1- Liberal art degrees teach students how to become engaged parts of their communities. “that the future demands of citizenship will require not narrow technical or job-focused training, but rather a subtle understanding of the complex influences that shape the world we live in”(Ungar). If you go onto a higher education that only focuses on one specific thing, you cannot learn to adapt and work in, or with people in, your community. “But ultimately, it isn’t about parsing the idea of citizenship. The overall goal is to foster vibrant and prosperous communities with broad and deep participation, in public conversations marked by fairness, inclusion, and (where critical thinking comes in) intellectual rigor” (Scheuer). If students only learn how to do one thing in college, communities will not have people who can help their communities flourish. Take critical thinking for example, if we did not learn to think ahead or think about all the possible outcomes before trying a solution to a problem, a lot more communities would probably not exist anymore, or would be in very rough shape. Scheuer and Ungar both agree that a liberal arts educations focus is not to get a job right after college, it teaches students how to succeed in life outside of college.

2- UNE’s goal is to help students “develop foundational knowledge and critical thinking skills that are necessary for understanding and assuming their roles in natural, social, humanistic, and other environments.” UNE has required classes for students to take that are outside of their major so that they learn these necessary skills. Scheuer talks about how “free minds are flexible minds, trained to recognize that many areas of inquiry are interconnected and many disciplinary boundaries are porous.” When I read that I thought about how the different classes that UNE requires you to take and how they make you a more informed citizen. The environmental classes teach you about real world issues and we come up with ways to solve them. You can use these skills in other aspects of life.

3- One course that UNE offers is Citizenship Seminar and Global citizenship. These courses “gives students the opportunity to reflect on their previous years of study in the light of their duties and responsibilities as members of a larger society. They direct the student’s attention both outward with a civic contribution and inward with reflection.” They help students learn about current issues in our world and how we are supposed to solve them or aid our communities to a solution. Ungar touches upon this idea that we should work with others to help aid our community to a solution. “..the liberal arts could properly be described as a conservative approach to preparation for life. It promotes the idea of listening to all points of view and not relying on a single ideology, and examining all approaches to solving a problem rather than assuming that one technique or perspective has all the answers.” These specific courses mentioned before help teach students to exactly what Ungar has mentioned. We need to listen to ourselves and others, give our ideas, understand the issue, and help come up with a solution that benefits more than just ourselves.