Once upon a time there was a value in a liberal arts curriculum. But this isn’t “once upon a time.” This is now, and it takes considerable naivete to think that sociology, english, history, and other non-science/engineering departments haven’t been almost entirely captured by the tenured left. In fact, that process was mostly completed 20 years ago. Since then it has just been a “mopping up” process in which smaller and “conservative” schools (including seminaries) have been coopted by the left’s worldview. Liberal vermin have even been able to force their dreck into the military academies and places like MIT and Cal Tech.
Your chance today of learning to think sitting at the feet of some post-modern “professor” of literature, for example, is roughly nil. Your chance of learning to think studying chemistry or physics is vastly better. As for communication skills, the average product of liberal arts departments today has nothing of value to communicate. Moreover, the standards in these “disciplines” tend to be so low today that high level writing or speaking skills can scarcely be counted among the things a student accumulates along with his nearly obligatory $40-60k of student loans.
The truth is, he has simply spent tens of thousands of dollars to be marinated for 4 years in the false worldview of cultural marxism, various virulent strains of feminism, nihilism, and environmentalism.
Yes, some schools, the number of which you can probably count on your fingers and toes, still have worthwhile liberal arts programs. That’s optimistically about 20 out of roughly 2,500 degree granting 4 year institutions. Bear in mind, too, that about 50% of all students attend 400 large universities.
St. Johns, Thomas Aquinas, and a few others may fit the bill, but these exceptions hardly matter.
BTW, I have a couple of liberal arts degrees.
I had some very good personal reasons for rejecting my engineering education and I don't regret it. Have I had to work to make my liberal arts degree lucrative, you bet, but in the long run, it's paid off handsomely for me and I get to do things and go places that most engineers only dream about in their cubicles and at their work benches.
Like I said on another thread, everyone can't be an engineer or a scientist. There are jobs out there for liberal arts majors who have worked hard and want to continue working hard. It's all about taking personal responsibility for yourself and being dedicated to your professional career in whatever you decide to do.
Maybe so...but not in MY communication department. As far as I know, all our instructors expect students to develop strong skills in both speaking & writing (for example, we have a nationally-ranked forensics team and students who've presented papers at conferences along with professors). It is emphasized to us several times a year how important this part of our department mission is. However, that is an inference; the only instructor I can speak about with absolute knowledge is myself. In my communication class, I bust my students constantly on grammar, spelling, etc. as well as their speaking & presentation skills. (It often scares me the *lack* of writing skills that some of them have, considering that they've already made it *into* college!) Granted, I don't get to spend as much time on those particular things as I'd like b/c we have so many other aspects of communication to discuss; but I solidly enforce college level writing and skill development as much as possible. They are, after all, there for a reason. Whether they *leave* college with such skills depends on the student--I've seen some students develop into great speakers and better writers through a semester; and some that couldn't care less when they came in as long as they passed, and remained that way after they walked out the door. I do what I can...it's up to them to do the rest :)