Liberal Arts and College Education

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

  • 8/3/2019 Liberal Arts and College Education

    1/2

    - 1 -

    Liberal Arts1) and College Education

    What is Liberal Arts Education?

    The hallmark2) of a Liberal Arts education is the idea of the well-rounded3) person. Liberal Arts isgrounded in4) the concept of life-long learning5). Rather than learning technical skills6) one "learns tolearn".7) In an age of fast paced changes8) and radical advancements in technology, the ability to continueto learn after the formal education is finished is not just an advantage, it is a necessity9).

    Liberal education10)

    has always set the standard for educational excellence in American higher education11). While the content of a liberal educationin terms of12) courses13) and requirements14)has changedover time15), throughout AAC&Us 90-year history16), liberal education has been a philosophy of educationthat aims17) to empower18) individuals, liberate19) the mind from ignorance, and cultivate20) socialresponsibility. Characterized by21) challenging encounters with important issues22), a liberal educationprepares23) graduates both for socially valued work and for civic leadership in their society. It usuallyincludes a general education curriculum that provides broad exposure to multiple disciplines24) and waysof knowing, along with more in-depth25) study in at least one field or area of concentration26).

    By its nature27), liberal education is global and pluralistic28). It embraces29) the diversity of ideas andexperiences that characterize the social, natural, and intellectual world. To acknowledge such diversity inall its forms is both an intellectual commitment30) and a social responsibility, for nothing less will equip31)us to understand our world and to pursue fruitful32) lives33).

    Jobs and Liberal Arts Education

    When business leaders and other employers identify34) what academic skills and training they mostwant in potential employees, they invariably35) list36) those that are the product37) of a broad, liberal arts

    1) Liberal Arts :

    2) hallmark :

    3) well-rounded :

    4) be grounded in A : A

    5) life-long learning : ,

    6) technical skills :

    7) one "learns to learn". : .

    8) an age of fast paced changes :

    9) necessity :

    10) liberal education :

    11) higher education :

    12) in terms of : ~

    13) courses :

    14) requirements :

    15) over time :

    16) AAC&U : Association of American Colleges and Universities()

    17) aim to : ~

    18) empower : ~

    19) liberate A from B : A B

    20) cultivate :

    21) be characterized by A : A 22) challenging encounters with important issues :

    23) prepare :

    24) discipline : ,

    25) in-depth : ,

    26) area of concentration :

    27) by its nature :

    28) pluralistic :

    29) embrace : (include)

    30) commitment :

    31) equip A to R : A ~

    32) fruitful :

    33) for nothing less will equip us to understand our world and to pursue fruitful lives. :

    .

    34) identify :

    35) invariably : ,

    36) list : ~

    37) product : ,

  • 8/3/2019 Liberal Arts and College Education

    2/2

    - 2 -

    education, where critical thinking and language and communication skills are central. And according to JobOutlook 2005 report,38) communication skills have topped39) the list of the qualities and skills employersthink important in job candidates40) since 1999. This year is no exception. The other items that top the listhonesty/integrity41), interpersonal skills42), a strong work ethic, and teamwork skillsare also notsurprises. Over the years43), employers have consistently rated44) these qualities and skills as veryimportant in a candidate.

    Albert Einstein on the Importance of the Humanities

    It is not enough to teach a man a specialty45). Through it he may become a kind of useful machine,but not a harmoniously developed personality46). It is essential that the student acquire an understandingof and a lively47) feeling for values. He must acquire a vivid sense of the beautiful and of the morallygood. He must learn to understand the motives48) of human beings, their illusions49) and their sufferings,in order to acquire50) a proper relationship to individual fellow men and to the community. Theseprecious things are conveyed to the younger generation through personal contact with those who teach,not or at least not in the main through text books.51) It is this that primarily constitutes andpreserves culture52). This is what I have in mind when I recommend the "humanities53)" as important, not just dry54) specialized knowledge in the fields of history and philosophy. Overemphasis55) on thecompetitive system and premature56) specialization on the ground of immediate usefulness kill the spiriton which all cultural life depends, specialized knowledge included. (Quoted in an interview by BenjaminFine, The New York Times)

    Knowledge-based Society57) and Liberal Education

    In a knowledge-driven economy58) it is all the more59) important that undergraduates are provided notwith narrow60) vocational training but with a broadly-based61) foundation in reading, writing, arithmetic,and science an education that sharpens62) the students' intellectual faculties, their curiosity about theworld, and their ability to think critically and creatively. Because technology and the state of knowledgein nearly every discipline63) are changing so rapidly, the most valuable skill universities could impart64) isthe capacity to learn and grow intellectually throughout one's lifetime65).

    38) (Job Outlook) (National Association of Colleges and Employers)

    .

    39) top A : vt. A

    40) job candidates :

    41) honesty/integrity : /

    42) interpersonal skills :

    43) over the years :

    44) rate A as B : A B

    45) a specialty :

    46) harmoniously developed personality :

    47) lively :

    48) motive :

    49) illusions :

    50) acquire : 51) not (conveyed) or at least not in the main through text books : () .

    ( ).

    52) It is this that primarily constitutes and preserves culture. : . It

    is(was) ~ that S+V

    53) humanities :

    54) dry :

    55) overemphasis :

    56) premature : ,

    57) knowledge-based society :

    58) knowledge-driven economy : . ) purpose-driven life( )

    59) all the more :

    60) narrow : ,

    61) broadly-based :

    62) sharpen : , ,

    63) discipline :

    64) impart : ,

    65) throughout one's lifetime :