The Experiential Value of the Liberal Arts
The liberal arts is probably the most diverse kind of education. Ranging from literature to natural and social sciences, it has plenty of different effects depending on what someone studies and how they apply that knowledge to the life they live. Whether they are looking to use a degree to further their education into graduate school or simply look to the liberal arts for practice in writing and speaking, the value of learning the arts can benefit anyone. If we look from the perspective of bettering mankind, the role of a liberal arts education is to improve. All our interests come together in the form of the arts. At its base, the liberal arts is about communicating ideas in different ways. We will not survive without the health sciences, but the arts make us feel. We wouldn’t be where we are today if everyone was apathetic and couldn’t communicate their ideas thoughtfully and effectively. Almost every aspect of the civic, economic, and cultural advancement and enjoyment of life can progress to enhance how we live, not just survive.
Personal goals make everyone’s education different. Learning, improving, creating, it all comes together to cultivate our goals and skills. Looking into the future, everything centers around writing. Writing novels and short stories, not just to earn a living, but because I love to do it. These goals can even add to the value the liberal arts gives to the world. A part of it is definitely the cultural citizenship that Scheuer talks about: wanting to help people and entertain them through my writing. As with many books and arts and other types of media, it helps to “foster vibrant and prosperous communities with broad and deep participation, in public conversations marked by fairness, inclusion, and (where critical thinking comes in) intellectual rigor.” I’ve always wanted to help people through creativity and give them a place where they feel safe to escape into or just visit for a while. Writing and the arts is much more personal than Scheuer describes it, but those communities are still very important to cultivate.
This kind of writing for culture and community partially fits with some of Ungar’s words as well. Ungar talks about the “concern about whether America is keeping up with China and other rising economies in the STEM disciplines.” However, this concern diminishes the importance that the arts hold upon our everyday lives. As stated in the introduction, while the sciences and STEM field helps the people survive, the arts makes life worth living. “No evidence suggests… that success in scientific and technical fields will be greater if it comes at the expense of a broad background in other areas of the liberal arts.” Keeping the people connected and giving them the means to relax, create, and live for themselves may in fact improve the other science fields. There is no limit to what we can imagine and, in turn, improve.
I have frequently dreamt of this future, where the arts are greater appreciated than where they stand now and I lead a life in passionate service to them. That independance of having my own home and job is still far off and will not be feasible without years of hard work. However, this journey connects with one of my short-term extracurricular goals. Over the fall semester(and probably over the spring semester as well), I hope to complete the first draft of a novel. Which novel this will be is still up for debate, seeing as I have so many stories that should be brought into the world, and yet so little time and experience to give them the justice they truly deserve. This is a first step towards the life of accomplishment and creation I practically yearn for.
In writing this novel, it becomes clear that the management of my time between school, work, and personal activities is critical. I have never been one to successfully make and stick to a schedule, especially with my concentration problems. Still, it is still one of my, most likely more fruitless, goals. Potentially in some semblance of comfort, it would be advisable to look at Dweck’s concept of a growth mindset. “If you get the grade “Not Yet”, you understand that you’re on a learning curve. It gives you a path into the future… On the right, you have the students with the growth mindset, the idea that abilities can be developed. They engage deeply, their brain is on fire with “yet”. … They process the error. They learn from it and they correct it.” Maybe it is not possible to attain this level of control over my life and time yet. However, with practice, dedication, and keeping my mind open to the possibilities, I will attain the structure needed to continue my schooling and the completion of my goals in a favorable way.
Problems with school work and concentration could marginally be remedied with the improvement of thinking and bringing more ideas to my assignments. Overall, it can be hard to disagree with or challenge the things I read in any setting, be it an academic paper, a novel, or even a post on the internet. Maybe I’m too trusting by nature, but either way, one of my long-term goals is to figure out how to better challenge the readings instead of taking them at face value. In this sense, I want to get better at engaging in critical thinking. The CORE Handbook says that critical thinking and problem solving “asks them to integrate together and apply their acquired knowledge and skills to problems and decisions within their major and professions, problems that require not only knowledge of the major, but also an understanding of the social sciences, the humanities, gender, race, class, and gender issues, the environmental sciences, and other social and global issues.” To successfully integrate and apply this knowledge, I will first have to be able to challenge the beliefs of those around me. In this way, I can then think and make opinions for myself without relying on others.
Altogether, mankind wouldn’t be where it is without the liberal arts. I wouldn’t want to write; I wouldn’t want to help people. There would be no one connecting through dance or words. No critical thought or growth. We would all live in a boring world of monotonous tedium. To me, this is almost a life worse than death. However, humans are beautiful, creative creatures. When we aren’t surviving we are telling stories, making music, loving each other, and showing that love the only way we can; we are living.
Works Cited
Dweck, Carol. “The Power of Believing That You Can Improve.” The Power of Believing That You Can Improve, Nov. 2014, www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve.
Scheuer, Jeffery. “Critical Thinking and the Liberal Arts.” Critical Thinking and the Liberal Arts, 18 Nov. 2015, www.aaup.org/article/critical-thinking-and-liberal-arts#.YUppwbhKhPZ.
Ungar, Sanford J. “7 Major Misperceptions About the Liberal Arts.” 7 Major Misperceptions About the Liberal Arts, 10 Feb. 2010, https://www-proquest-com.une.idm.oclc.org/docview/214633457?accountid=12756
University of New England, “The Core Curriculum Handbook,” The Core Curriculum Handbook, Aug. 2019, https://www.une.edu/sites/default/files/core_handbook_2019-2020_mcreynolds_edits_august_2019.pdf
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This essay was all about looking at what the liberal arts can be and how important it is in everyday life. By reviewing my own personal, extracurricular, and academic goals alongside some of our more influential and important class readings, I believe I wrote a convincing and high quality essay on how the arts are just as significant to human life as the sciences. I don’t go very far into it in the essay, but the designation of equal importance between the arts and sciences can be essential. Primarily, it would promote more respect to students wishing to study the arts. In this way, it could help destigmatize the notion that the arts are inherently less prospective as a career path, and, in turn, further other career paths by utilizing creative methods in problem solving and other skills that are necessary to really succeed in some of the science paths. Second, as Jeffery Scheuer makes note of, the arts develop different kinds of citizenship. Through a liberal arts education, students learn skills like critical thinking and making conscious and informed choices in their day to day lives. These skills only strengthen the kinds of citizenship that bring communities closer together and enhance their productive natures. Finally, this essay was important to write because it informed us as a class as well. Using the arguments and information from writing our individual essays, we were able to lead deeper discussions during class; ones that would inevitably cause us to think differently about various subjects and readings. Altogether, it’s clear to me that researching and learning more about the arts only made us better and more thoughtful people.
