Monday, October 22, 2012

Zombie allusions: They just keep on coming-feeding on liberal arts majors

http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2012/10/21/educational-oversight-zombies


Educational oversight: zombies

An intense focus on the liberal arts prevents us from having practical skills.
Published October 21, 2012

"It’s not that Columbians are not resourceful, cunning, and athletic (thank self-paced running and vinyasa yoga). It’s that the skills needed in a man-eat-man world are no longer taught in schools, but at home, in Scouts, and in “The Hunger Games.” From personal experience, I can say that Columbians by-and-large have not learned them. Look at the person to your left. Now look at the person to your right. Can you honestly tell me that you feel safe with her or him guarding your back? Looking around at my five suitemates, I do not feel reassured. We are sorely lacking in any sort of survival competence.
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I will be the first to defend the liberal arts curriculum—I have done so a number of times in previous columns. However, it is important to reflect upon how removed we are from the day-to-day business of survival, to remember that the opportunity to intern at Accenture is only made possible because someone out there knows the best soil to plant tomatoes and how to feed Angus cows. Liberal arts could not exist without the technical arts, and liberal arts majors are going to feed the zombies."


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