Some people do not understand the true value of a liberal arts education. On the other hand, almost 360,000 liberal arts degrees were awarded in 2019. On top of that, the number of people in the workforce with liberal arts degrees continues to grow year by year.
Of course, there are reasons that people underestimate the value of a liberal arts education. In particular, there are several myths that cause people to misunderstand what a liberal arts degree really does.
So what exactly are the most common misconceptions about liberal arts education? Read on to learn all about the most important things to understand about liberal arts!
Liberal Arts Degrees Are About Liberal Politics
This is one of the most misleading misconceptions about liberal arts degrees. Fortunately, this myth is also especially easy to debunk.
In modern politics, “liberal” often refers to the political left in North America and Europe. However, this misconception is the result of nothing more than the evolution of language across time.
Back when liberal arts degrees were created, the word liberal had nothing to do with a political party or political philosophy. It was only much later on that people started to use the word liberal to refer to certain segments of political groups.
By itself, the word liberal refers to something like freedom. After all, it is very close to the word liberty.
Liberal arts degrees got their name from the fact that they were intended to help people to think freely. They were meant to give people a wide basis of understanding for looking at the world. People would then be able to decide for themselves what they thought about the variety of systems of thought that different cultures provide.
In other words, a liberal arts degree is just as useful for a modern political conservative as they are for a modern political liberal.
Liberal Arts Degrees Are All About the Humanities
Some people think that a liberal arts degree is a little bit like a philosophy degree. It mostly teaches you some things about how to think and maybe allows you to teach other people to obtain similar degrees. However, liberal arts degrees are about much more than that.
In fact, these days, many degrees have the name of liberal arts and sciences. They provide people with a solid basis of understanding. That allows them to continue their education in either the direction of STEM degrees or in the direction of advanced humanities degrees.
As solid proof of this fact, plenty of doctors and lawyers start their education out with a liberal arts degree. In other words, a liberal arts degree can be, and often it is, the first part of an education that results in some of the highest-paying professions in society.
Liberal Arts Degrees Are About Christianity
The world is becoming increasingly globalized. People from different cultures are participating more in western educational practices.
In particular, people who do not come from Christian cultures wonder about liberal arts degrees. Some might think they really only make sense for people from a Christian culture.
The truth is that liberal arts are not tied to Christianity any more than they are tied to the other cultures and religions of the world.
A liberal arts education helps people to understand perspectives from non-Christian cultures. As solid proof of this fact, plenty of atheists and people from other religions like Islam have made great use of liberal arts degrees.
Liberal Arts Degrees Are Completely Impractical
Every profession has unique knowledge that is useful for it and not useful for many other things. At the same time, practically every profession on earth shares certain skills in common.
For example, think about the ability to notice your assumptions and realize the importance of questioning them. This is a skill that helps whether you are an electrician or a doctor. It helps if you want to be a lawyer or if you want to be a business manager.
One way of thinking about liberal arts degrees is that they are all about the skills that all professions benefit from. It is only once you have those skills that it makes sense to develop the more niche skills that pertain only to a single profession.
You can always learn niche skills for your profession later. The skills you learn from a liberal arts education will help you succeed in all kinds of professions.
Liberal Arts Degrees Are Rigid
Some people think that liberal arts degrees no longer teach people how to think originally. Rather, they teach people to conform to thinking in a certain way. However, plenty of extremely creative people receive a liberal arts education.
In particular, creativity is often unlocked when people understand what people have done in the past. Otherwise, you may end up re-creating things that are already part of the world’s traditions.
A liberal arts education can help you understand what people have achieved in the past. That can point you in the direction of new things you might be able to contribute to the world.
The more that a smart student understands the value of a liberal arts degree and of higher education in general, the more they might be interested in considering the career options of a liberal arts degree. Liberalartsedu.org provides some great insights into the education industry and the true value of a liberal arts degree.
Understand the True Value of a Liberal Arts Education
We hope that some of the ideas in this brief article about the most common myths that people have about receiving a liberal arts education have been helpful for you. Many people do not understand some of the subtler benefits that come along with a classical education. The more you understand what a liberal arts education really is, the more you will appreciate the benefits that it can provide for you.
That makes learning a little bit more about liberal arts degrees an investment in your potential development and the security of your future. To keep up-to-date on the latest developments in business, technology, and more, take a look through our other articles!
