The move away from a liberal arts college education is taking its toll on American students. This could mean a future generation with poor knowledge of the basics of government and citizenship.
A University of Connecticut study polling 14,000 college freshmen and seniors at 50 universities on American history and government and world economy showed failing results. The multiple choice test gauged knowledge alone, and the differences in knowledge acquired between students entering and leaving college.
Stanford University freshmen scored an average of 62.2 percent and seniors scored 63.1 percent, signaling no change in knowledge acquisition during college years. Conversely, at Rhodes College in Memphis, the difference went from 50.6 percent for freshmen to 62.2 percent for seniors — likely because students take an average of 4.2 courses in history and political science.
Posted by Angie Holladay
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15 Comments
and just exactly how much money can you make off a liberal arts degree? My philosophy degree won’t pay me dick, that’s why I went into law. The priority of today’s students is financial stability, and in an increasingly unstable world, that is becoming hard for us to achieve. If we need more American history then we’ll read a book about it in our leisure time. Right now, we gotta study to for future financial security and we gotta work to eat! How much fucking time do you think we have for esoteric exercises and history books? Angie Holladay doesn’t know what she’s talking about!
You’ve probably made an erroneous inference. As Stanford’s Terry Moe pointed out, Stanford has a lot of math, science and engineering students. Liberal arts college Rhodes College does not. He also pointed out that less selective colleges that lose a lot of their initial enrollees will concentrate the more knowledgeable by senior year.
What was the first century in which an American colony was established? Jamestown, 17th, was the “correct” answer. But St. Augustine, Florida was established in 1565, the SIXTEENTH century. It was a successful colony, because three years later, in 1568, Sir Francis Drake attacked it. Many other colonies in the Americas were established in the 16th century. You see, the “correct” answer is WRONG. When ignoramuses construct tests, you get erroneous “results”. Unless you judge that St. Augustine isn’t in America.
Angee, you provided a link to the SF Chronicle report, but you didn’t research this particular false “factoid” that it cited.
On Iraq’s Baath Party, when was the last time you heard this party named? Check Eagle archives. When was the last time the WE mentioned this name? We’re fighting “Islamofascists”. The Baath Party was basically secular. In the “War on Terror” the BP has disappeared from mainline public discourse.
Will, I was responding to Ms. Holladay, not you. I thought I was posting first, but you scooped me. ;)
When I attended MIT (hardly a liberal arts institution) many years ago I was required to take a significant “liberal arts” load. The theory was that I was being educated to be a Citizen, not simply trained to be a cog in industry.
Aye Ben Huie, humanities and social sciences were infused into my curriculum as well when I was in the university mode. I do believe that social sciences bear more weight into societal integration than studying the ‘Tempest’ from a Shakespeare play. But that’s me and those types of humanities have their place, just not as a required part of general education at the University level.
When I was an undergrad Accounting and Business major at KU, there was a 60 credit hour requirement for liberal arts courses. Like MIT for Ben, the idea was to “educate”, not create a highly trained technologist. Will, I have a feeling that skills developed in attaining your undergrad degree in Philosophy will serve you well in your legal education, especially the writing skills that should have been highly honed.
Hear hear, Ben. A university is not a trade school. It is there to educate citizens – thinkers – not just, as you aptly put it, a “cog in industry.”
As much as I may disagree with the general liberal viewpoint in acedemia, I WANT a university environment that challenges conventional thinking and forces asking hard questions. Those students will be running the show someday. We need them to know something besides a narrow occupational focus.
While there may indeed be flaws in the study, I don’t doubt the basic premise: that American University students, in general, are sadly lacking in a broad cultural foundation. That reflects the American people in general.
America needs students with an understanding of history (the most important thing we teach), English writing, literature, sociology, religions (an understanding of most major religions, not teaching religion; at least in a public institution), etc. And yes, they should be general ed, taught before students get to the heart of their occupational training.
To put it bluntly, the taxpayers do not massively subsidize education in this country just to get you rich, Will. They do so to get citizens who can serve the common good.
Good post, GMC.
You’re really too smart to be a ditto-head.
You should cut yourself free of conservative dogma that has proven a failure decade after decade.
Capn;
I don’t ditto anyone. As to why I believe as I do?
Because I can think for myself. And it’s the liberal dogma that has proven failure.
A SNAPSHOT FROM 2 YRS AGO:
Troop Contingents in Iraq by Country of Origin: March 2004Iraq Troop numbers March 20041 USA 130,0002 United Kingdom 9,0003 Italy 3,0004 Poland 2,4605 Ukraine 1,6006 Spain * 1,3007 Netherlands 1,1008 Australia 8009 Romania 70010 Bulgaria 48011 Thailand 44012 Denmark 42013 Honduras * 36814 El Salvador 36115 Dominican Republic 30216 Hungary 30017 Japan 24018 Norway 17919 Mongolia 16020 Azerbaijan 15021 Portugal 12822 Latvia 12023 Lithuania 11824 Slovakia 10225 Czech Republic 8026 Philippines 8027 Albania 7028 Georgia 7029 New Zealand 6130 Moldova 5031 Macedonia 3732 Estonia 3133 Canada ^ 31^34 Kazakhstan 25Sources: The Australian,17th March 2004.SBS World Guide, ninth edition, 2001
The most important part of education is the development in students of the ability to think for oneself. That is why I subscribe to the thought that gen ed courses are highly important, notwithstanding how these courses are often the butt of derogatory comments.
I have, in my crotchety old age, developed a position that there should be no undergraduate professional schools; that one who desires to be in a profession must study for, and receive, a baccalaureate degree in the “Liberal Arts and Sciences” prior to commencing professional studies. Those who do not desire to pursue this educational path may matriculate at an institution focusing on technical training, and proceed on that path.
The net result, IMHO, will be to develop professionals with a broad, cultural foundation, as GMC states, and are not merely cogs in the industrial machinery. I would think this might also improve the quality of the education provided K-12, as well as enhancing the field of journalism, among other things.
Sadly, the problem with higher education is that it can’t make up for poor high school education, and worse that it isn’t even trying. Civics and government are things high school students should learn. So are the basics of American History and English grammar, lit. and writing. Many liberal arts professors teach not to educate broadly but either 1) what they are interested in personally or 2) what students will think is a fun thing to do after a good weekend binge. So, student who actually think the purpose of college is to learn something useful stick with sciences or pre-professional. I don’t think college should only have general LA&S degrees, but core requirements should be 50% of course work. And the cores should be true cores not “some course in this field,” e.g. physics not space rocks for jocks.
Allie, you have hit the nail on the head with respect to the comment on high school education. That’s where the real reform needs to occur.
Another example, from the catalogue of a college which shall remain nameless: “Math as a Liberal Art” to fulfill the general math requirement (although, I’m told it will be replaced by a course entitled “Statistically Thinking”, which, at least, by its description exposes students to some basic applied statistics).
I have to grudgingly agree with Allie.
Ask a high-school senior what’s the difference between a democrat and a republican, or one important thing Nixon did, or who Eugene V. Debs was.
The ignorance among the general graduates is just appalling.
I blame the entire culture of high school. More about “fitting in” and being popular than about learning things and the joy of learning.
Capn-& Allie:
It’s not just our high schools. It’s broader than that. Our schools are a reflection, in large part, of the general culture. Blame the culture of America in general, i.e. – What do I get out of this, right now? Instant gratification.
Education isn’t about instant gratification, it’s about delaying gratification for a larger payoff in the future. And Americans don’t do the future thing very well, especially with a commercial culture premised on “get it now.”