Misperception #1
“A liberal-arts degree is a luxury that most families can no longer afford. “Career education” is what we must focus on now,” (paragraph 3). This misperception states that people are worried about the financial commitment that comes with paying for a liberal arts degree if it offers no clear-cut job by the end of graduation. People want to be assured that if they put money into a college, they will get a good job in return, and what some people believe is that this does not happen with liberal arts colleges.
Ungar’s Response
“The traditional, well-rounded preparation that the liberal arts offer is a better investment than ever,” (paragraph 3). “The “career education” bandwagon seems to suggest that shortcuts are available to students. . . leaving out “frills like learning how to write and speak well,” (paragraph 4). Ungar argues that “career education” removes the social aspect of learning along with basic skills that people need to succeed in careers. Instead of trying to lock someone in a position or job, Ungar reasons that learning general disciplines are important for flexible changes in career paths along the path of life.
Connections
This misperception talks about the cost of college, and to instead commit to a “career college.” Ungar mentions that students will lose out if they choose the “career college” option. Today, colleges are a large financial commitment, but there are some options that are available to students for whatever career they want to go into.
Misperception #2
“College graduates are finding it harder to get good jobs with liberal-arts degrees. Who wants to hire somebody with an irrelevant major?” (paragraph 7). This misperception is concerned about the specific majors people choose in a liberal arts college. People are worried that the job market is not going to look favorably on their degree.
Ungar’s Response
“Three-quarters of our nation’s employers recommend that collegebound students pursue a ‘liberal education’,” (paragraph 7). Ungar challenges the misperception by using statistics to prove his point. This data states that 75% of employers in the United States want people to have a liberal arts education, which is a contrast to the misconception about irrelevant majors. The majors themselves did not appear to have a large impact on jobs, but the skill set learned by having a liberal arts education. These numbers also refute the statement about college graduates not being able to find a good job, because so many employers are seeking students with a liberal arts background.
Connections
This misperception talks about job security after college. Ungar combats this fear with statistics of what employers are looking for in potential employees. This connects to UNE, because UNE actually advertises to potential students about how they set people up with jobs or internships around the time of graduation, removing the fear of students having to find jobs for their career fields.
Misperception #3
“The liberal arts are particularly irrelevant for low-income and first generation college students,” (paragraph 9). This ginormous misperception is the wayward belief that only rich people can afford a liberal arts education, and that people somehow need a prior knowledge of liberal arts to be successful in college.
Ungar’s Response
“We should respect what everyone brings to the table and train the broadest possible cross section of American society to participate in, and help shape, civil discourse,” (paragraph 11). Everyone coming together to fix problems and collaborate is an important part of a liberal arts education. This quote emphasizes this along with the general idea of inclusion to help others.
Connection
This misperception comes from the thought that only the rich and alumni families would be able to get anything out of a liberal arts college. Ungar disagrees, and talks about how different people should come together to learn and fix problems. For people wanting to go to college today, there are programs that can help with college preparations to help everyone succeed, and are able to promote an equal education for everyone.
Misperception #4
“One should not, in this day and age, study only the arts. The STEM fields-science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-are where the action is,” (paragraph 12). This misperception is about the range of classes that involve ‘the arts’. Misinterpreting what liberal arts is changes your perception of what is involved in the curriculum. This quote interprets liberal arts as a group of classes that does not have any courses that are science based.
Ungar’s Repsonse
“Another term sometimes substituted for liberal arts, for the sake of clarity, is “the arts and sciences.” Thus, many universities have colleges, divisions, or schools of arts and sciences among their academic units,” (paragraph 12). Ungar takes away the authority of the misperception in this quote, explaining how some people refer to liberal arts as ‘arts and sciences’. By doing this, readers can see how misguided the misperception was and are able to have more knowledge about studies in the liberal arts. The inclusion of the sciences was important for Ungar to note, because it would be easy for some to see the words liberal arts and assume that there is no science connection.
Connection
Misperception number four is about science relations to the liberal arts curriculum. Ungar argues against this misperception, and the UNE Core Curriculum states science classes that are required for every student to take to receive a degree.
Misperception #5
“It’s the liberal Democrats who got this country into trouble in recent years, so it’s ridiculous to continue indoctrinating our young people with a liberal education,” (paragraph 14). This quote is about the politics involving the word liberal, as it is often connected to the Democratic Party. This sees a connection between Democrats and a college of liberal arts, and blaming the college for whatever political situation is going on.
Ungar’s Response
“A liberal education, as properly defined above, has nothing whatsoever to do with politics—except insofar as politics is one of the fields that students often pursue under its rubric,” (paragraph 14). Ungar points out the actual definition of a liberal arts school, and then dives deeper into what kind of politics might be at the school. This definition makes the misperception void of any pertinence to the curriculum.
Connection
Misperception number five is about the politics around liberal arts, and Ungar actually defines the term ‘liberal arts’. Scheuer also talks about the qualifications of liberal arts, stating: “There are at least three nested, largely tacit, conceptions of the liberal arts” (paragraph 9).
Misperception #6
“America is the only country in the world that clings to such an old-fashioned form of postsecondary education as the liberal arts. Other countries, with more practical orientations, are running way ahead of us,” (paragraph 15). This misperception notes how much more popular liberal arts schools seem in the United States versus other countries. This quote references a fear that the US is coming behind in educating students because of liberal arts colleges.
Ungar’s Response
“In recent years delegations from China have been visiting the United States and asking pointed questions about the liberal arts, seemingly because they feel there may be good reason to try that approach to education,” (paragraph 16). Ungar brings up a reasonable argument, saying how if other countries are visiting the US and wanting to adopt the liberal arts ideals, then the liberal arts must be a good option to have for students.
Connection
This misperception is about the idea that the United States is the only country that employs the liberal arts colleges, making us fall behind. Ungar cites that China is looking into adopting liberal arts colleges into their country, so the ideas of liberal arts schools must be good if they are catching on. This also connects to UNE because UNE partners with several colleges across the world to give students an education, and they are a liberal arts school.
Misperception #7
“Liberal-arts colleges are becoming irrelevant because they are unable to register gains in productivity or to find innovative ways of doing things,” (paragraph 17). This misperception is about how liberal arts colleges don’t do productive things for society, and are there for students to learn about concepts that do not have real-world applications.
Ungar’s Response
“Through immersion in liberal arts, students learn not just to make a living, but also to live a life rich in values and character. They come to terms with complexity and diversity, and otherwise devise means to solve problems—rather than just complaining about them,” (paragraph 20). Ungar challenges the misperception with liberal arts college experiences, citing other things that happen at liberal arts schools. He points out that there is something important about the schools that will give people an education worth paying for.
Connection
Misperception number seven is about liberal arts colleges not following steps to improve functions of everyday life for its students and preparations for the real world. Ungar points out that liberal arts colleges integrate other facets of life and learning into their curriculum. Scheuer’s article focuses mainly on critical thinking, and how liberal arts schools teach students how to solve real life applications through communication.
Works Cited
Scheuer, Jeffery. “Critical Thinking and the Liberal Arts.” AAUP, 18 Nov. 2015, www.aaup.org/article/critical-thinking-and-liberal-arts#.YTUkzhmSnD5.
Ungar, S. J. (2010). 7 Major Misperceptions About the Liberal Arts. The Chronicle of Higher Education,
