Brandon Colcord
Professor Frank
English 110
November , 2021
Essay 2 Naysayer Before and After
Before:
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 6). 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 a better use of your time if you focused 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.
After:
Some people may think that a liberal arts education is in fact too expensive, and that it doesn’t make sense to spend money on something so uncertain. In fact, I personally skipped college right after highschool because I was thinking the same thing everyone else was, so I decided to join the workforce. Yes, I can say there were some financial benefits for avoiding the student loans right out of highschool, but I would argue that it wasn’t really a benefit at all when I could’ve been using my time more wisely. So far though, as I begin my freshman year of college trying to receive my own liberal arts degree, it has given me both more flexibility in the workforce, and more opportunities, like entrepreneurship, none of which would be possible without spending money advancing my education.
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” (Scheuer 6). He is saying that all knowledge is important, but the liberal arts is worth chasing above all others because it is proven just by looking at how other cultures are trying to pursue it. Some people may think they won’t get a good job if they strictly focus on liberal arts. This isn’t true, which is shown when Scheuer says “ We need skilled thinkers, problem solvers, team workers, and communicators, and not just in the business, scientific, and technology sectors” (Scheuer, 6). Society actually requires people to have these basic skills, which are easily learned through a liberal education.
Work Cited
Scheuer, Jeffrey. “Critical Thinking And The Liberal Arts” American Association of University Professors, November-December, 2015, No Pg.
Ungar, Sanford. “7 Major Misperceptions About The Liberal Arts” The Chronicle Of A Higher Education, February 28th, 2010, Pg. 6.
