The Debate Continues: The Value of the Liberal Arts
I'll start with a link to this article: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/11/13/new-report-shows-colleges-how-bridge-gap-between-liberal-arts-and-work-force
Few days go by that I don't see something in higher education news about the value of the liberal arts curriculum. As a professor in a school of liberal arts, these articles get my attention, but they basically revolve around these ideas:
1. Liberal arts majors are declining in numbers (i.e., the number of student majoring in liberal arts discipine, typically history and English);
2. This means something terrible (the end of civilization, critical thinking, higher education values, etc.); and
3. Employers still want liberal arts majors because of their "human" skills (better than soft skills, at least) and other attributes.
My take:
1. A liberal arts major only has human skills if he/she cultivates them, which takes intentionality. You can read lots of great novels and still not have the sense to send a thank you note after an interview.
2. The liberal arts professors and leaders have watered down their disciplines (I won't even get into the political end of the matter) and weakened the education the students should receive;
3. A STEM major is not immune to appreciating the liberal arts; this whole debate involves one of the biggest false dichotomies around, and
4. Neither is a liberal arts major ignorant of science and math. Recently a coworker said she was surprised that an English major learned and completed a project with a complicated coding language, as if majoring in English closed off someone's mathematical ability. The myth is that liberal arts majors choose those majors because they "aren't any good" at STEM subjects. That is true of some, but definitely not all. We can be great at math and science but just not interested in studying it for four years.
Few days go by that I don't see something in higher education news about the value of the liberal arts curriculum. As a professor in a school of liberal arts, these articles get my attention, but they basically revolve around these ideas:
1. Liberal arts majors are declining in numbers (i.e., the number of student majoring in liberal arts discipine, typically history and English);
2. This means something terrible (the end of civilization, critical thinking, higher education values, etc.); and
3. Employers still want liberal arts majors because of their "human" skills (better than soft skills, at least) and other attributes.
My take:
1. A liberal arts major only has human skills if he/she cultivates them, which takes intentionality. You can read lots of great novels and still not have the sense to send a thank you note after an interview.
2. The liberal arts professors and leaders have watered down their disciplines (I won't even get into the political end of the matter) and weakened the education the students should receive;
3. A STEM major is not immune to appreciating the liberal arts; this whole debate involves one of the biggest false dichotomies around, and
4. Neither is a liberal arts major ignorant of science and math. Recently a coworker said she was surprised that an English major learned and completed a project with a complicated coding language, as if majoring in English closed off someone's mathematical ability. The myth is that liberal arts majors choose those majors because they "aren't any good" at STEM subjects. That is true of some, but definitely not all. We can be great at math and science but just not interested in studying it for four years.
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