Lynsie Marks
Dr. Patrick Mayer
LAS241
27 April, 2016
In Ancient Greece and Rome, the liberal arts were subjects that were deemed necessary for a citizen to be free. “The Latin word ‘liberalis.’ meaning “appropriate for free men,”” (History of a Liberal Arts Education) is the root of liberal arts. In the first days of a liberal arts education, the main focus was on grammar, rhetoric, and logic. These subjects taught skills that were important for civic duty, because “the main goal for free citizens of Greece and Rome was to participate in civic life” (History of a Liberal Arts Education). Later, the liberal arts went on to include arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. Today, it also includes the arts, humanities, social sciences, science, …show more content…
This way of teaching stems from the Socratic Method, where Socrates would ask his students questions in order to help them “support their arguments and to stimulate critical thinking” (liberalartscollegereview.com). All of the courses taught in a liberal arts tradition seem to be aimed at understanding society, seen in social sciences, psychology, or the arts, as well as understanding the natural world, like in mathematics, biology, or astronomy. Getting a liberal arts education is beneficial to students for a variety of reasons. One reason in particular is that it allows students to have a broad understanding of many subjects. For example, I probably never would have had read Plato or Galileo had it not been for a liberal arts education. Personally, I like learning new things. I think that throughout my time at Siena Heights, I will learn many things I probably would not have learned if I went to a school that was not in the liberal arts tradition. Another reason the liberal arts is important is because I think it teaches students to think …show more content…
The subjects that can be considered liberal arts have, for the most part, been quite interesting to me. I think Siena has a good variety of liberal arts courses for students to choose from. I have been dual-enrolling for a couple years now, which has put me ahead in my college career. I hope to get into the nursing program in the winter of 2017, but after this semester, I will already be done with all of my prerequisites for the program. This means that this fall I am able to take any classes for fun. Most likely, I will choose many courses that are a part of a liberal arts education. Because I know Siena has a wide variety of classes, I will be able to broaden my view on various subjects. For me, I particularly like that it is required to take a religious course. Since I have always grown up in a Christian environment, I like having the opportunity to take classes that explore other religions. I have not taken a social science course at Siena, but from I have seen is offered, I think the school has a good selection of topics. I took a psychology course a couple years ago at Jackson College, but I would like to take a class at Siena to get a feel for the subject taught in the liberal arts tradition. The liberal arts are meant to give students knowledge of the world in broad topics like science, society, and culture. In LAS141, I learned much about various societies and
Dr. Patrick Mayer
LAS241
27 April, 2016
In Ancient Greece and Rome, the liberal arts were subjects that were deemed necessary for a citizen to be free. “The Latin word ‘liberalis.’ meaning “appropriate for free men,”” (History of a Liberal Arts Education) is the root of liberal arts. In the first days of a liberal arts education, the main focus was on grammar, rhetoric, and logic. These subjects taught skills that were important for civic duty, because “the main goal for free citizens of Greece and Rome was to participate in civic life” (History of a Liberal Arts Education). Later, the liberal arts went on to include arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. Today, it also includes the arts, humanities, social sciences, science, …show more content…
This way of teaching stems from the Socratic Method, where Socrates would ask his students questions in order to help them “support their arguments and to stimulate critical thinking” (liberalartscollegereview.com). All of the courses taught in a liberal arts tradition seem to be aimed at understanding society, seen in social sciences, psychology, or the arts, as well as understanding the natural world, like in mathematics, biology, or astronomy. Getting a liberal arts education is beneficial to students for a variety of reasons. One reason in particular is that it allows students to have a broad understanding of many subjects. For example, I probably never would have had read Plato or Galileo had it not been for a liberal arts education. Personally, I like learning new things. I think that throughout my time at Siena Heights, I will learn many things I probably would not have learned if I went to a school that was not in the liberal arts tradition. Another reason the liberal arts is important is because I think it teaches students to think …show more content…
The subjects that can be considered liberal arts have, for the most part, been quite interesting to me. I think Siena has a good variety of liberal arts courses for students to choose from. I have been dual-enrolling for a couple years now, which has put me ahead in my college career. I hope to get into the nursing program in the winter of 2017, but after this semester, I will already be done with all of my prerequisites for the program. This means that this fall I am able to take any classes for fun. Most likely, I will choose many courses that are a part of a liberal arts education. Because I know Siena has a wide variety of classes, I will be able to broaden my view on various subjects. For me, I particularly like that it is required to take a religious course. Since I have always grown up in a Christian environment, I like having the opportunity to take classes that explore other religions. I have not taken a social science course at Siena, but from I have seen is offered, I think the school has a good selection of topics. I took a psychology course a couple years ago at Jackson College, but I would like to take a class at Siena to get a feel for the subject taught in the liberal arts tradition. The liberal arts are meant to give students knowledge of the world in broad topics like science, society, and culture. In LAS141, I learned much about various societies and