Preview

Excellent Sheep Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1038 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Excellent Sheep Analysis
College is a chance to pursue higher education; it is a chance to discover new interests and passions—to find yourself. Finding yourself can be achieved through a liberal arts education or through STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). There is a choice of focus coming to college, liberal arts or STEM. State schools, like Montana State, or possibly other institutions require a core curriculum, exposing students to every field. Excellent Sheep written by William Deresiewicz explains the importance of a liberal arts education, how it is a self-cultivation journey, but fails to acknowledge the importance of STEM in self-discovery. Deresiewicz also claims success and happiness are not simultaneously possible in STEM fields. Success and happiness are possible in STEM fields and a liberal arts education can help achieve both. A liberal arts education built into a STEM education is often thought of as wasteful. Some students prefer a strict STEM education because that would be cheaper and a more direct path to a career—I …show more content…
Success is in the eye of the beholder. What one individual deems successful should not be the same as the next person. Everyone is unique, has unique interests, sees the world differently. Success should directly correlate with values. Valuing energy efficient buildings and valuing the technical construction of artwork is very different. Two different values lead to two different careers, both important. Society needs engineers to build energy efficient buildings and engineers need art fanatics to decorate that building. It just so happens that the engineer who designed the building makes more money than the art consultant, that doesn’t mean the art consultant isn’t happy. How much money a person makes is not related to how happy they are. If that person is interested in STEM, finds happiness in the work, and happens to make a lot of money, that is

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Attending college can be intimidating, but it can be exciting also. In addition to the formal education a good school offers, it is also a time to learn some important life skills. It isn't always easy to strike a balance when you live...…

    • 451 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In “Can a liberal arts education really make us better?” by Richard Kamber, he argues that even though a liberal arts education can make us better, it depends solely on that person’s definition of better. Now the question on everyone’s mind, “What are liberal arts?” A liberal arts education gives us a general review of humanities, arts, and sciences. Liberal arts are usually delivered in small classes, full of active participants, by “seasoned faculty.” They aim to develop our character and provide us with an immense amount of skills, which ultimately gives us more money. Though often looked down upon, liberal arts have helped shape many great people such as Socrates, Giordano Gentile, Galileo, and Martin Heidregger.…

    • 402 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Colleges Prepare People for Life by Charles Murray, it is argued that college prepares people for a job after graduation, but above a career, it prepares people to achieve a successful life. An excellent, satisfying job is only the beginning of the benefits that college may offer. Individuals because of college are faced with countless possibilities compared to those who never attend.…

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Owen And Sawhill Analysis

    • 1827 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In the most recent debates regarding higher education, a particular issue of whether a liberal arts education can benefit students is relentless. While most people directly connect a liberal arts education to a bright future in terms of a career, others argue against that. On one hand, Sanford J. Ungar strongly believes that despite some hardships that come along with college, everyone should take the opportunity to go. On the other hand, Charles Murray, Stephanie Owen, and Isabel Sawhill suggest that it can depend in terms of money and only those that are academically capable and enjoy learning should attend college. My view is that although some students…

    • 1827 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The third misconception says liberal arts are irrelevant for low-income and first-generation college students. Ungar says,” Its ignorant to think just because a student is first generation don’t mean they can’t receive the same education.” The fourth misconception says that a student should focus on the stem fields because “that’s where all the action is” (192). Ungar argues this by saying that sometime the liberal arts take part in the broadcast parts of sciences and…

    • 822 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    An education in liberal arts can give a person many choices and opportunities concerning what kind of job he/she wants in the future. According to Harris’ “Once you develop good thinking habits, you will be able to perform better in any job, but more importantly, the happier life will be” (1), Harris suggests that liberal arts education helps to have a satisfying and comfortable life. When a person graduates from liberal arts education, he/she will get a gratifying job that will make him/her feel like he/she has a strong personality. Needle, Corbo, Wong, Greenfeder et al (2007) point out that liberal arts education is a good choice for the future to have more options for jobs, which they expressed in their article “Combining Arts and Science In ‘Arts and Sciences’ Education” published in the journal College Teaching on pages 114-120. The purpose of the article is to persuade us to study the liberal arts for a good life. The article has a positive tone because it is optimistic. The mode of the article is illustrative. The main idea of the article is to encourage people to study liberal arts because it can give them a better future. Needle et al states, “Today’s liberal arts education is viewed as preparing students for the real world” (114). Needle et al suggests that graduating with a degree in liberal arts will make you ready for real life. In addition, liberal arts will teach you and make you understand more about life. I found that the two articles are similar in their goal which is to talk about liberal arts and how it is important in a person’s life because a liberal arts education gives you more opportunities for a great job and a better…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Derek Bok

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Combining the educational system will also allow students to become a well-rounded person; also, with the change in time, the students will not have to go back to school to acquire other skills. Bok states that the “vocational majors have an easier time than liberal arts graduates in finding an initial job in business and tend to advance faster and earn more money during their first 10 years of work” (38). However, he then argues that “after 10 years the pictures become more complicated” (Bok 40). He also states that “liberal art teachers do a better job in fostering skills such as communication skills, human relations, creativity, and “big-picture thinking” matter more” (Bok 40). In a world where students are more career oriented, no one can say that liberal education is not important because as Bok states, “companies seem destined to witness faster changes, more frequent career shifts, increasingly diverse workforces, and expanding global operations, all of which favor a broad liberal arts education” (40). This is an explanation that with time, technology is getting more advanced and both the vocational school skill as well as the liberal art skills are needed for students to become a more rounded…

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sanford J. Ungar Analysis

    • 992 Words
    • 4 Pages

    William Butler Yeats is accredited with once saying “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” It seems this idiom no longer rings true; today’s preferred education encompasses the regurgitation of technical jargon in the hopes of finding a job. People now deem Liberal Arts degree worthless; it’s too expensive and impractical in today’s job market. The sciences and career colleges are where the jobs lie. In the battle over higher education, through his iconoclastic article “The New Liberal Arts,” Sanford J. Ungar stands as a lone crusader against an onslaught of “misperceptions.” I for one agree with and applaud his effort, although he could use some additional…

    • 992 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The world is quickly changing; less people spend time in any one career. Liberal Education prepares students to be a responsible at both the local and national level, as well as competent global citizens. The main difference between regular education and Liberal Education is at the end, where regular education provides access to prosperous careers, while Liberal Education had always had an ambitious end. Liberal Education has always been about the education of the whole person, providing multiple ways of thinking and creating, making people able to develop lifetime skills and…

    • 1069 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    America’s education system seems to be getting more costly as time goes on. These days, it is rare that a student graduates from college without being thousands of dollars in debt. There are many different areas of study that a student can choose from, and each college has its own curriculum. But, even given the rising tuition costs, it is still worthwhile to pursue a liberal arts degree. Students who study in liberal arts schools are open minded and versatile. They are also more attractive to employers for hiring, and are more likely to progress within their careers. Liberal arts students are also formed to be individualists who beat at their own drum. Although the cost of attending these institutions is rising, the opportunities one will…

    • 2077 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    To a student in an era of globalization, economic recession, and strong job competition, it can appear as if a college degree is the ultimate solution to one’s problems. However, finding the right post-highschool path is often like shopping for clothes: One choice rarely fits all people. College can often cost more than the degree pursued is worth. College also isn’t the only way one can get a good job outside of high school. Furthermore, college is not for everyone. Not all students should go to college.…

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many reasons why people go to college. College plays a role a student’s life, one of these roles are to help get students a better job that pays them a lot but that isn’t the only reason. According to Melisa McCreery “Higher education provides a number of benefits; most notably to the nation’s economic stability and job creation, civic engagement, and pulling students from low socioeconomic situation and landing them securely in middle class America.” In other words college is to help better a student’s life as well as to help them be able to contribute to society positively. College also provides many classes that can help students achieve their full potential when they are out in the world as well and making you better understand the world. According to Robert Harris these classes are liberal arts classes. Although you might argue that you don’t need these classes for many majors by them self but Harris explains to you the benefits that taking a…

    • 814 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Recently, there has been a significant decrease in both employment rates and salaries among new college graduates. Rising college prices, increasing levels of student debt, and a still weak job market all contribute to the skepticism that many face when trying to determine which college degrees are valuable in today’s society, specifically if Liberal Art Degrees are “worth it”. People who earn Liberal Arts Degrees have less job opportunity and security than those who major in skill specific labor such as engineering or the healthcare field. Graduates who major in skill specific labor are more likely to find a job that requires their degree than those who major in Liberal Art Studies.…

    • 929 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For most, higher education is the key to social mobility, financial stability, and self-actualization. Living-wage jobs are difficult to find, especially without an education past high school. Workers are competing in a market that demands knowledge, high-skills, and leadership. College is where young adults can learn to be successful.…

    • 498 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I love learning. Whether it be about abstract ideas, well proven notions, science, religion, or anything under the sun. I am extremely open minded yet I know how to critical of the information I am presented with for not all knowledge credible or can agree with reason. At the end of my college career I know I will be more prepared for life not only career wise but holistically. And I believe that’s what college is really about, providing students with the tools to find meaning in our own lives and prepare us for our life journeys. Although my parents have not told me much about college other than that I have to go to one, my teachers have often told me that is the time to explore and find yourself. College is where you are given freedom to make your own choices and decide what you will make of your life. While some of my teachers have told me that a liberal arts education isn’t as beneficial for me and I should have an idea of what I want to do before I enter college I strongly disagree. As an eighteen year old that hasn’t had enough experiences to determine what I want to do with my future, a liberal arts education is an excellent way to find myself and my passion while still allowing me to advance in my pursuit of knowledge. Most of my peers already have a career and major in mind and see college as a place to work hard as they prepare for their…

    • 758 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays