In Shorris’ article “On the Uses of a Liberal Education” he spoke about the essence of inquiry. He took an unconventional approach to a well-known issue, he proposed that poor education perpetuated the life of the poor. Shorris used his resources and skills to take a group of willing lower class participants and taught them the humanities in hopes that they would, afterward, be able to participate more successfully in society – which they were. From the first 16 course graduates, ten were attending four-year colleges or nursing schools and all but one of the others were either working full-time jobs or attending a community college (Shorris 320). Compared to these people’s previous lives of poverty, the education that Shorris gave them really
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Shorris’ article challenges this common misperception and shines a light upon the importance of art, the humanities and all liberal art fields. Previous generations have encouraged their children to go into fields such as engineering, health sciences, and business but with Shorris’ research he promotes a respect for fields such as sociology, psychology, and philosophy. Not that the STEM fields are not important because that is false, but Shorris argues that the humanities are equally as important and require equal attention if humanity is to prosper and thrive. His claim is backed up by evidence through his class, however, he is not the only one to think of the humanities as significant. Many others have laid this claim and supported it with their own data results. Stanford is a well-known and accredited college and they argue for society to place a greater focus on the humanities. Right on Stanford’s website they say that “through exploration of the humanities we learn how to think creatively and critically, to reason, and to ask questions” (Stanford “Why Do the Humanities Matter?”). This is important in all areas of life as these skills are useful no matter what one’s culture or career are. Having the ability to think objectively and decisively is useful throughout life - especially when one wants to interact with those of a more prestigious
Shorris’ article challenges this common misperception and shines a light upon the importance of art, the humanities and all liberal art fields. Previous generations have encouraged their children to go into fields such as engineering, health sciences, and business but with Shorris’ research he promotes a respect for fields such as sociology, psychology, and philosophy. Not that the STEM fields are not important because that is false, but Shorris argues that the humanities are equally as important and require equal attention if humanity is to prosper and thrive. His claim is backed up by evidence through his class, however, he is not the only one to think of the humanities as significant. Many others have laid this claim and supported it with their own data results. Stanford is a well-known and accredited college and they argue for society to place a greater focus on the humanities. Right on Stanford’s website they say that “through exploration of the humanities we learn how to think creatively and critically, to reason, and to ask questions” (Stanford “Why Do the Humanities Matter?”). This is important in all areas of life as these skills are useful no matter what one’s culture or career are. Having the ability to think objectively and decisively is useful throughout life - especially when one wants to interact with those of a more prestigious