Liberal Education

“It is not so very important for a person to learn facts. For that he does not really need a college. He can learn them from books. The value of an education is a liberal arts college is not learning of many facts but the training of the mind to think something that cannot be learned from textbooks.”—Albert Einstein

Education and knowledge can take on a broad range of definitions. The standard definition of knowledge is “facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject” (Oxford American Dictionary). Going by this definition, it seems fairly simple to acquire and obtain knowledge; after all, we go in and out of each day having a variety of experiences and taking a little bit from each of them. At a University, students take on the task of gaining extensive knowledge and mastering a chosen topic, ranging from history to foreign language to chemistry. The opportunity is set forth through classes focused on a particular subject area and the small variance in class options. However, in the College of Liberal Arts, one is given an extension of this opportunity. One is given the chance to gain knowledge not on one, but on a variety of topics, connected or independent of one another.

Many think, “Why study so many topics when in the end, you must choose one area to pursue a career in?” This is an extremely valid argument, one I struggled with myself when considering what to major in. As a science major, which would have been my second choice, similar to John’s, the majority of my classes would have consisted of memorizing information and being able to quickly spout off the process of DNA replication or identifying compounds and formulating their Lewis Dot Structures. As much as this applies to my future in medical school, the idea of four years of pure science followed by another four year of pure science was not as appealing and Plan II where exploration of topics was encouraged.


Newman states that, “Each of us needs to find our own truth; if and when we do, we will become free, liberated, one of the most important meanings of the phrase ‘liberal arts’” (320). John challenges each of us to “Constantly reconsider [our] paths” and to search for our true passion. So far this year, I have begun to discover my passions in a deeper sense; I have wondered whether my true calling is medicine, whether I will fail out of college, whether I will get a degree and still be unsure of what I want to spend the rest of my life doing. But as Giametti says, “as [we] now look forward to what lies just ahead, and to all it can mean, there of course will arise in each of [us] normal anxiety” (321). Despite my near certainty of going into medicine, I find comfort in knowing that I am keeping my options open and allowing my knowledge to expand beyond the scientific world. “A liberal education provides a broad base from which to grow,” (Wiley) and “does not merely provide us education in one area, but in many so that we can seek different areas of curiosity and discover interests in fields that we didn’t even know existed” (Julie Paik); Plan II is the epitome of a broad education that prepares us for whatever the future may hold. It is a funnel filled with knowledge and different experiences that results in our future, in the specific area we choose to dedicate ourselves to.

Through our World Literature course, we are challenged to evaluate not only ourselves but our role models, those we look up to. “Almost all knowledge of the inner nature and feelings of others must come through the imagination,” (Sympathetic Imagination) thus our interactions on Second Life are key in opening up our imagination and allowing the knowledge of those feelings to flow. I highly doubt we would be able to use technology in this way as a Biology or Engineering major. Liberal Arts allows us to go beyond the normal and experience the extraordinary while paving the way for our future.