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To: wintertime
Once upon a time not that long ago in this country, the bedrock foundation of even the most obscure Liberal Arts degree was firm grounding in basic Math, basic Science and Western History and Civilization to produce a well rounded graduate with a well formed mind that understood the basics of how natural world worked and who had enough of a grasp of math to provided the basis critical thinking and the ability to make sound, informed decisions regarding numerical related decisions in an increasingly abstract, numbers driven society.

It's sad to see that the current vision, pushed by College Profs and the Education Establishment no less, of what a well rounded Liberal Arts education should consist of and how Liberal Arts grads are supposed to relate the world and at what intellectual level they should operate at has fallen so low.

In the past, Liberal Arts grads and their Profs always prided themselves as the ultimate in well rounded generalists who relied on clear, critical thinking honed by a working knowledge of History, the Arts, the Physical Sciences, the Social Sciences, Philosophy and Logic and basic Mathematical principals (in many older, traditional schools Math was actually an adjunct to the Philosophy Dept) that more than made up for what it lacked in depth it more than made up for by the breadth of exposure to all diverse aspects of intellectual endeavor.

It's too bad that the goal of a University education is no longer to teach people how to think, but is instead to get them to graduate with a Diploma that is becoming an increasingly worthless piece of paper credentials.

50 posted on 08/23/2012 7:14:01 PM PDT by rdcbn
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To: rdcbn
It's too bad that the goal of a University education is no longer to teach people how to think, but is instead to get them to graduate with a Diploma that is becoming an increasingly worthless piece of paper credentials.

This is the reason employers are now demanding internships.

Personally, if I were an employer I would ask for SAT or ACT scores. ( I retired a few years ago and no longer hire people.)

Historically, little of the work done in the U.S. needed a college degree, and even today, most of what a person learns about a job is "on the job". A solid eighth grade education was more than sufficient for my parent's generation ( born 1913) and should be enough today, coupled (possibly) with selected college level course work. Employers should dump the college degree requirement and merely use SAT scores and ( possibly) a few specific college courses.

Charles Murray, author of "The Bell Curve" recommends dumping the majority of college degrees and moving toward certifiable qualifying exams. A tremendous amount of course work is already available for *free* online. What is missing is a way to prove to an employer that the information has been mastered. Certifiable qualifying exams, SAT and/or ACT scores, and internships could prove to an employer that an applicant was motivated, focused, and intelligent enough to do the job.

56 posted on 08/23/2012 7:35:36 PM PDT by wintertime (:-))
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To: rdcbn
In the past, Liberal Arts grads and their Profs always prided themselves as the ultimate in well rounded generalists who relied on clear, critical thinking honed by a working knowledge of History, the Arts, the Physical Sciences, the Social Sciences, Philosophy and Logic and basic Mathematical principals (in many older, traditional schools Math was actually an adjunct to the Philosophy Dept) that more than made up for what it lacked in depth it more than made up for by the breadth of exposure to all diverse aspects of intellectual endeavor.

And...back in those days, fifty years ago, there were complaints that an MIT-style education in science and math produced an exam-passing machine that couldn't think his way out of a paper bag if there were no way to quantify it.

Seems quaint in restrospect, doesn't it?

87 posted on 08/24/2012 12:11:10 AM PDT by danielmryan
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