Sanford J. Ungar – Table of Ideas for “7 Major Misperceptions…”

LIL 120 A  (Fall ‘22) – Cripps

This is a table to help us structure Ungar’s article and begin thinking about relationships between that article and other texts we’re working on. MAKE A COPY OF THIS GOOGLE DOC AND BEGIN TO BUILD IT OUT as part of the Homework for September 22.

Misp. #	Misperception Description (with brief quote & explanation)	Ungar’s Response (with quote/evidence & explanation)	Connections (to Jeffrey Scheuer, Core Handbook, Self, World) – INCLUDE relevant quote(s) & explanation of relation to Ungar. Relate to Scheuer and/or Core Handbook in at least 3 places.
#1	“A Liberal arts degree is a luxury that most families can no longer afford” Ungar acknowledges that  many families are struggling to pay for their children’s college education but also points out the a education in the liberal arts is “ a better investment than ever” and that it gives us a  “a subtle understanding of the complex influences that shape the world we live in.	Ungar argues that “studying the liberal arts may actually be the best form of career education.” and that “it is far wiser for students to prepare for change and the multiple careers they are likely to have rather than to search for a single job track that might one day become a dead end. I very much agree with this statement. It is more beneficial to be a more well rounded person so that you can succeed with any career path that you chose.	Having a better understanding of the nature of knowledge and the world around us is something that every family should prioritize. If the main point of college is getting a job when we get out of school. It is important to know the skills that the liberal arts teaches us.
#2	“College graduates are finding it harder to get jobs with liberal arts degrees”  Ungar brings up the point that a growing number of corporations, including some in highly technical fields, are headed by people with liberal arts degrees and that the liberal arts is actually becoming even more useful in new jobs.	Ugar brings up data to support his claims bringing up a 2009 survey that found that “more than three quarters of our nations employers recommend that college bound students pursue a “liberal education” and that employers are now emphasizing the importance of effectively communicating and writing	In Scheuers “critical thinking and the liberal arts” he talks about the importance of having well informed critical citizens.He also talks about how the liberal arts prepares students for citizenship in all three senses: civil, economic and cultural.In my opinion being a well rounded open minded citizen will help you succeed at any workplace
#3	“The liberal arts are particularly irrelevant for low-income and first generation college students” People who believe this statement have a fixed mindset and are unwilling to accept the fact that equal opportunities should be given out to allow students higher level thinking.	Ugar points out that this misconception is “just another form of prejudice and cannot be supported intellectually and  that “ it is condescending to imply that those who have less cannot understand and appreciate the finer elements of knowledge” Which i completely agree with being a first generation student myself.
#4	“One should not, in this day and age, study only the arts. The STEM fields, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are where the action is”  there is “no evidence that suggests that the success in scientific and technical fields will be greater if it comes at the expense of a broad background in other areas of liberal arts.	In this section Ugar goes on to explain how the libral arts puts emphasis on trivium(grammer, logic, and rhetoric) and quadrivium(geometry, astronomy and music) and that the broad background of a liberal arts degree will help you in any field you are trying to get into.	Scheuer ends his beginning paragraph with “Liberal Arts colleges seem an endangered species as curricula shift toward the STEM disciplines. Students want jobs, not debt, and who can blame them?” This goes very well with this misconception brought up by Stanford Ungar. Libral arts so often gets taken for granted because people dont understand that its so much more than what you see at first glance
#5	“It’s the liberal democrats who got this country in trouble in recent year, so it’s ridiculous to continue indoctrinating our young people with liberal education”	Ugar points out that a liberal education properly defined has nothing to do with politics.
#6	“America is the only country in the world that clings to such an old fashioned form of postsecondary education as the liberal arts”
#7	“The cost of American higher education is sleeping out of control and liberal arts colleges are becoming irrelevant because they are unable to register gains in productivity or to find innovative ways of doing things”