Liberal arts give job candidates a leg up
I just couldn’t let Dennis Hammond’s letter go unanswered (“Math, science are key in education,” July 24).
Hammond writes against the “liberal arts,” which he may be confusing with the Republican political re-definition of “liberal.” The two are not the same.
The liberal arts have traditionally included language, music, literature and the other fine and performing arts.
Learning math and science without the liberal arts is unbalanced.
Having worked as a headhunter, placing engineers in high-tech jobs, I quickly learned that the candidates most valued (hired fastest, paid the most) were ones who had good communication skills and a good command of the English language.
There will always be a plethora of drone-like techies, and they have their place — usually reporting to the guys who can speak and write well, as well as doing the math and science.
Hammond boasts of using algebra “almost daily.” How often does he use the English language? More often, I’d wager.
Imagine a world without poetry, without music or literature. I wouldn’t want to live in such a world.
That’s sad. It’s even sadder that Hammond would advocate such a shriveled world for young people.
Chris Murphy, Lakewood
The shame is in letting this ghetto slang pass for english, along with the teaching of foriegn languages first instead of english
Posted by on July 30, 2007 04:30 AMFeelings, Nothing more than feelings....
Posted by truthy on July 30, 2007 05:56 AMMath and Science are very good skills, as are all others. However, unless one also has a sufficient grounding in liberal arts, at least sufficientto understand one's surroundings, can one be considered "educated"? I don't believe so. If all one has is "skills", it is possible to exist, but is that the limit to one's existence? It is possible to teach "skills" to lower species such as dogs, horses, etc. but is that all a human being is, or is he more? I would suggest the latter. Therefore he should be "educated", and not merely "trained" to take his/her place in a production line to "serve others."
Posted by Robert I. Laitres on July 30, 2007 06:31 AM
Gee Chris you had to play a party line in education?
Most public schools do provide a liberal education in the k-12 years and from what I have found it really lacks a lot. Now don’t get me wrong on this but kids getting out of high school know all about global warming and how bad it is, but have no understanding of how to do basic math calculations with out help. Most have writing skills that belong in the 2nd grade and can not locate Iraq on a map. They understand that we need universal health care and the rich need to pay more taxes. They haven’t a clue as to why until they get a pay check and money is missing in the form of taxes, and then they really think someone else needs to pay their share.
The old school liberal arts education is dead and will never be revived as it required one to think and actually read something more than Harry potter books. [I am not saying that is bad because any book read is good] Education is more of indoctrination rather than a well rounded education. It’s sad but that is what it has become.
All of the well rounded liberal arts classes have turned into liberal [political] fell good classes that what every you want to do is fine.
Here are some great examples of how education in the US is being dumb down.
Everyone passes no matter what.
2+2=5, that’s ok if you think it is
Spelling is never checked or corrected anymore on school papers.
7:19 AM
Doubleplusgood explaination! These party-line hacks have no idea of real value. Words are all they create. More words.
When I was in electronic classes we used to laugh at the liberal arts students that shared a break area with us and all the stupid things they would say.
I am a "skills" student and I make 100K a year. I can communicate, but I learned how to in elementary school.
I speak binary! Everyone should learn another language!!! LOL!
Posted by truthy on July 30, 2007 07:28 AMExcellent letter, Chris. I get the impression that 07:19AM didn't have time to read it. Or perhaps lacked the ability to understand it? Anyhow, he said nothing to contradict what you said. His idea seems to be that a person can't know that 2+2=4 if he has also read Shakespeare. He apparently thought that by saying liberal arts are important you were saying that math was not, which of course is not the case. There are few, if any, great men or women who don't hold a knowledge of the liberal arts in high regard. While mathematicians are important, no country is great because of its mathematicians. The problem with people like Hitler and Stalin was not that their math was poor but that their philosophy of life was poor. There isn't any an algorithm alive that teaches a person how to be compassionate and caring.
Posted by Truth on July 30, 2007 07:46 AMI think that most people that can't comminicate well are working at Taco Bell, unless of course you are a Bush!
Posted by Rick on July 30, 2007 09:50 AMTruth:
I have compassion for all the dead algorithms out there, Though I never saw one "alive" either.
AF
This complaint seems to have been misaimed. Liberal arts, as taught when I was in school, included Shakespeare, fine arts and music appreciation (which none of us appreciated much until later) along with a number of English Comprehension and writing classes. It was common for a history test to include essay questions where not only were your facts checked but your use of grammar as well.
We were grounded in the basics of math and grammar as a matter of course and spelling was tested weekly. That was a liberal arts education well worth having. Today "white European males" literature is tossed aside as too limiting. History is rewritten and not just to correct errors and omissions but to reflect new attitudes.
WWII was fought against enemies who had no mercy and whose agenda was one of the total domination. Our use of nuclear weapons ended that war. Look closely at the history books kids read today to find any mention of the brutality of the war other than our internment camps for Americans of Japanese descent. Usually there will be a long condemnation of the use of the H-Bomb as well.
Today the emphasis is off of literacy and on other subjects.
Science may not be a required subject but ask any school child about pollution or global warming and you will get a long answer. Ethnic studies, women's studies and a lot of other classes long on opinion and short on substance have replaced history and civics classes.
We need to emphasize the basics of literacy and computational skills. When students have those in place they can appreciate literature, music and the arts. Without literacy any other subject is shortchanged.
"Truth:
I have compassion for all the dead algorithms out there, Though I never saw one "alive" either.
AF
Posted by on July 30, 2007 10:19 AM"
The dead ones are the ones that were proven to be wrong. But I'm sure they appreciate you because dead algorithms need love too. But I'm not surprised that you're not familiar with the ones that haven't been proven wrong.
Posted by Truth on July 30, 2007 11:44 AM7:19; when your rambling finally ends, it is appparent that you are simply repeating party line myths. Spelling is never checked? 2nd grade writing skills.? I gather you have no real experience in this matter because my 2nd grade daughter has regular spelling tests, nightly math homework, and more than 20 levels of reading to attain before her graduation. And yes, weekly art & music classes, which we supplement with our own activities at home. Art is life. Life is art.
Your posting about education is like me going on tort reform.
Wanted: Liberal Arts Major.
Make $24,000/year at your local Barnes & Noble!
Wanted: Liberal Arts Major.
Make $24,000/year at your local Barnes & Noble!