Brandon Colcord

Professor Frank

English 110

October 17th, 2021

Example Paragraphs Using Barclays Formula To Build Conversation

1. A Liberal Arts education benefits you beyond the classroom. This is proven when Scheuer states “The assimilation of facts, ideas, and conceptual frameworks, and the development of critical minds, are equal parts of a liberal education. Or almost equal: at least outside the hard sciences, the intellectual tools and standards of rigor may have more lasting value than accrued factual knowledge. Precisely because they transcend the knowledge bases of the various disciplines, critical-thinking skills enable students to become lifelong learners and engaged citizens—in all three senses of citizenship—and to adapt to change and to multiple career paths. Thus, as William Deresiewicz observes, “The first thing that college is for is to teach you to think.” (Scheuer, Pg. 5, Par. 4). I’m with Scheuer on this because he is pretty much saying a liberal arts education is worth pursuing because unlike stem classes the knowledge learned in liberal arts is “lifelong” knowledge that will be useful even after college. He is also going on about how it’ll make you a great citizen\productive societal member.
2.  A student should mainly focus on a Liberal Arts education above all other priorities. This becomes obvious after Scheuer tells us “The STEM disciplines are obviously important to economic productivity, but so is the entire rainbow of human knowledge and the ability to think critically. That’s why nations around the world are beginning to embrace the liberal arts idea that American education has done so much to promote, even as we question it. We need skilled thinkers, problem solvers, team workers, and communicators, and not just in the business, scientific, and technology sectors. The liberal arts embody precisely the skills a democracy must cultivate to maintain its vital reservoir of active, thoughtful, humane, and productive citizens.” (Scheuer, Pg. 6, Par. 5). Scheuer is explaining that he isn’t trying to completely tell us STEM knowledge is useless or not worth pursuing. It is just as important as any knowledge given to someone. He is just trying to say it would be better use of your time spent on liberal arts considering the benefits afterwards. Also explaining how everyone is useful along with all knowledge, yet you could always become a better citizen by taking the time to embrace a more open education. This leaves me to believe STEM knowledge is incorporated within a liberal arts education which makes it worth pursuing above all other priorities.  

Passages comment: These passages don’t quite work together due to the claims I chose. Yes, they are both in support of Scheuers claim, but there are two different ideas that could be expanded on in them.

Work cited

Scheuer, Jeffrey. “Critical Thinking And The Liberal Arts” American Association of University Professors, November-December, 2015, No Pg.