Liberal Arts Self Assessment Essay

Before I read David Foster Wallace’s commencement speech “This is Water” and Sanford J. Ungar’s article “The New Liberal Arts”, I thought the liberal arts degree was a futile degree and meant nothing to society. After reading the passages it altered my perspective. Wallace and Ungar attempt use the rhetorical devices to meticulously explain the importance of getting a degree in the liberal arts by using pathos and the nods the opposition to support their ideals. However, Wallace’s use of pathos is descriptive and engaging and his nods to the opposition are thorough, while Ungar’s is indirect and his nods are shorthanded. Wallace is specific in the way he uses pathos in his commencement speech.

In Sanford J. Ungar’s article, The New Liberal Arts, he mainly talks about how hard and difficult it is for people to achieve a Liberal Arts Degree. Ungar mostly uses Logos and Ethos, and lists seven common misperception about liberal arts education. Then he precedes to explain why they are not so. Ungar is the President of Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. He is the author of “Fresh Blood: The New American Immigrants” and “Africa: The People and Politics of an Emerging Continent.”

Imagine a working class society where the liberal-arts became extinct. The workforce would be occupied with employees that could not read, write, or communicate properly. Although this is only a theory, with a declining rate and the on-going neglect of the liberal-arts education this prediction is not far from reality. When thinking of the essence and significance of liberal arts many authors write to explain the importance in articles, two of these distinguished figures are Sanford J. Ungar and Charles Murray. In Ungar’s article, “The New Liberal Arts,” he advocates for the liberal-arts and all that it has to offer to scholars.

The article, “Why we undervalue a liberal arts education” By Adam Chapnick written on March 6, 2013 is informative and insightful because the author talks about the importance of not undervaluing liberal arts. Chapnick tells you that at the end of the day science, technology, engineering and mathematics is what is really important. One of Adam Chapnick main idea is that the large public does not get the value of liberal arts. That it has no money value, it is just important.

In his essay, “The New Liberal Arts”, Sanford J. Ungar expresses the importance of a liberal arts degree although there is a new found attraction to career education. Ungar addresses seven common misconceptions that the American people believe to be true. He shares that when students are immersed in a liberal arts education they learn to make a living, live a life rich in values and character, show diversity and complexity, and develop patterns to keep learning everyday for the rest of their lives. The first misperception states that a Liberal arts degree is a luxury most Americans cannot afford, but Ungar states that a liberal arts education is the best investment even in light of these financial circumstances. He believes career education

Liberal Arts Misperception The liberal arts are those subjects or skills that in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free person (Latin:liberal, "worthy of a free person") to know in order to take an active part in civic life, something that (for Ancient Greece) included participating in public debate. These two articles are talking about the misperception that people see about Liberal Arts. Most people hear liberal arts and think, I will not get a good job with this degree, or nobody will hire me.

Today, in the era of big data, machinery, and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), it is common to hear that liberal arts degrees and humanities majors are, well, comparatively worthless. Edward Conard, the author of the essay "We don't need more humanities majors", stands by this idea and argues that individuals with degrees in the STEM fields contribute far more to the economy and society than those who major and get degrees in the humanities/liberal arts field. This is actually not the case. Humanities help us understand people through their histories, cultures, and language with majors having an emphasis on languages, literature, music, art, and philosophy. Without humanities, we would not have been able to progress

Students with access to arts education show improvements in multiple ways. For example, arts education shows improvements in testing scores. Students that have art education in their lives, tends to have higher test scores The arts also engage the parents and families of students who are involved in performances and exhibitions. 
 When they have access to the arts, students of all backgrounds and cultures are more likely to become more diverse.

Liberal arts teach students how to adapt to the constant change seen in their surroundings. This idea correlates with the broad-based knowledge learned from the liberal arts. Ungar says,“It is far wiser for students to prepare for change- and the multiple careers they are likely to have- than to search for a single job track that might one day become a dead end.” (Ungar, 2017, p. 227)

W-7 – PROFESSIONAL BOUNDARIES 1. I chose these competences because as a nurse it is vital to maintain professional boundaries and still be able to provide the therapeutic care without personally getting attached to patients. 2. From the article I learned that it is ok to be present with your patient, and caring about what they might be going through as you provide necessary care and support, but not to excessively worrying about a patient in your personal life/home” (p. 407) 3.

• Identify three out of five skills or competencies you have acquired through participation in general education courses that will help you strive to meet your academic and career goals. Through participation in general education courses, there are a number of skills or competencies I have acquired that will help me strive to meet my academic and career goals. The three skills I have acquired are the following: apply ethics and moral reasoning to academic knowledge and societal concerns, exhibit clear communication skills through investigative research and writing, and utilize information technology skills appropriate to interdisciplinary studies. • Describe your three chosen skills and explain which activities, assignments, or courses helped you acquire them

Going forward a liberal arts education will be key for me to attain my goals. Specifically a Hollins liberal arts education. I am interested in pursuing pre-law, creative writing, art, and equine studies. At a typical technical based studies program I would be unable to study and learn what I 'm passionate about. It has been said that if you choose a job you love you will never have to work another day, and I fully intend to live my life with zeal doing what I love and am truly passionate about, and a liberal arts education will help me achieve that.

DMACC Foundation Scholarship “The length of your education is less important than its breadth, and the length of your life is less important than its depth” by Marilyn Vos Savant is a quote that I hold very true to myself. All of my life I’ve believed that life isn’t about the breaths I take, it’s about the moments that take my breath away. I feel as if my believe fits right into the quote by Ms. Savant as she compares that believe to the importance of education. Many successful people, like Arne Duncan, have said that postsecondary education is extremely important when pursuing success in America’s economic system. I fully believe that thought and that is why I hold the value of education to a very high level.

Academic success to me is achieving good grades and understanding the material to get good grades. Academic success also means to have an good attendance. I already get mostly A’s and B’s, but I am not good at staying on top of things. To improve my academic success I will attend class more often, be more organized, pay attention in class, and not procrastinate.

“Arts education is critical for helping students develop creativity, critical thinking, and problem solving abilities” (Chernin). The arts can help people succeed. Art is a way that people can express themselves and share their beliefs. Arts in education can help people focus and attend. Fine arts are important because they make a huge impact on kids education, they make an impact on how people pursue their life careers, and it also helps with stress and anxiety.