In the 17th century, a liberal arts education consisted of the following courses: grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. The only people who got to partake in this form of education were the male aristocrats; if the word “liberal” is broken down, it can mean “to grow,” “one grows,” or “free.” (Cronon, 1998) What good is liberal education if only a particular group of people benefits from this enlightenment and not everyone? Today, a lot of schools claim to offer a liberal arts education, but what they do not do is lay out what exactly they are offering or requiring their students to do. Many liberal arts schools, today, require a total number of credit hours, composition courses, a pre-calculus math, a foreign
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These students should read a lot and understand what they have read. Reading should spark a curiosity within them to want to read and know more. Along with this curiosity, they should become interested in others and want to talk with people to find out more about them. Their writings should be clear and moving by touching others through their words. Breaking down situations to rebuild and solve the problem is another characteristic of someone with a liberal arts education. These students should love learning, but they love learning because of the knowledge that they gain. Putting themselves in someone else’s shoes teaches them humility, tolerance, and self-criticism. They understand how to get things done in hopes of making the world a better place. Nurturing and empowerment runs through their veins not only to liberate themselves, but to liberate others as well. The final step is to connect all of these characteristics together to be a truly well-rounded, liberally educated student (Cronon, 1998, pp. 3-5). Cronon said,” It is a way of living in the face of our own ignorance, a way of groping toward wisdom in full recognition of our own folly, a way of educating ourselves without any illusion that our educations will ever be complete (Cronon, 1998, p. 5),” which is a beautiful way to describe a liberal arts education. The knowledge that is gained from a liberal arts education should be used by the students as guide to a fuller life. With this knowledge, these students should then travel out into their communities to help liberate others. What good is having an immense amount of knowledge if you do not share it with the people around
These students should read a lot and understand what they have read. Reading should spark a curiosity within them to want to read and know more. Along with this curiosity, they should become interested in others and want to talk with people to find out more about them. Their writings should be clear and moving by touching others through their words. Breaking down situations to rebuild and solve the problem is another characteristic of someone with a liberal arts education. These students should love learning, but they love learning because of the knowledge that they gain. Putting themselves in someone else’s shoes teaches them humility, tolerance, and self-criticism. They understand how to get things done in hopes of making the world a better place. Nurturing and empowerment runs through their veins not only to liberate themselves, but to liberate others as well. The final step is to connect all of these characteristics together to be a truly well-rounded, liberally educated student (Cronon, 1998, pp. 3-5). Cronon said,” It is a way of living in the face of our own ignorance, a way of groping toward wisdom in full recognition of our own folly, a way of educating ourselves without any illusion that our educations will ever be complete (Cronon, 1998, p. 5),” which is a beautiful way to describe a liberal arts education. The knowledge that is gained from a liberal arts education should be used by the students as guide to a fuller life. With this knowledge, these students should then travel out into their communities to help liberate others. What good is having an immense amount of knowledge if you do not share it with the people around