According to statistics, classical liberal arts is a form of education that focuses on the preparation of students for the complexity, diversity, and changes in the world.Today’s world has been argued to focus more on technology and the economy of things. These subjects includesocial and physical sciences, and literature, philosophy, and mathematics and they concentrate on the services of knowledge to the students that will help them find a solution to the problems that they encounter in the world. Also, it focuses on the provision of detailed study on specific areas of interests within the student community. To some degree, these subjects are aligned with guideing the students find joy and what makes them happy. Living amoung a world that has been overrun by technology and a teaching foundation that is focused providing students with standardized tests, careerism over their careers and getting the children to students, classic liberal arts focuses on the provision of a better link between character and talents.
The value of classic liberal arts is evident in the way our country is run. As much as the country needs soldiers, craftsmen and tradeswomen, it also requires its poetic warriors and philosophers to run effectively. We require classic liberal arts to bring about a more conscious society and not one that is driven by the desire to pass tests and achieve the next goal (Logan and Janel 323-340). It focuses on the presentation of self-awareness and empathy, giving people the ability for deeper and more abstract understanding of the world.
Additionally, classic liberal arts are the ones holding the world together in regards to how people understand each other (Graubard). Therefore, their value is of great significance within the world. These factors have alienated people from what is important, and classical liberal arts can play a great role in making certain that people see the world from a different angle. With factors such as technology and economics, the world has become divided into classes where there are the rich, the middle class, and the poor (Chopp). However, with classical liberal arts such as philosophy and humanities, we get to understand the importance of unity and value of other people. The subjects ensure that we perceive a greater value and worth for the aspects of humanity as it creates a sense of awareness and self-worth. Education was introduced with the aim of gaining knowledge and skills.
It was focused on ensuring that those that had it had a much more expansive knowledge and skills to tackle everyday problems and make the world a better place. However, with the current trends, educational institutions are more focused on tests and moving on to the next class. However, classic liberal arts view the world from a more perspective angle. Not only focusing on the knowledge and skills passed on to students but giving them the necessary ways to challenge everyday problems (Van der Wende 128-148).
Generally, classic liberal arts are considered to be the bridge that exists to the betterment of the future of students. The history of classical liberal arts can be traced back to the Roman Empire where they were intertwined within the basic curriculum. They were considered as liberal arts whereby they focused on the presentation of knowledge and skills to the students. The earliest form of classical liberal arts within that time included music, arithmetic, astronomy and geometry which were referred to as Quadrivium. Additionally, grammar, logic and rhetoric were also other forms of classical liberal arts that were grouped under Trivium (Conrad 46-56). The other important classical liberal arts came to be adopted later on, with the likes of humanities being adopted within the Renaissance period by Italians, and others such as philosophy and ethics being adopted within Greek (Conrad 46-56). In Europe, the humanities curriculum came to be in the 16th century and later one to the west. Classical liberal arts came to America with the Europeans and from then, has gradually developed and advanced to date.
Within the western world, classical liberal arts cover areas such as arts, philosophy, religious studies, social sciences, mathematics, and natural sciences. There are even colleges within the west that are focused on the provision of the liberal arts alone, making it a very important aspect (Sklad et al. 323-340). A resurgence of classical liberal arts in schools and the society, in general, could have a great impact on the students in general. It would give them the necessary skills that are required to handle daily challenges and also interact with each other. Liberal arts are more focused on ensuring that people relate well as it explains the understandings behind human relations, creating a certain value for humanity (Williams 9-24). Therefore, if classical liberal arts resurged, there would be an increase in the value that students have for each other. Humanity would not be greatly focused on developing and creating more buildings or roads but rather; it would be focused on effectively bringing about change within the world.
It would begin with the education sector, where people would increase the value they saw each other with and spread to important areas such as corporations, communities and religious institutions among others. In conclusion, classical liberal arts are of great importance within any given situation. They focus on giving students and people the practical knowledge and skills they may require to operate effectively. Within recent years, the focus on educating students using classical liberal arts has been on the rise and as such, improving the way we view education.
