After reading the title I think this paper is going to about the effectiveness of a liberal arts education. It seems that it will talk about how critical thinking is reinforced with the liberal arts. I am assuming that it will also talk about the downfalls of a non-liberal arts education.

Section 1:

The first section describes what a liberal arts education is. It stems from ancient Greece and Rome and was based around “philosophy, jurisprudence, theology, and medicine.” Today liberal arts are extended also to STEM fields making the name a little redundant. Liberal arts are surrounded by the idea of critical thinking which allows fields to cross over and change over time and keeps the effectiveness of this kind of education.

Section 2:

The second section describes why we need a liberal arts education. The two ideas it is built around are critical thinking and citizenship. “The overall goal is to foster vibrant and prosperous communities with broad and deep participation.” Good citizenship creates a need for critical thinking because that is the only way to have effective debates and conversations in a community.

Section 3:

The third section describes the role of critical thinking specifically. Critical thinking is really hard to define because it encompasses so many different skills: “Because critical thinking is a complex skill, any attempt to offer a full and definitive definition of it would be futile.” I really like this quote because I feel like it takes critical thinking to understand it. Generally though it involves inferring information, distinguishing fact and opinion, and drawing conclusions from data. Liberal arts tests these abilities through many different mediums, fostering ones ability to think critically better than a type of vocational education.

Section 4:

Section four talks about the importance of questioning with a critical mindset. The author notes how STEM fields are important for economic productivity, but the world also requires educated thinkers and communicators. “The liberal arts embody precisely the skills a democracy must cultivate to maintain its vital reservoir of active, thoughtful, humane, and productive citizens.” I agree with this statement because I think it is necessary for people in the country to have a broad range of understanding, and the ability to think about those topics effectively to ask important questions about how to change the country for the better.