1. Get and print the article by Jeffrey Scheuer, “Critical Thinking and the Liberal Arts: We Neglect Them at Our Peril” – find the link in the schedule.

Done

2. You already have the printed CORE Handbook – link in the schedule if you didn’t get it for 9/12

Done

3. Pre-reading. Read the title and write 3-5 sentences as a pre-reading activity. What is this article going to be about? Based on this title, what do YOU think “liberal arts” means?

Liberal arts is an umbrella term for the study of history, literature, writing, philosophy, sociology, psychology, creative arts. Liberal arts is for people who are interested in studying not just so they can make money and get a career but they study to think critically, analyze issues, develop a sense of social responsibility, and acquire a broader knowledge of the world in which they live. A professional degree teaches you specific skills so that you can be successful in one career, while a liberal arts degree teaches you how to think, so that you can be successful in any career.

4. Read and annotate the PRINTED article. Use our tools: Annotations to UNDERSTAND, to ask QUESTIONS, to RELATE (-to self, -to world, -to text), to CHALLENGE.

Done

5. The text has four sections. For each section, write a 3-5 sentence summary, pick ONE quote (include it in the HW response), and respond to or comment on the quote. (This is an opportunity to write up a question, relationship, challenge you started in an annotation.)

What are the Liberal Arts?

The first thing this section does is give us a little breakdown on the definition of liberal and the definition of art noting that the art in liberal arts means skill and applied knowledge and has nothing to do with aesthetic as we know it to be today. Liberal arts was originally broken down into seven categories: classical antiquity, consisting of grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy.  One thing that is key to note in this section is when it states “Each discipline is linked through others through common questions, techniques, and ways of knowing.” I have already found this to be so true in the classes I am taking. I often can take one theme that I have learned and relate it to something in a different class. Another key thing to take away from this section is that when studying liberal arts it is important to always pay close attention to language in general. Also The fact that “However we define the liberal arts, no unique approach and no single method, text, or institution perfectly exemplifies the idea of Liberal arts” 

Why do we need the Liberal Arts? 

In this section it stresses the importance of being a well informed critical citizen. The first point that was brought up was that liberal arts has two key elements (critical thinking & citizenship). The rest of the section does a deep dive into citizenship and the three forms of citizenship. The three forms of citizenship are Traditional civic citizenship, economic citizenship, cultural citizenship. Civic citizenship “embraces a range of activities such as voting and jury service, advocacy, volunteering, dialogue and information sharing.The second form of citizenship economic citizenship means to be a productive member in your community which means doing something useful for oneself and for others weather that be in a Factory, farm, home, office or garage. and being able to make connections between politics and economics.  For the third form of citizenship Cultural citizenship the arts, religion and sports are all important ways that people can take part in their community. 

What is Critical thinking? 

Critical thinking is probably the most important subject covered in this article in my opinion.Critical thinking is where most higher level learning takes place. The definition of Critical thinking is widely disagreed upon as stated in the text “because critical thinking is a complex skill, any attempt to offer a full and definitive definition would be futile”. Most people view the idea of critical thinking as the ability to identify assumptions, draw inferences, distinguish facts from opinions, draw conclusions from data and judge the authority of arguments and resources but it is so much more than that. Critical thinking gives us the ability to think independently, think outside the box, see distinctions and connections beyond the obvious, and distinguish reality from appearance. I think the most important thing to take away from this section is that critical thinking skills enable people to become lifelong learners and engaged citizens who can adapt to change and to multiple career paths. Overall critical thinking will make us better learners, communicators, team members and citizens. 

The importance of critical inquiry?

Critical inquiry concepts include truth,nature,value, causality complexity, morality, freedom, excellence and the principle of medium thought. We have gotten most of our liberal arts knowledge “about meaning, reality, and our minds, not just our words” comes from classical Western thought and important concepts. Something that is interesting to me in this section is when it talks about how there is really no right or wrong way that you can define liberal arts because mineral arts incorporates so many different aspects it can and is viewed differently by people. Another quote that stuck out to me was when it said “Clearly there are no fixed rules governing this conversation; its signature is its openness”. At the end of the section the author brings us back to a point that was made in the beginning of the article in the “What are the liberal arts? section it was stated “America has emerged as a superpower while adhering to a predominantly liberal arts model of higher education.” Scheuer brings us back to that point by saying that nations around the world are beginning to embrace the liberal arts idea. 

6. Take photos of at least 3 of your annotations and put them into your blog post. Make sure the annotations show you making at least 2 of our 4 moves: Understand, Question, Relate, Challenge.

Done 

7. Re-read the Core Handbook Selections (I, II, III – and IV). Make additional annotations by DRAWING RELATIONSHIPS to Scheuer. Write 4-5 sentences drawing a connection/relationship between something specific in Scheuer and something specific in the Core Handbook.

Critical thinking is a big connection In the Scheuer and the Core Handbook. In the Core handbook critical thinking is defined as “Human response to problems and challenges” and Scheuer defined it as “the intellectual engine of a functional democracy: the set of mental practices that lends breadth, depth, clarity, and consistency to public disclosure.” I think that Scheuers article gives me a way better understanding of the definition while the core handbook makes it harder for me to process what is being said. The core Handbook feels too broad in comparison to Scheuers article at least in the critical thinking aspect.  Both the core handbook and Scheuers article touch upon the importance of cultural and economic influences as well.