- Finish reading the Core Handbook Selections (IV, VI, VII). How do these sections help you put your courses into context? Look back to your responses to HW#3 and add 1-2 sentences for each course that links it to these sections of the handbook.
Stats- Taking math courses has always seemed a little irrelevant to me but still having taken these courses will still help students advance.
FYS- This class is what this whole article is all about, taking liberal arts courses and experiencing freedom.
Management- It’s no surprise, then, that a growing number of corporations, including some in highly technical fields, are headed by people with liberal art degrees.
Psych- The liberal arts encompasses the broadest possible range of disciplines in the natural sciences, the humanities and social sciences.
English Comp- Taking this course will help me become a better writer, speak clearer and understand the nuances of literary texts like it says on the first page of the handbook.
- Pre-reading: Read title and write 3-5 sentences as a pre-reading activity. What is this article going to be about? Now that you’ve read the UNE Core Handbook, what do YOU think “liberal arts” means
I think that taking liberal arts courses is very good for students and this article is going to keep explaining liberals arts or break it down a little more. In the first core handbook it talks about a lot of these classes teaching students lots of different skills that they can use in other courses and I think that is very beneficial. Other majors are good too but taking liberal art courses can help give a different perspective on all the different options.
- Ungar lists 7 “misperceptions”. Pick 4 of these and write a 3-5 sentence summary for each one (What do many people think? What does Ungar think?). Pick ONE quote (include it in the HW response), and respond to or comment on the quote. (This is an opportunity to write up a question, relationship, challenge you started in an annotation.)
Misconceptions #1: A liberal arts degree is a luxury that most families can’t afford.
I have never heard of this misconception but I don’t agree with it anyways. I don’t think taking these specific courses is a luxury that families can’t afford, college in general is pretty luxury but not specifically liberal arts. Unger thinks that it could be argued that the traditional well- rounded preparation that the liberal arts offer is a better investment than ever.
Misconceptions #2: College graduates are finding it harder to get a job with liberal arts degrees.
I think that getting involved with liberal arts courses actually makes it easier to get jobs. It expands your horizons and gets you more involved in lots of different subjects. Unger found percentages showing how lots of jobs pursue college students who study liberal arts.
Misconceptions #3: One should not in this day and age only study the arts.
It’s not only the arts, there are a lot of different kinds of courses involved in taking liberal arts. It’s a pretty broad thing to study and it expands your knowledge. The way they phrase this misconception says too strongly not to take only the arts, I don’t think it has to be so aggressive since it’s a good course to take.
Misconceptions #4: The cost of American higher education is spiraling out of control.
The high cost of American education is really high but it’s not really a liberal arts thing. Costs of school are really high everywhere, it’s not just the liberal arts schools that are high cost. In the article it says the best way to understand genuine national priorities is to follow the money and by that standard, education is not all that important to the country.
