My academic journey has been filled with many triumphs, setbacks, and an overwhelming amount of surprises that I never saw coming. But through it all, one aspect of my education has never changed: the importance of the liberal arts.
The liberal arts category is made up of all humanity-driven classes such as English, history, philosophy, communication, fine arts, and performing arts.
From a young age, my parents instilled in me a strong appreciation for the liberal arts by always reading to me. This small gesture was setting me up for life and I did not even know it.
As I grew older, I began to grow interested in all kinds of arts. I was not good at many artistic things, but my parents still bought me paint brushes, coloring books, and gave me every cardboard box they could find just so I could create whatever I wanted.
Without even being aware of it, my brain was beginning to develop problem-solving skills and the ability to think critically about what I was doing. This became the foundation on which my educational journey would build upon.
In my grammar-school years, I heavily disregarded my math and science classes; this made some of my school years incredibly difficult since I went to a school that prioritized STEM over the liberal arts.
However, my English and history teachers left a strong impact on my life by introducing me to so many wonderful books, or teaching me about the rich history of the world we live in.
Getting through my STEM courses was rough, but I managed to make it through. I could then finally begin high school, and this is where my life changed forever.
The greatest decision I ever made was to attend Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School. There, I was introduced to classes that didn’t require me to memorize formulas and put them to the test in awful exams. Instead, I was taught different skills that I would utilize to think up free responses on assessments.
Of course, I still had to memorize some vocabulary terms and scientific equations, but my education was not based solely on spitting out facts that were thrown at me. Instead, my education emphasized using critical-thinking skills to solve problems I was faced with. These skills have stuck with me even after I graduated, and I use them every day in both my college courses and my day-to-day life.
None of the equations I learned in my math courses nor the names of organs I learned in freshman biology have ever helped me beyond the classroom. But my English, history, philosophy, and theater classes have fundamentally shaped who I am as a person and as a student.
If it weren’t because my history courses taught me about what the world looked like before, I wouldn’t be able to imagine what the world can be.
If it weren’t for my English courses, I would have never learned to appreciate the beauty of words and how I can use them to express myself and my beliefs.
Philosophy has taught me to take mundane things and cut them apart, revealing everything that they are meant to represent.
Theater has taught me to find passion in everything that I do by teaching me to explore subtext and create meaning out of thin air.
The most important thing the liberal arts have done for me is prepare me for a career. Many people think that STEM-based courses are the only way to ensure students are career-ready, but that would be far from true.
Sure, my future degree in Communication might not get me the highest paying job in the world, but it will get me one where I use all the skills from my liberal arts courses to engage with people around me, solve problems, and create solutions from the top of my head.
Many colleges across the country are removing their liberal arts courses and majors in hopes of creating more “career-ready” students, but this is a grave mistake. Removing these courses will only result in people who do not know how to communicate or problem-solve without following a step-by-step calculation that tells them exactly what to do.
There is no valid reason for an established university to get rid of either their STEM or liberal arts majors. They go hand-in-hand: one cannot succeed without the other. One cannot be destroyed without destroying the other.
The liberal arts have made me who I am today, but my story is not unique. The liberal arts have shaped the lives of many people, and they should be given the space they need in classrooms across the world to continue to do so. Our futures depend on it.