时间:2019-01-12 作者:英语课 分类:2016年VOA慢速英语(十)月


英语课

What is the Value of a Liberal Arts Degree? 文科学位的价值到底是什么


Some college students may wonder why their school asks them to take a class in philosophy when they are seeking a degree in physics.


But studying several different subjects in addition to a student’s chosen major is the main idea behind a liberal arts education.


Many colleges and universities describe themselves as liberal arts schools. Students at these educational institutions are able to choose the main subject they want to study, such as economics 1. The school also requires them to take a number of classes in several unrelated subjects, like the arts or languages.


This is far different from institutions offering degree programs that directly relate to a specific career or industry. These programs are often just for areas of specialized 2 training, such as business, engineering or medicine. And students preparing for a career in these fields only take classes that relate to their study program.


Critics say liberal arts degrees have less value because they fail to help students find good-paying positions or any job right after college.


In fact, information on the pay for some careers seems to support this idea. A company called Payscale studies the amount of money people earn in different careers in the United States. The company found that on average, recent graduates with liberal arts degrees make less than those with degrees directly related to a specific career.


For example, Payscale found the average graduate with a bachelor’s degree in petroleum 3 engineering will earn $96,700 a year in the first five years of their career. By comparison, the average graduate with a bachelor’s degree in history will earn $42,200.


However, more and more experts suggest that a liberal arts education has greater value than most people realize.


St. Mary’s College of Maryland is a public liberal arts college. Ben Austin-Docampo began studying there in 2004. Austin-Docampo says he did not have a specific career in mind when he finished high school. So he choose to study a college major that interested him: anthropology 4. His parents supported his decision and his academic advisors 5 did little to suggest one path over another.


But after graduating in 2008, Austin-Docampo felt unsure about how much his college degree would help him in finding a job. At that point, the world’s economy was in a recession 6. He tried moving to Portland, Oregon in 2009. But the unemployment rate there was 12.1 percent.


Austin-Docampo worked in restaurants and held low-paying positions. He had very little money for several years. He felt he had been lied to about what to expect from a liberal arts degree after college.


It wasn’t until several years later that his situation began to improve. Austin-Docampo always loved writing. He moved to northern California in 2014 and a year later became a writer for the U.S. National Park Service. He now says it is the best job he has ever had.


He also says it was the many different skills he learned in college that helped him get the job. And not just those related to anthropology.


Austin-Docampo adds that many of the people he meets in California work in the technology industry. He says many of them struggle with the skills he learned in college.


"It taught me to think about the world, the people in it, how our systems work in a different way. To be able to think more comparatively and a way to think, I think, with empathy for others. … And these are things that I took for granted for a long time. … Now when I meet people in San Francisco who are in tech sometimes, or this or that, I notice that they think about the world in a very different way from how I think of the world. And I think, honestly, to their detriment 7."


Austin-Docampo’s story is similar to those of other liberal arts graduates


Sean Leslie is a senior strategist at Payscale. He says students with more technical training often find good jobs right after college. Employers need workers that have skills with a clear purpose right away.


But Leslie adds that liberal arts graduates have skills that are useful in different ways, like working well with others and critical thinking. Graduates with more technical degrees often struggle with such skills. He says their education has taught them to carry out specific jobs, but little else.


"These students coming out of college are going into the workforce 8 and … these companies that are wanting to hire them are finding that they lack certain skills that liberal arts students would generally be strong in, like writing, reading comprehension, problem-solving. … So … we find that a lot of liberal arts degrees eventually catch up later in their career."


In fact, while Payscale reports lower earnings 9 for liberal arts graduates early in their careers, this changes after several years.


For example, the average graduate with a bachelor’s degree in government and politics will earn $44,600 per year in the first five years after completing their studies. But within the next five years after that, they will earn $90,400 per year, on average.


Also, the Association of American Colleges and Universities last year released a report on what employers want from college graduates. The report showed that 60 percent of employers want graduates to have knowledge and skills directly related to a specific field as well as more general skills.


Only 15 percent valued specific skills more than anything.


But what is it about experiencing and learning many different things that is so valuable?


Eric Jensen is a professor of physics and astronomy 10 at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania. He also works with Swarthmore’s Frank Aydelotte Foundation for the Advancement 11 of the Liberal Arts. The foundation tries to publicize and explain the value of a liberal arts education to businesses and the general public.


Jensen says the value comes from forcing students to think in unfamiliar 12 ways. Also, when liberal arts students with different focuses are in a class together, they must learn to explain their thinking to people with different interests and ways of thinking.


"They’ve had a lot of practice … with taking a new situation where maybe it’s not something they’ve seen before, maybe it’s not something that they have trained for specifically, but learning how to learn about that new topic, learn about how to find resources to figure out quickly what makes that work and what makes it fit together with other things."


The only problem, says Edwin Koc, is that colleges need to better explain how a student’s choice of degree program will affect them. Koc is the senior director of research and public policy at the National Association of Colleges and Employers. His organization studies how education can lead to employment.


Koc says that schools and parents should not try to get students to choose any one major over another. After all, the college experience is about exploration and discovery. But in addition, he says, students should be told that nothing is promised to them.


"Not everybody’s going to succeed. You have the perception 13 that college is the golden ticket, everybody should get a college education. The fact of the matter is, that in general that is true. You’re going to be more successful in your life if you have a college education than if you do not. But it’s no guarantee, regardless of the academic major that you choose, that that will come true."


To help liberal arts graduates succeed at the same level as others, Koc says, schools must combine career and academic advising. Professors and school administrators 14 must work together to show students how their wide range of skills are useful in the working world.


Words in This Story


degree – n. an official document and title that is given to someone who has successfully completed a series of classes at a college or university


major – n. the main subject studied by a college or university student


institution(s) – n. an established organization


specific – adj. special or particular


bachelor’s degree – n. a degree that is given to a student by a college or university usually after four years of study


academic – adj. of or relating to schools and education


empathy – n. the feeling that you understand and share another person's experiences and emotions


(took) for granted – idm. to fail to properly notice or appreciate (someone or something that is helpful or important to you


detriment – n. the act of causing damage or injury to something or someone


strategist – n. a person who is skilled in making plans for achieving a goal


comprehension – n. ability to understand


catch up – p.v. to join someone who is ahead of you


foundation – n. an organization that is created and supported with money that people give in order to do something that helps society


focus(es) – n. a subject that is being discussed or studied


perception – n. the way you think about or understand someone or something


golden ticket – idm. a special skill or type of experience, knowledge, person or thing that can provide success, money or wealth



n.经济学,经济情况
  • He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学,该学科是很重要的。
  • One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。
adj.专门的,专业化的
  • There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
  • These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。
n.原油,石油
  • The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
  • The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。
n.人类学
  • I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
  • Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。
n.顾问,劝告者( advisor的名词复数 );(指导大学新生学科问题等的)指导教授
  • The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网
n.(工商业的)衷退(期),萧条(期)
  • Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响,制造业急剧衰退。
  • A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。
n.损害;损害物,造成损害的根源
  • Smoking is a detriment to one's health.吸烟危害健康。
  • His lack of education is a serious detriment to his career.他的未受教育对他的事业是一种严重的妨碍。
n.劳动大军,劳动力
  • A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
  • A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。
n.工资收人;利润,利益,所得
  • That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
  • Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。
n.天文学
  • Mathematics is connected with astronomy.数学与天文学有联系。
  • Astronomy is an abstract subject.天文学是一门深奥的学科。
n.前进,促进,提升
  • His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
  • The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。
adj.陌生的,不熟悉的
  • I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
  • The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。
n.感知,感觉,觉察(力);认识,观念,看法
  • What's your perception of the matter?你对此事有什么看法?
  • He was a man of keen perception.他是一个感觉敏锐的人。
n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 );有管理(或行政)才能的人;(由遗嘱检验法庭指定的)遗产管理人;奉派暂管主教教区的牧师
  • He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员,但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
  • Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城
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