Career Skills and the Liberal Arts
February 29th, 2016Liberal arts graduates have highly developed analytical, reasoning and communication skills and are poised to adapt to new developments over the course of their lives. In effect, the liberal arts teach us how to learn in a variety of spheres … which our fast-changing world demands.
Today’s article link sheds light on how colleges are pairing tangible skills with the breadth and depth of the liberal arts, using Bates College in Maine as a primary example. With the liberal arts under attack by so many, more liberal arts colleges are likely to take similar routes, focusing increasingly on employability. That’s a very good thing!
Article published February 23, 2016
Written by: Carl Straumsheim
Computer science might not be the first field that springs to mind when thinking of the liberal arts, but at some colleges, interdisciplinary computing is seen as one way to connect the department to other disciplines on campus.
Bates College, a liberal arts college in Maine, may be the most recent example. The college, which enrolls about 2,000 students, doesn’t offer anything resembling a computer science program — not even a concentration. Given the chance to create one from scratch, the college will in 2017 introduce digital and computational studies, an interdisciplinary program that fits the label of neither computer science nor digital humanities.
Read more at Inside Higher Ed >>Tagged: Career, College, Liberal arts, Opportunity, Personal characteristics
Calm down, parents: Math standards boost skills, understanding
January 25th, 2016Continuing our theme of featuring students’ writing, this week we spotlight one of our 10th graders who is a passionate supporter of education reform and high standards for K-12 schooling. Sahar Zadeh is a member of the statewide Student Voice Team, a part of Kentucky’s Prichard Committee efforts to mobilize adult and school-age citizens to strengthen public education. She wrote an opinion piece about math education which has received widespread attention, and is pleased to have us provide a link to its publication in the Lexington Herald-Leader. Congratulations, Sahar, on this publication and thanks for your willingness to share it with the Shrop Ed community.
We expect that many of our readers will share our appreciation of Sahar’s zeal and eloquence, and maybe a few of you will be inspired to think about what you can do to have an impact on your own educational environments. Whether you’re in a public or private day school, a boarding school, or college … or whether you’re a parent reading our blog, each of you has the power to change the world!
Article published January 3, 2016
Written by: Sahar Zadeh
Math is currently being taught in a way most people over the age of 30 may not understand.
It doesn’t take anything more than a multi-step subtraction problem to result in a wide spectrum of reactions, including Facebook posts from confused parents that go viral.
But there is a reason behind the creation and implementation of our state’s math standards, and it is not a mystery.
Read more at Lexington Herald Leader >>
Tagged: Boarding school, College, High school, Opportunity
The Unexpected Schools Championing the Liberal Arts
November 9th, 2015Last week we spoke about business schools bringing liberal arts into their education programs in significant ways. This week we share an article authored by Jon Marcus, which calls attention to another group of unexpected programs that are adding the importance of humanities into their education model. Marcus explores how teaching students to think critically, reason analytically, and express thoughts coherently, mixed with career training, provides a potent recipe for success. Whether heading to a military command post, a responsible position in business, or management of a kitchen, all of these abilities come to bear.
Article Published October 15, 2015
Written by: Jon Marcus
WEST POINT, N.Y.—Christian Nattiel rattles off the way his course of studies has prepared him for his prestigious role as a company commander in charge of 120 fellow cadets at the U.S. Military Academy.
Nattiel, of Dade City, Florida, isn’t focusing at West Point on military science, or strategy, or leadership. He’s majoring in philosophy.
Read more at The Atlantic >>Tagged: Choices, College, Liberal arts, Opportunity, Personal characteristics
Business Schools Give Undergraduate Programs a Liberal Arts Twist
November 2nd, 2015Many business schools are taking a new approach in preparing their students for the future, and this idea is gaining traction across the country. Not only do these colleges want to prepare students for their future in the world of business, but the goal is to broaden their learning and deepen their understanding of the larger world around them. These schools believe that improving social skills and critical thinking along with the basics of business school will help students set themselves apart when seeking employment at the end of their college education.
Many corporate CEOs have undergraduate degrees from liberal arts colleges, validating this movement among business schools today. Writer Cathy Gandel does a thorough job in this article, identifying what specific schools are doing to improve their business school model for maximum impact in today’s society.
Article Published September 9, 2015
Written by: Cathy Gandel
It used to be that the typical undergraduate business school program stuck pretty closely to a narrow curriculum heavily weighted in management, sales and finance, or “learning how to do business,” says Jim Otteson, executive director of the BB&T Center for the Study of Capitalism at Wake Forest University in North Carolina.
Many schools still do stick to that script. But beyond making sure future moguls leave with all the necessary nuts and bolts, there’s a movement gaining ground to equip them with a much broader skill set and the bigger picture.
Read more at US News >>Tagged: Career, College, Liberal arts, Opportunity, Personal characteristics
