“I can’t go to a liberal-arts college. My parents are conservatives!” I told my eight grade focus teacher. He laughed and then went on to explain what a liberal-arts college actually is. Like many others, I believed a common misperception about the liberal-arts. In “The New Liberal Arts” by Sanford J. Ungar, he explains seven misperceptions about the liberal-arts to a college-based audience including students, professors, and administration. He explains the importance and relevance of a liberal-arts education. Ungar claims that the liberal arts is a better investment because it prepares students for career placement by giving them skills in communicating effectively, thinking creatively, and understanding comprehensively. Ungar successfully
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However, he does acknowledge the financial and social class structure struggles that do affect prospective and current students who choose to pursue a liberal-arts education. For example, Ungar uses loaded language in explaining the third misperception of liberal arts:
Misperception No. 3: The liberal arts are particularly irrelevant for low income and first-generation college students. They, more than their more-affluent peers, must focus on something more practical and marketable. It is condescending to imply that those who have less cannot understand and appreciate the finer elements of knowledge…another way of saying, rich [people] will do important thinking, and the lower classes will simply carry out their ideas. This is just a form of prejudice and cannot be supported intellectually (Ungar 228-229).
The words “condescending” and “prejudice” have extremely strong connotations and are the most emotionally-affecting words in the …show more content…
His argument could be further supported with more statistical evidence showing that he is not the only one who believes in this education, but many others have similar views and opinions, as well. I think this is an excellent representation of the truth about liberal-arts educations and how unfortunately, it is negatively received due to the misperceptions. While I would argue that everyone should pursue some sort of liberal-arts education because I believe it does make a student more well-rounded, self-aware, and educated to a different degree than career or technical-based schools, I think it is absolutely acceptable and understandable for each student to have their own path to their future – a student’s circumstances should not define or limit their education
However, he does acknowledge the financial and social class structure struggles that do affect prospective and current students who choose to pursue a liberal-arts education. For example, Ungar uses loaded language in explaining the third misperception of liberal arts:
Misperception No. 3: The liberal arts are particularly irrelevant for low income and first-generation college students. They, more than their more-affluent peers, must focus on something more practical and marketable. It is condescending to imply that those who have less cannot understand and appreciate the finer elements of knowledge…another way of saying, rich [people] will do important thinking, and the lower classes will simply carry out their ideas. This is just a form of prejudice and cannot be supported intellectually (Ungar 228-229).
The words “condescending” and “prejudice” have extremely strong connotations and are the most emotionally-affecting words in the …show more content…
His argument could be further supported with more statistical evidence showing that he is not the only one who believes in this education, but many others have similar views and opinions, as well. I think this is an excellent representation of the truth about liberal-arts educations and how unfortunately, it is negatively received due to the misperceptions. While I would argue that everyone should pursue some sort of liberal-arts education because I believe it does make a student more well-rounded, self-aware, and educated to a different degree than career or technical-based schools, I think it is absolutely acceptable and understandable for each student to have their own path to their future – a student’s circumstances should not define or limit their education