Albert Einstein said, in regards to learning at Liberal Arts colleges, “It is not so very important for a person to learn facts. For that he does not really need a college. He can learn them from books. The value of an education in a liberal arts college is not learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks” (“Albert Einstein Quote” par. 1). Liberal arts colleges are designed to teach students how to think differently than standard universities. In “The New Liberal Arts,” author Sanford J. Ungar explains the misconceptions about liberal arts universities; liberal arts colleges are misconceived as an extravagance, a waste of money, and an extension of liberal politics. The cost of liberal arts colleges are on average more expensive than a standard four-year college; this is why liberal arts colleges are looked at as an extravagance. Career education is the choice for most Americans but Geoffrey Garin, president of Hart Research Associates, said, “The responsibility of higher education today is to prepare people ‘for jobs that do not yet exist.’ It may be that studying the liberal arts is actually the best form of career education” (qtd. in Ungar pg. 191). Garin says that liberal arts colleges are the best form of career education. The liberal arts colleges offer majors in philosophy, french, and majors with similar teachings. While those majors may help people that want to go into those two fields, it will not help with others. For example, a psychology major will not help a student get a job in an agriculture field. Many potential degree seeking students feel like liberal arts degrees are an expensi. Finding a job with a liberal arts degree is difficult. Many graduates with a liberal arts degree cannot find a job; but this could change, Ungar stated, “A 2009 survey actually found that more than three-quarters of our nation’s employers recommend that collegebound students pursue a ‘liberal education’” (Ungar pg. 192). With employers recommending that college students get a liberal arts degree, there should be an increase of job opportunities. For example, many companies are now looking for people to think creatively, be able to understand and compare literature, and be able to understand foreign languages. Liberal arts colleges prepare their students to do all of these tasks; therefore, many graduates with liberal education should be able to find a job. Many Americans think that liberal arts degrees are useless because they teach talents instead of preparing for a certain job.
Non-liberal arts graduates find that liberal degrees are an absurdity. Americans do not understand that liberal arts colleges are not linked to politics. Liberal arts is a way of learning not a way of thinking and Ungar explains, “A liberal education… has nothing whatsoever to do with politics” (Ungar pg. 194). Many Americans do not want to send their kids to a liberal arts college because of the misconception of the college being linked to the liberals in our government. For example, society thinks that the liberal democrats ruined America, so they do not want to keep sending kids to these types of colleges. Einstein believes that liberal arts colleges are advantageous because they do not teach facts, but how to understand information differently. In “The New Liberal Arts,” author Sanford J. Ungar analyzes liberal arts colleges and the common misconceptions that come along with it. Liberal arts colleges are commonly misconceived. Colleges that teach the liberal arts are unfairly seen as privileged, expensive, and political. Works Cited
“Albert Einstein Quote.” A-Z Quotes, A-Z Quotes, www.azquotes.com/quote/525626?ref=liberal-arts-education. Ungar, Sanford J. "The New Liberal Arts." They Say I Say With Readings. By Gerald Graff and Cathy Birkenstein. Ed. Russel Durst. 2E ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. 190-197. Print