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The Value of a Liberal Education at Stanford
The editorial board at The Stanford Daily recently offered a promising start to a discourse on the value of a liberal education: "Although the GERS (General Education Requirements) fall under criticism, the theory underlying their existence - that values a liberal education involving the study in all major subfields - is sound."
The Stanford Daily offers two main reasons. First, a robust core curriculum exposes students to new disciplines that encourage previously unexplored intellectual passions. Second, and more practically, a broad core of subjects equips all students, particularly those certain of their career path, with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in an increasingly globalized economy. The Stanford editors cite a 2004 report by the National Academy of Engineering, in which the NAE stated that for the "Engineer of 2020...learning disciplinary technical subjects to the exclusion of humanities, economics, political science, language and/or interdisciplinary technical subjects is not in the best interest of producing engineers able to communicate with the public, able to engage in a global engineering marketplace, or trained to be life-long learners."
Yet, as the editorial board admits, there are some "serious flaws" with Stanford's GERs. The school approaches a common curriculum as a distributional cafeteria instead of a disciplined core of fundamental subjects. Gaps in an undergraduate education like intermediate foreign language, American history and government, and economics constitute a disempowerment for participants in a globalized economy.
Stanford's a la carte offerings may make sense as elective courses but do little to ensure a true liberal-arts experience. A common criticism of core requirements is that institutions should not rigidly circumscribe what subject matters students take; they should instead expose students to different ways of thinking. ACTA, in contrast, supports requirements in the areas that are essential for success in career and community. For this reason our WWTL? project calls upon colleges to have the vision and courage to require courses, not just offer them. That is why Stanford receives a "C" in our 2011 WWTL report.
The Stanford Daily recognizes that "We are entering a workforce and society where having knowledge in just one field will not suffice." Now Stanford must answer the question, "What are the essential skills and knowledge that no Stanford graduate can afford to go without?" Answering that question will allow the university to take needed, constructive action to institute a genuine core curriculum; one that builds a common experience among all undergraduates.
Posted by Max Brindle on November 09, 2011 at November 9, 2011 10:21 AM
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