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, complete a certain number of general course credits, and then take specific courses in their chosen field. With all the lists it leaves very little wiggle room for the student. Cronon sees that not all lists produce a liberally educated person. The bottom line is that a liberal education's purpose is to nurture human growth and freedom.
             Because Cronon says it is difficult to establish what a liberal education is he came up with a list of ten characteristics for an individual who has been liberally educated. These are all traits that the person feels are important to have in order to be successful in any and every aspect of life.
             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 bu
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