Who's Liberally Educated?
Democrats and Republicans, Who's Liberally Educated?A Summary of Cronon's "'Only Connect': The Goals of Liberal Education"In William Cronon's Essay, "'Only Connect': The goals of liberal education," Cronon explains what liberal education is not and the different characteristics of a liberal education. Before Cronon Explains what a liberal education is, he first explained what is not meant by a liberal education in regards to the way he is using the term for the essay. A liberal education does not have anything to do with ones political point of view. Instead Cronon says, "Liberally educated people have been liberated by their education to explore and fulfill the promise of their own highest talents" (157). Cronon found it almost ironic that institutions that claim to offer a liberal education have so many lists of requirements. A student must take a certain number of credits,
He says, "Liberal education nurtures human freedom in the service of human community, which is to say that in the end it celebrates love" (162). These are all traits that the person feels are important to have in order to be successful in any and every aspect of life. But when he talks about love he doesn't mean a romantic love that one might think of when one hears the word. The bottom line is that a liberal education's purpose is to nurture human growth and freedom. As for what exactly is a liberal education, that is up to the individual. Cronon believes that a liberal education should produce a person with the ten traits mentioned earlier. Rather, it is human freedom with the obligation of the individual who has become liberally educated to give back and teach their community what they have learned. Cronon sees that not all lists produce a liberally educated person. As much as liberal education is about freedom, it also about helping the community that helped set you free, according to Cronon. The list goes as follows: "They listen and they hear"(159); "They read and they understand"(159); "They can talk to anyone"(159); "They can write clearly and persuasively and movingly"(160); They can solve a wide variety of puzzles and problems"(160); They respect rigor not so much for its own sake but as a way of seeking truth"(160); "They practice humility, tolerance' and self-criticism"(160); "They understand how to get things done in the world"(161); " They nurture and empower the people around them"(161); and they are able to connect things together in the world. "Only Connect: The goals of Liberal Education. He believes that a person who has been liberally educated has an obligation to go back and help the community, in particular, the youth, so they too can become liberally educated. The American Scholar 67:4, Autumn 1998.
Common topics in this essay:
Cronon Liberally,
Cronon Explains,
liberal education,
Cronon's Essay,
liberally educated,
American Scholar,
Allyn Bacon,
Questioning Reader,
goals liberal,
Summary Cronon's,
goals liberal education,
William Connect,
Liberal Education,
individual liberally educated,
liberal education cronon,
individual liberally,
cronon explains,
education cronon,
education cronon explains,
cronon believes,
connect' goals liberal,
connect' goals,
'only connect',
explains liberal,
|
Acceptance Essays
