Mark Jackson - "The Liberal Arts: A Practicle View"

Many students question the reasoning behind a liberal arts education. But even tough they may have been forced to swallow liberal arts propaganda since junior high, students seldom receive a good explanation for why they should strive to be well-rounded. They are told that they should value the accumulation of knowledge for its own sake, yet this argument doesn’t convince those, like myself, who believe that knowledge must have some practical value or material benefit to be worth seeking.In “What is an Idea,” Wayne Booth and Marshall Gregory argue convincingly that “a liberal education is an education in ideas – not merely memorizing them, but learning to move among them, balancing one against the other, negotiating relationships, accommodating new arguments, and returning for a closer look” (17). These writers propose that a liberal arts education is valuable to students because it helps to develop their analytical thinking skills and writing skills. This is, perhaps, the best argument for taking a broad range of classes in many different subjects. Other more radical arguments in favor of the liberal arts are less appealing. Lewis Thomas, a prominent scientist and physician, believes that classical Greek should form the backbone of a college student’s education. This suggestion seems extreme. It is more reasonable to concentrate on the English language, since many students don’t have a firm grasp of basic reading and writing skills. Freshman English and other English courses serve as a better foundation for higher education than classical Greek could.The opposition to a liberal arts curriculum grows out of the values that college-bound students learn from their parents and peers: they place an immeasurable value on success and disregard anything that is not pertinent to material achievements. Students often have trouble seeing what practical value studying a particular discipline can have for them. Teenagers who are headed for the world of nine-to-five employment tend to ignore certain studies in their haste to succeed.My parents started discussing the possibility of college with men when I was in the sixth grade. They didn’t think that it was important for me to go to college to become a more fulfilled human being. My mom and dad wanted me to go to college so that I might not have to live from paycheck to paycheck like they do. Their reason for wanting me to go to college has become my primary motivation for pursuing a college degree. I remember getting into an argument with my high school councilor because I didn’t want to take a third year of Spanish. I was an A student in Spanish II, but I hated every minute of the class. My councilor noticed that I didn’t sign up for Spanish III, so he called me into his office to hassle me. I told him that I took two years of a foreign language so I would be accepted to college, but that I didn’t want to take a third year. Mr. Gallivan told me that I need a third year of foreign language to be a “well-rounded” student. My immediate response was, “So what?!” I hated foreign languages, and no councilor was going to make me take something that I didn’t want or need. I felt Spanish was a waste of time. I frequently asked my high school councilor why I needed to take classes like foreign languages and art. He never really gave me an answer (except for the lame idea about being “well-rounded”). Instead, Mr. Gallivan always directed my attention to a sign on the wall of his office which read, “There’s No Reason For It, It’s Just Our Policy!” I never found that a satisfactory explanation.Norman Cousins, however, does offer a more reasonable explanation for the necessity of a liberal arts education. In his essay, “How to Make People Smaller Than They Are,” Cousins points out how valuable the humanities are for career-minded people. He says, “The irony of the emphasis being placed on careers is that nothing is more valuable for anyone who has had a professional or vocational education than to be able to deal with abstractions or complexities, or to feel comfortable with subtleties of thought or language, or to think sequentially” (31). Cousins reminds us that technical or vocational knowledge alone will not make one successful in a chosen profession: unique problems and situations may arise daily in the context of one’s job, so an employee must be able to think creatively and deal with events that no textbook ever discussed. The workers who get the promotions and advance to higher positions are the one who can “think on their feet” when they are faced with a complex problem.Cousins also suggests that liberal arts teach students communication skills that are critical for success. A shy, introverted person who is a straight A student in college wouldn’t make a very good public relations consultant, no matter how keen his or her intellectual abilities. Employees who cannot adequately articulate their ideas to a client or employer will soon find themselves unemployed, even if they have brilliant ideas. Social integration into a particular work environment would be difficult without good communication skills and a wide range of interests and general knowledge. The broader a person’s interests, the more compatible he or she will be with other workers.Though it is obvious that liberal arts programs do have considerable value, a college education would not be complete without some job training. The liberal arts should be given equal billing in the college curriculum, but by no means should they become the focal point of higher education. If specialization is outlawed in our institutions of higher learning, then college students might lose their competitive edge. Maxim Gorky has written that, “Any knowledge is useful” (264), and of course most knowledge is useful; but it would be insane to structure the college curriculum around an overview of all the disciplines instead of allowing a student to master one subject or profession. Universities must seek to maintain an equilibrium between liberal and specialized education. A liberal arts degree without specialization or intended future specialization (such as a master’s degree in a specific field) is useless unless one wants to be a professional game show contestant.Students who want to make the most of their college years should pursue a major course of study while choosing electives or minor courses of study from the liberal arts. In this way, scholars can become experts in a profession and still have a broad enough background to ensure versatility., both within and outside the field. In a university’s quest to produce “well-rounded” students, specialization must not come to be viewed as an evil practice.If educators really want to increase the number of liberal arts courses that each student takes, they must first increase the popularity of such studies. It is futile to try to get students to learn something just for the sake of knowing it. They must be given examples, such as those already mentioned, of how a liberal education will further their own interests. Instead of telling students that they need to be “well-rounded,” and feeding them meaningless propaganda, councilors and professors should point out the practical value and applications of a broad education in the liberal arts. It is difficult to persuade some college students that becoming a better person is an important goal of higher education. Many students want a college education so they can make more money and have more power. This is the perceived value of higher education in their world.


Works Cited

Booth, Wayne and Marshall Gregory, eds. The Harper and Row Reader. 2nd Ed. New York: Harper, 1988.Cousins, Norman. “How to Make People Smaller Than They Are.” Booth and Gregory 30-32.Gorky, Maxim. “On Books.” Booth and Gregory 255-66.Thomas, Lewis. “Debating the Unknowable.” Booth and Gregory 797-803.