Running Head: THE IMPORTANCE OF A LIBERAL ARTS EDUCATION TO MY FUTURE CAREER 1

The Importance of a Liberal Arts Education to My Future Career

Sarah Norton
ADV 100
David H. Dommer
September 11, 2017
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The Importance of a Liberal Arts Education to My Future Career

Remembering the first day of Kindergarten always brings a smile to my face. I

remember walking in with tears streaming down my face, begging my mother not to leave me

alone with some stranger. I was convinced that she was related to the Cheshire Cat from Alice in

Wonderland by the way she smiled at me. However, by the end of that day, I was the one who

was smiling! This lady who became my hero in just a day, convinced me that learning was a gift

to appreciate and love. Ever since that day, I’ve wanted to pursue a career in Early Childhood

Education. Even though my career in Early Childhood Education will only focus on certain

aspect of education programs, I know it will still be important to have a solid liberal arts

foundation because it will help me secure a job by showing employers my ability to adapt to the

ever-evolving culture presented to me by my community and the world.

A supervisor for an Early Childhood Education profession would choose someone like

me who graduated from a liberal arts university over someone who graduated elsewhere. Having

a liberal arts education teaches me how to think, learn, and see things whole and as such, makes

me a more competitive and innovative employee as a result of learning from a broad range of

subjects. Having this advantage, I’m able to better comprehensive knowledge from a wide range

of educational programs offered at a liberal arts university. This includes a broad variety of

topics. This kind of knowledge allows me to understand the world better in my own perspective

and the perspective others. This ability allows me to think and solve problems more efficiently

than before. A liberal arts education also teaches me how to learn. Having this advantage, I’m

able to enhance my creativity by being my own teacher. In other words, I’ve learned to develop

strategies and habits over time that help me learn new and old material quicker and more

resourcefully. A liberal arts education also teaches me to see things whole. Having this
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advantage, I’m able to see that the knowledge that I’ve learned in all the variety of classes I have

taken work together as a whole. Meaning, life is a whole and it shouldn’t be seen as divided into

majors. For an example, in my job I will be needing to require more knowledge than just from

my field. How would I be able to help a child or even answer a parent if the question is not

specifically related to Early Childhood Education? That is why having a liberal arts education is

an advantage when seeking out a job in Early Childhood Education or in any other professions. It

is also the reason I’m more likely to be hired over someone who does not have a liberal arts

education.

Having a liberal arts education also gives me qualities and traits that would work together

with the requirements and duties of an Early Childhood Education teacher. This would be having

a better understanding of a variety of topics, a creative, open mind set, and a better understanding

and respect for various cultures. Having a better understanding of a variety of topics benefits this

profession because having a well-rounded person is more beneficial than being educated in just

Early Childhood Education. In other words, being more educated means, I can better improve the

profession in the long run when it comes to teaching my students and I would be less of a burden

during the beginning of my career. Whereas having a creative, open mind set benefits this

profession because it allows me to adapt to the multitude of learning styles that different students

are receptive to. Which brings us to having a better understanding and respect for various

cultures that will benefit this profession because recognizing the diversity of cultures will allow

me to better interact with the students and their parents.

By going to a liberal arts university my employers will be able to see me as someone who

is able to adapt to my environment in order to be a more involved member of my workplace,

making it an overall more effective, diverse environment. This will not only improve the
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workplace, but the students’ ability to learn which will be the ultimate goal as an Early

Childhood Education teacher. As such, a background in a liberal arts university will show my

employers that I’m a ready, capable teacher who has studied a wide range of subjects and is

ready to teach the future leaders of our community and country.

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References

Ebersole, D. J. (2013, September 10). Is an Education in the Liberal Arts Important? Retrieved

from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-john-ebersole/is-an-education-in-the-

li_b_3949704.html

Harris, R. (1991, March 14). On the Purpose of a Liberal Arts Education. Retrieved from

http://www.virtualsalt.com/libarted.htm

Kleiman. J. (2014, May 01). Why Getting A Liberal Arts College Education Is Not A Mistake.

Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/work-in-progress/2014/04/28/why-getting-

a-liberal-arts-college-education-is-not-a-mistake

Krislov, M. (2013, December 5). The enduring relevance of a liberal-arts education. Retrieved

from http://hechingerreport.org/the-enduring-relevance-of-a-liberal-arts-education/