"Education breeds confidence. Confidence breeds hope. Hope breeds peace.”
- Confucius
Dr. Fareed Zakaria earned a PhD from Harvard University, a B.A from Yale, is an international bestselling author of four books, including, The Future of Freedom, The Post-American World and now available, In Defense of a Liberal Education. Zakaria has been the host of CNN's GPS (Global Public Square) since 2008 and contributes a weekly column to the Washington Post. So why is the subject of a liberal arts education so important at this moment? Believe it or not, Governors in Texas, Florida, and North Carolina have announced they're refusing to spend taxpayer money on subsidizing liberal arts. Why are college Majors such as English, History, and Humanities suddenly under attack in the United States? Why are numerous State officials implying that a student learning to write, speak, read and think for themselves "ain't " a priority for well being?
Apparently, a few of our elected officials are against funding education, upholding women's rights, raising the minimum wage and deny climate change yet emphatically insist the United States be globally competitive in business, technology and science? Wait!? This is making my head and my heart ache.
Science, math and technology require the ability to read, write and think creatively. True or false? How do American college students learn critical thinking skills if we eliminate English, writing and especially reading? Curiosity, a love of learning and being literate is 90% of my own education. Aren't you surprised I can form sentences? After all, I attended Kent State and a community college in Florida. What the hell do I know? Who needs to read any way? Life is so much easier when children and teens shut up, close their eyes and do what they're told. Don't they grow up to be such wonderful, narrow minded, uncaring, robotic, perfectly compliant adults?
In Defense of a Liberal Education, Zakaria argues that a liberal education is America's greatest exercise in freedom. The human mind and spirit has a limitless desire to know and create. The book is a powerful examination of the undeniable value of liberal arts studies in a well rounded education and the effects of underestimating those contributions for the future of our society. Please view the brief clip above from Big Think http://bigthink.com/
