Liberal Arts Education Misperceptions

In “Are Too Many People Going to College?”, Charles Murray writes, “Today, if you do not get a B.A., many people assume it is because you are too dumb or too lazy” (253). Basically, Murray is chastising the social norm for a young adult to get a college degree. Though I concede that expectations to go to college put on by counselors, parents, and the media are way too much, I still insist that everyone should be able to go to college regardless as it is financially beneficial and provides a unique perspective of the world. Although Murray puts up a good defense of how America infatuation with a college degree can lead to a class disparity, the author lacks the practicality of Core Knowledge, consideration of how a college education has its intrinsic and monetary merits that students can get by completing a degree, and an opposing view that a college degree does not necessarily lessen the

In “Are Too Many People Going to College?” Charles Murray offers his opinion on the number of students that pursue a B.A. He believes that two year or four year colleges are not needed for a majority of students who could instead pursue other life paths. He discusses the ability for the general knowledge needed to be learned in primary and secondary school, and for a lessened need for a “brick-and-mortar” institution the problems with the current secondary and higher educational issues including the lessened need to acquire a B.A.

Misconception number one states the argument that Liberal Arts degrees have become too expensive for most working class families, however Ungar argues these degrees make for a well-rounded individual, thus creating a long term investment in oneself that focuses on collaboration and oral and written communication. Next, Misconception two states fresh graduates sport a difficulty finding jobs, but this is not due specifically to their field of study. In fact, Ungar states that most employers look for a Liberal Arts degree in recent graduates for critical thinking and problem solving skills to be used in the workforce.

Liberal arts teach students how to adapt to the constant change seen in their surroundings. This idea correlates with the broad-based knowledge learned from the liberal arts. Ungar says,“It is far wiser for students to prepare for change- and the multiple careers they are likely to have- than to search for a single job track that might one day become a dead end.” (Ungar, 2017, p. 227) Because of the broad-based knowledge obtained from a liberal arts education, students are equipped to adapt to changes. Instead of having limited knowledge of a certain subject, they can have an expansion of knowledge. The liberal arts work in correlation with the STEM field. This way, students not only know the core subjects, but also the extracurricular subjects as well. “The liberal arts encompass the broadest possible range of disciplines in the natural sciences, the humanities, and the social sciences.” (Ungar, 2017, p. 229) Liberal arts and the core curriculum work in harmony to equip a student for success. Liberal arts do not focus on the STEM fields, rather they broaden the students’ minds for careers that do not yet exist. Thus, Liberal arts promote widespread thinking within schools and companies, while the STEM fields provides the basis for the

Students should think carefully about their choice of major if they want a good return on investment for their college degree. In their reading, For Some, College May Not be a Smart Investment, Stephanie Owen and Isabel Sawhill maintains that, “According to Census’s calculations, the lifetime earnings of an education or arts major working the service sector are actually lower than the average lifetime earnings of a high school graduate," (p. 5, 2013). Basically, Owen and Sawhill are claiming that a person with an arts major is making, on average, less than a person with only a high school graduate degree.

The general argument made by author Charles Murray in his article, “Are too many people go to college,” is that the college is not necessary for everyone. More specifically, the Murray argues that students who went to school should have learned the core knowledge they will learn in the college. He writes, “ K-8 are the right years to teach the core knowledge, and the effort should get off to a running start in elementary school” (236). In this passage, Murray is suggesting that start teaching the core knowledge in elementary school until high school is better than to spend money and more time to the college. It is not important to go to college. In my opinion, I agree with Murray’s claim that four year college is not worth, job satisfaction for intrinsic reward, and the dark side of the Bachelor's degree.

Going to college for many students is just a normal part of life. It is what will enable them to get an education that eventually will lead to get a well-paid job and the resources and the status to live a comfortable life. But for college professor, Andrew Delbanco, the American college has a higher purpose. In the article “College at Risk”, Delbanco states that colleges should be promoting critical thinking among students, through knowledge of the past and the interaction with each other; as well as, help them discover their talents and passions and figure out what they want to do in life. This type of education is called liberal arts and for Delbanco, it represents the ideal education. However, the high cost of receiving an education and the competitive labor market is making very hard for student to obtain a liberal art education.

Ungar he says “the Association of American Colleges and Universities found that more than three-quarters of our nation’s employers recommended that college bound students pursue a liberal education… 89 percent said they were looking for the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing… and develop better critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills” (228). Since more employers is looking for employees with skills that a liberal education provides they would have a better advantage over the employee who didn’t gain those similar

People go to college to get a good paying job, have job security, and get a degree. Well at least that’s what it should be about. That’s what Charles Murray believes in his essay “Are Too Many People Going to College.” Murray counters the argument of Sanford Ungar who believes colleges should have a more liberal approach towards its classes and have students actually learn a broad range of real life skills instead of just going into a career just because it pays well. In Ungar’s essay he explains the misperception that Americans have on obtaining a liberal-arts degree and how they believe it doesn’t translate well to the real world. Despite Ungar’s points Murray’s essay touched on many valid points such as a liberal education should be learned

Reich supports this claim that not everyone can succeed in a four-year liberal arts college by bringing up three key problems: financial instability, lack of employment, and eventual obsolete education due to four-year liberal arts degrees.. Reich believes the main cause these issues are experienced by students are because of lack of awareness of gateways and the fact that very few gateways are opened to students. Reich argues that another gateway for success that won’t cause financial instability is to pursue technician jobs. In order to achieve mastery over technical knowledge only two years of study at a community college is required which can lead to a preference for students versus a four-year liberal arts college because of extremely low cost and time. Reich also believes that since technology is constantly changing specific knowledge from a four-year liberal arts college may become obsolete. The author also mentions how Germany is keeping up with the constantly changing technical education which has helped the German economy maintain their position of high leveled manufacturing and applied technology. Reich compares how students of Germany have no struggle to get jobs once they obtain their degrees due to education being based on industry standards. According to Reich, we shouldn’t replicate the German system since it demands families to decide on a technical career by the age of 14. However Reich states, we can create a gateway that is similar to German’s system that is far superior to obtaining a degree from a four-year liberal arts college as well as less financially stressful for the students. Reich states that a potential gateway may be combining senior year of high school and the first year of community college to create a curriculum that meets industry standards and the constantly changing

Ungar’s essay, Charles Murray discusses why a liberal arts degree is unnecessary in his essay, “Are Too Many People Going to College?”. Murray believes that the basics of a liberal education are indeed important, but that students should be provided the basics of liberal arts in elementary and middle school (Murray 223). In this essay, Murray cites E.D. Hirsch Jr.’s book Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know.” Hirsch Jr. and Murray believe that there is a “body of core knowledge” that all students should have, and that “this core knowledge is an important part of the glue that holds the culture together” but that this core knowledge should be taught in grades K-8 (Murray 224). Murray discusses how young children are much better at memorizing facts than adults are, to support his position that kids should be memorizing this core knowledge at a younger age (Murray 224). Murray believes that students need to learn more about science, history, art, music, and literature than they’re being taught now. His argument is that they need to be taught this information before college, so that in once they become a freshman they can immediately begin focusing on their intended major (Murray 225). As a college freshman at a liberal arts school, I can confidently say that my previous schooling has prepared me well for a liberal arts education. I am continuing to learn things in my freshman year that I believe will prepare me well for my future endeavors. I am able to focus on my current major while still learning how to write better, solve difficult problems, and learning more about culture and the world which we live in. I am confident that with a B.A. degree and my broad range of knowledge, I will have flexibility if I choose to pursue a different career. Employers will also realize that someone with a liberal arts degree has that range of knowledge of different subjects. Murray believes that “most students go to college to acquire

Should everyone go to college? College is a place for young adults to grow and be prepared for the future. The author of “Too Many People Are Going to College” Charles Murray, believes that college is not for everybody and is not an important step for you adults. I believe everyone should go, because going to college we can gain more knowledge, learn how to manage class and time, become mature as adults, and learn how living on your own is more difficult since we have to make our own decisions as young adults.

Murray is not arguing that the four year degree is completely useless for everyone, instead he insists that the four year degree works for people who want to get a liberal arts education. He claims that students who want a liberal arts education are the minority. Murray asserts that the best way to prove a worker is competent for a job is by “treating post-secondary education as apprenticeships for everyone” (Murray 8).

Attending college is commonly seen as a time of life for learning how to think; David Foster Wallace disagrees in his Kenyon commencement speech. Although Wallace acknowledges that a typical commencement speech consists of uplifting messages about the human value of a liberal arts education, he instead expresses what a liberal arts education means to him. Rather than a liberal arts education teaching students how to think for themselves—which is now common belief—Wallace instead expresses that a liberal arts education teaches students to exercise control over how and what to think. To clarify, he explains, “it means being conscious and aware enough to choose what you pay attention to and

Recently, many have begun to attack and degrade higher education in the United States. In the book How College Works, authors Daniel Chambliss and Christopher Takacs claim, “As state support has eroded, and as more students attend college in an increasingly desperate attempt to find viable jobs, the price to students of attending an institution of higher education has gone up, especially at more selective institutions” (172). So is college even worth it? Caroline Bird’s excerpt from her book Case Against College “Where College Fails Us” is an adequately written article that agrees with those who question whether college is a good investment. Bird argues that although some students would benefit from college and succeed, many fall short, wasting