Jacob Laflamme
Professor Emerson
English 110-C
31st August 2017
The Liberal Arts in College
I believe that the purpose of getting a higher education is to not only be skilled in a certain field but to also have proficiency in skills that would help in everyday life. For example: communication and the exchange of ideas. I believe that everyone should be given the opportunity for a higher education, whether it be traditional or unconventional. Similar to Ronald Barnett, I agree that higher education should push you outside of your comfort zone and culture. Higher education is not just about obtaining a skill, but it is also about learning, challenging yourself, and being uncomfortable.
Similar to Barnett, Nussbaum’s opinion about the liberal arts is relatively the same. They both share the idea that a liberal arts education should push and challenge you. It should teach you how to think outside your societal norms and make you think critically about your education. I was taught these principles during my time in highschool.
My high school in San Francisco was more about learning than it was about grades. We were encouraged to ask questions, be fully engaged in the text we were reading, to challenge our minds in class, and apply what we learned in our English classes in other courses. My school required us to take four years of history to force us to think more about other cultures and different ways of thinking. By having a liberal arts environment, we were pushed outside of what was considered the norm for education and could experience different ways of thinking. I believe we were taught this way to help us enter the world having the skills that will help us understand different perspectives.
My time in middle school and high school reflects what is said in the two passages. In middle school I had a teacher who favored using the Socratic method in class. We would read in class and have discussions about the book, and at home we would write our papers. When we read The Catcher in The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, our class not only talked about Holden and his dilemmas but we also had argumentative discussions. Was Holden a jerk, was he justified for what he did, and what the book, was supposed to mean. In high school, all my English and History classes were led with Socratic dialogue. This allowed us to express our opinions about subjects and hear other people’s view on the subject, have more open minds and be able to give and receive criticism more easily.
The things I have experienced relate to what Nussbaum said in her passage about how challenging the mind and make higher education not just teach you one skill, but many, so that you can be able to understand and be a part of this complex world. Having the opportunity for higher education is important for any young mind before embarking on learning a skill or trade. Whether it is a more traditional education of attending a US college or less traditional avenue, a liberal arts or Socratic education will expand your thinking and help you learn by questioning. Being met with different opinions and beliefs will help any person be more thoughtful and accomplished in their chosen profession.
