To install StudyMoose App tap and then “Add to Home Screen”
Save to my list
Remove from my list
William Butler Yeats is accredited with as soon as stating "Education is not the filling of a pail, however the lighting of a fire." It appears this idiom no longer proves out; today's preferred education incorporates the regurgitation of technical lingo in the hopes of finding a job. Individuals now consider Liberal Arts degree worthless; it's too expensive and unwise in today's task market. The sciences and profession colleges are where the tasks lie. In the fight over college, through his iconoclastic post "The New Liberal Arts," Sanford J.
Ungar stands as a lone crusader against an assault of "misperceptions.".
I for one agree with and applaud his effort, although he might use some additional support in presenting some of his counter arguments. Unger very first battles the misperception of the worth in a liberal arts degree for first-generation, lower earnings college students; these degrees are for the elite upper-class. As Ungar's envisioned antagonists put it, "A liberal arts degree is a luxury that many families can no longer afford.
Verified writer
Proficient in: Art
4.7 (346)
“ This writer never make an mistake for me always deliver long before due date. Am telling you man this writer is absolutely the best. ”
'Profession education' is what we now need to focus on" (191 ). Ungar competes that although escalating tuition makes it increasingly tough to spend for a college education it is now a more prudent financial investment than ever before (191 ).
Continuing his crusade versus naysayers by recommending that "the career education bandwagon" (191) is not a wise investment, asserting that "It is far wiser for trainees to get ready for modification-- and the multiple careers they are most likely to have-- than to browse for a single job track that may one day end up being a dead end." (191) Ungar shows the pitfalls of having a directly focused education.
Moreover, Ungar seems entirely disgusted with the notion that an education in the liberal arts is one for the upper class, the abundant and the privileged; those who are not of this stratification are much better fit executing the ideas of the elite, not creating ideas of their own (192 ).
He brands these accusations as “condescending” (192) and “prejudice” (193) and rejects the idea that the lower-class’ only duty is to implement the ideas of the upper-class. I believe that Ungar is correct on these assertions; however, Ungar’s argument would be better served if he acquiesced to the fact that a college education, much less one in the liberal arts, is not right for everyone. Higher education is not a one size fits all discipline. There has to be some to fill the factories, work the land, pave the roads and power the service industry.
Unger is accurate in saying that the liberal arts should be available to everyone and everyone could benefit from this type of classical education; nonetheless not everyone is suited for such an education. The misperception that the liberal arts are for the elite is one that has been heard before but not nearly as much as the old “employers do not want to hire people with useless degrees” line which Unger obliterates with his next argument. Ungar continues his defense of a liberal arts education by refuting the claim that employers no longer hire someone with a “useless” degree, such as French.
Showing how not only a specific degree such as a foreign language is one that is wanted by employers but the usefulness of other liberal arts degrees, emphasizing “A 2009 survey for the Association of American Colleges and Universities actually found that more than three-quarters of our nation's employers recommend that college-bound students pursue a ‘liberal education.’” (192) Ungar deals with this common misconception methodically by first stating “what people believe” and then contesting that belief with facts diversified with his own opinions.
Although he is correct and he brandishes documented facts to back up his assertions Ungar may have missed the mark by not including actual job numbers. By displaying irrefutable proof that those who have a liberal arts degree are more likely to get a job in any field and by showing those jobs are more lucrative for degree holders than those who are not, Ungar could put the nail in the coffin naysayers.
For his next dose of perception breaking, Ungar skirmishes with the following idea: Liberal arts degrees are antiquated, the Sciences and Career colleges are where the smart money is, and the STEM fields are much better suited for today’s economic reality. Ungar contests this misperception by showing that a degree in liberal arts also includes the sciences. He illustrates that a traditional liberal arts degree includes the sciences: “the historical basis of a liberal education is in the classical artes liberales, comprising the trivium (grammar, logic, and rhetoric) and the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music)” (193). Many of Ungar’s points are valid; his handling of this misperception is deft and detailed. However, I feel that Ungar is stretching with his response to this argument. Although a liberal arts degree does offer some glimpses into the STEM disciplines, it is not comparable to a degree in those specialties.
A student wishing to become a chemist would not be well served pursuing a degree in History. In showing that these misperceptions are just that, Sanford Ungar single-handedly makes the case for a classical liberal arts education. He does a wonderful job tackling the misperceptions being thrown around today about a college degree in the liberal arts. He takes each one of these common misconceptions and thoroughly disproves each claim skillfully and without hesitation. By doing so he reopens the door to higher education. Perhaps if he and others like him continue to confront the onslaught of misinformation doled out upon the masses we can return to a world where a traditional liberal arts education is once again commended and no longer forsworn. Works Cited
Ungar, Sanford. “The New Liberal Arts.” “They Say I Say”: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing: with readings. Eds. Gerald Graff, Kathy Birkenstein, Russel Durst. New York: W.W. Norton and Company Ltd, 2012.
190-196. Print.
Championing the Value of Liberal Arts Education. (2016, May 09). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/defending-liberal-arts-essay
👋 Hi! I’m your smart assistant Amy!
Don’t know where to start? Type your requirements and I’ll connect you to an academic expert within 3 minutes.
get help with your assignment
