Archive for August, 2010
Higher education looms ever larger in the national consciousness, but unhappily, the public discussion about the purposes of higher learning grows ever more emaciated. Both under Presidents Bush and Obama, this discussion has become far too narrow and technocratic. “It’s the economy, stupid” seems somehow to have become “It’s the economy, so go narrow!”
If you read this blog, you likely already know the AAC&U “take” on college learning. Today’s students need a liberal education because that is the only degree plan that addresses all the essential aims of college study: preparation for work, citizenship, and a fulfilling life. Liberal education does this by fostering “big picture” knowledge of human cultures and the natural world; high-level intellectual and practical skills; examined commitments to ethical and social responsibility; and the demonstrated ability to integrate and apply one’s knowledge, skills, and responsibilities to complex problems – problems in work, life and citizenship.
