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Is anyone else sick and tired of people bashing the liberal arts, the social sciences and the arts?
We are not China thank God. Not a country I personally admire. When someone majors in an applied science, they are pretty much consigned to working in that field.
Few people stay in the same profession for their entire lives. Department of Labor stats back me up.
In terms of a broad education, nothing beats a liberal arts education. There is always time to specialize in graduate school. Which is pretty necessary today.
If average student debt today at graduation is near $30K (widely reported today), how is the humanities major working at Starbucks going to repay it?
$10/hour = $20,000 per year if working 40 hours/wk. After their iPhone, apartment rent, and food, they can't repay any of it. Unless they live with their parents.
Huh. My sister graduated from a costly private liberal arts college right at the start of the recession. She worked at Starbucks while applying for other jobs. Due to the economy, it took two full years of Starbucks before something in her field panned out. In the meantime, she immediately, due to holding a college degree, moved past barista to store manager, helped open two new stores, got regular raises, had good insurance the entire time she worked there. She lived in an apartment in a major metropolitan area with roommates, paid rent, paid for food, paid her student loan payments, her car payment, and all other sundries just fine. She now works in her field, makes good money, and it's not a concern. But she never had any problem repaying her student loan and living on her own, even when she was making do at Starbucks. Did she love it? Nope. But it was two years, and it was fine. It can be done.
Huh. My sister graduated from a costly private liberal arts college right at the start of the recession. She worked at Starbucks while applying for other jobs. Due to the economy, it took two full years of Starbucks before something in her field panned out. In the meantime, she immediately, due to holding a college degree, moved past barista to store manager, helped open two new stores, got regular raises, had good insurance the entire time she worked there. She lived in an apartment in a major metropolitan area with roommates, paid rent, paid for food, paid her student loan payments, her car payment, and all other sundries just fine. She now works in her field, makes good money, and it's not a concern. But she never had any problem repaying her student loan and living on her own, even when she was making do at Starbucks. Did she love it? Nope. But it was two years, and it was fine. It can be done.
In the many, many tales of negativity and depressed unemployed/malemployed college grads it is nice to hear a tale of hope. When you graduate college and find yourself back in the same job you had whilst in highschool, hope can be lost quickly and depression can come even swifter. It is good to read that there are instances of success.
I do believe some policy needs to be made to encourage, or even force, more students to study math and science. For example, cut the "quota" for arts majors, so many who want to go to college have to choose otherwise. Also, do not hire so many professors in arts...
They do force students to take math and science ... for 7 years.
It's called junior high school and high school.
I think they should force/encourage students to play music instead.
They do force students to take math and science ... for 7 years.
It's called junior high school and high school.
I think they should force/encourage students to play music instead.
Oh, I'm an engineer BTW.
Not enough.
We learned how to solve quadratic equations at 12 years old (every student, not just elite students), but some college students here are still doing this. I was a math tutor so I know.
I understand in the US good students have much more opportunities to learn what they want, and many high school students already finished calculus etc. but the standard for the majority is way too low.
As for China encouraging STEM, that is hardly unexpected given the nature of their government. Love them or hate them, someone who is reasonably intelligent and trained in the liberal arts should be a critic of society. Their reading and analysis from multiple perspectives on a variety of topics offer opportunities for comparison and the inevitable criticism. For illiberal regimes (China, North Korea, Iran, Russia, etc), the liberal arts are a royal PITA pointing out the injustices of political imprisonment, corruption, lack of transparency etc etc. STEM graduates on the other hand are perfect: they don't probe into bothersome social matters, and their work helps to bring their respective countries towards first world standards.
In the US, we only use "intellectual" as a slur. But that's for another thread...
This is not to argue whether education in China is good or bad. It is about too few Americans study STEM.
You agree or not?
The products you use were MADE in China, India, Mexico, or Pakistan, but I can guarantee that nearly NONE of them were conceived there! Let's get the government out of the way and let people in the US do what they do best...INNOVATE.
Innovate....do you know most top scientists and engineers in the US are from foreign countries now?
You think the American innovations are purely done by American born individuals?
America can provide higher salaries than most other countries do. This is the main source of "innovation".
I see a cultural difference too: Americans tend to think people are born to be good/bad at math. Chinese also believe some people are smarter than others, but they believe hard work can largely fill the gap.
When I was in elementary school (6-12 years old), most classmates were from nearby neighborhood so we knew each other's family well. You know what, about half of them got a degree in engineering, especially petroleum engineering because my hometown has some oil industry.
My elementary school did not "screen" students so they were from families of teachers, workers, officers etc. Nevertheless half of them could manage to pass engineering level math. Including girls.
Yes, too few do science and math. That is good for people in other countries because that gives them a great opportunity to come to this country and make a life for themselves if they are educated in those subjects. I only see it as a problem if people are studying something they can't get a job with (which does include some arts and social sciences). However, some people can make a good living as artists (not that many though), writers, etc.
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But that's for another thread...
