Liberal Arts

Last week or the week before I heard one of these radio talking heads ask a caller, "Why'd you let your son waste his time and your money?"  That was after the radio guy heard the son was getting a college degree in the liberal arts.  And this week one of the online sites listed "Liberal Arts" as the 5th "worst degree if you want a good job," as a waste, I guess.

Of course, we might ask what is meant by "a good job."  Is it one that earns lots of money?  Is it one with a great deal of prestige?  If so, I would not agree with the premise, not at all.  (But I know a lot of people would.)

I couldn't disagree more, for many reasons, including my own personal experiences.

I guess I would question why any so-called "intelligent" or "educated" person would question the value of a wide range of knowledge, with breadth of knowledge to go along with it.  There's nothing wrong with specialization, if a wider base of knowledge is included or comes first.

Note how many people complain about doctors who can't communicate with them, their patients.  Oh, they can diagnose and maybe even "fix" what's wrong.  But that can't empathize or accurately depict what is going on, what needs to be done, what options there may be, etc.  And, in many medical situations, aren't people's feeling, attitudes, and understanding important?  In fact, how many times do we hear that a positive attitude has been helpful in recoveries, cures, etc.  A doctor who has been well-rounded might be far more capable of helping in this area than one who has merely "specialized."

Think how much better a scientist or engineer could/would be if he/she actually understood people, presumably the ones he/she is working to help (or at least better their lives).  Now, I won't toss in politicians, unless they clean up their acts and get rid of the many who are all about getting re-elected, forgetting about the people and the harm being done to them by policies aimed not at helping, but getting re-elected. (OK, I had to throw that one in here.)

Isn't this pretty much what the Common Core is all about, specialization?  That is, it seems to me that the CC is all about preparing students for the work force, for jobs.  Of course this is a major reason why so many big corporations and foundations are behind this, throwing in their support and money.  What do they care about "well-rounded" especially when compared with "job-ready employees?"  And, from poll after poll, from all the anecdotal evidence, it's pretty clear that customer service is at an ebb--and as long as the money keeps pouring in, companies don't care much about that.

I think about my college mates and our liberal arts degrees.  Yes, economics majors went on to be CEOs and other officers in large, Fortune 500 companies.  But think of the psychology majors (another of the "worst degrees") who also rose to the tops of companies.  One fine arts major, with a senior thesis of a sculpture if I recall correctly, later became an MD/anaesthesiologist (after a stint in the NFL).  A political science major ran one of the biggest conglomerates in the US.

If a liberal arts degree teaches students to think, to work hard, to solve problems, to communicate--over a wide spectrum of disciplines--I can't think how that can do anything but make one a prime candidate for practically any job.  To have knowledge and experience with many perspectives is an asset, not "a waste of time and money."

There was a wonderful article in this month's Atlantic Magazine, titled, "Why I Teach Plato to Plumbers."  It is well worth reading.