Reading Cronon's "Only Connect" and Dewey's
chapter "Education as a Necessity of Life" gave me a new perspective
on education in general. According to Cronon, the core values of a
liberal education are "freedom and growth" (1). He believes
that a liberally educated person has the ability to "explore and fulfill
the promise of their own highest talent" (1). I had never thought
about my education in this way and it gave me a new outlook on what a liberal
education actually is. I agree with what his thought, that education
frees a person to pursue whatever interests them. Another point that he
brought up is that "learning how to get things done in the world in order
to leave it a better place is surely one of the most practical and important
lessons we can take from our education" (4). This also made me
contemplate what it is I am looking for in my education. I know I want to
learn what is needed to perform in a professional position, but I have never
really thought about how my future work could benefit the rest of the world.
One point that Cronon makes is paralleled by one of Dewey’s
points. Cronon states that “liberally
educated people understand that they belong to a community whose prosperity and
well-being are crucial to their own, and they help that community flourish by
making the success of others possible” (4). This is basically saying that
liberally educated people realize they live in a community that is dependent on
itself and each member’s contribution matters.
The point that Dewey makes is that society exists through knowledge and
education being passed on. “Without this
communication of ideals, hopes, expectations, standards, opinions, from those
members of society who are passing out of the group life to those who are
coming into it, social life could not survive” (3). Both men explain the importance of education being passed on and that sharing
knowledge with the community is crucial for this to happen.
Question: How well do you think UW's curriculum encompasses the core values of a liberal education (freedom and growth)? Do they promote human freedom like Cronan believes a liberal education should?
Personally, I believe that UW strives to acknowledge these core values in its curriculum, but I do not think that it looks at these as its primary educational focus. This is a huge school, and it's also a business. As such, it focuses on making the most of its budget by including as many of these qualities as it can, while still maintaining monetary solvency.
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