as though it is of utmost importance for students to be prepared and have a plan once they graduate high school. They need to be aware of their options and their career goals. In order to have a career goal and understand their post-secondary options, students must understand and gain exposure the various career paths and opportunities. It is never too early to begin planning for the future, developing career goals, and creating a post-secondary plan. For these reasons, I chose to focus, advocate for, and plan for individual planning activities that career paths to aid students in career planning.

“Misconception No.1: A liberal arts education is a luxury that most families can no longer afford. ‘Career-education’ is what we must now focus on.” (Ungar, 2010, pp.191) As Ungar has claimed, there is a recent misconception that a liberal arts education is no longer a necessity but luxury because it doesn’t provide an instant career launching education. With so many people having to a need to spend as little money as possible, they are determined to only spend money on preparation for their future career. For this reason they go to college only to take courses that are necessary for their future. “She is in college to take vocational training. She wants to write computer code. Start a business. Get a job in television. She uses college to take vocational courses that pertain to her career interest.” (Murray, 2008, pp.228) Murray explained the story of a girl who is in college solely for preparation for her career. Because of this, she isn’t interested in a liberal arts education. If the course doesn’t directly pertain to her desired career, she prefers not to take it.

Colleges are struggling to adapt to society’s changing requirements for adults entering the work force. John Fawell laments this change and states that humans intrinsically desire to learn more for the purpose of knowing more. However, the focus has shifted away from this and has become more career-oriented. This shift is not well supported in the current college system. The education system is aware of this change and some have modified their programs, but they are too narrow and a broad college education is lost. Even though it has become almost mandatory in society, a college degree does not prepare students for a real-world work environment and is not necessary for most occupations. Many, such as lawyers or doctors, do require further education and a system that instructs them while also training the majority of the workforce would be an improvement.

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

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.

It is not difficult to figure out what the liberal arts are; all it took was a simple google search and the definition was brought up instantly. Liberal arts are academic subjects such as literature, philosophy, mathematics, and social and physical sciences as distinct from professional and technical subjects. I am not majoring in any of these subjects and I hardly have any classes such as these in my schedule so I decided I needed to look up definitions that actually pertain to me. The definition of a liberal arts college was just as easy to find as the last one. A liberal arts college is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in the liberal arts and sciences. A liberal arts college aims to impart a broad general knowledge and

Liberal Arts is defined as academic subjects such as math, philosophy, literature, and sciences that are majors in college and are subjects that are required to take in order continue with education. Numerous people may believe that liberal arts should be taken away from the universities so students could focus on their career field, while others may believe that liberal arts has its benefits that could help those students in their career. The benefits Liberal Arts offers include, expanding the students’ knowledge and helping students remember and or improve on these subjects. While the downfall of Liberal Arts is that people would not focus and go straight towards their career path because they are too busy trying to finish basic requirements.