Civic Issues Post #4

Over the course of my civic issues blog, I have talked about both the ideological reasoning behind the desire to obtain a liberal arts degree and the application of this kind of degree in the job market. Additionally, I have also touched on the opposing viewpoint that the liberal arts are a weak point in the educational system and should be done away with. Having presented all these ideas, I would like to take a moment to think about how they all fit together and to attempt to reach a conclusion about the place liberal arts should have in a college educational system. The answer to this question lies in an understanding of what the true purpose of education should be. For many, education is about getting a well-paying job and these people often look to the STEM majors as degrees that lead to such a job. But as I’ve discussed, employers in certain fields often look for liberal arts major because of their well-rounded understanding of human interaction. It is in this fact that we find the true value of the liberal arts.  As an engineer, I have chosen a pathway that will lead me through very specialized coursework with a focus on mastering the detailed subject matter required to perform my job well. As such, I won’t have much room to explore many other subject areas. From my perspective, although I will end up with a good job, I feel education should focus on learning about things that truly interest you. While engineering of course interests me, there are other things I would like to learn about out of pure curiosity but probably won’t have time to do so. As such, I feel I’m missing out on the full value of education. The liberal arts do a better job at offering this full value. By straying from highly-specialized subjects like engineering, the liberal arts allow students to explore a wider range of information as they learn about themselves and the world around them. In my opinion, this approach towards education is closer to what I believe college should ideally be and as such, I think the liberal arts will always have a place in our educational system.