Interesting article about the value of liberal arts degrees:

[Jenny in Florida]

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/making-sense/get-a-liberal-arts-b-a-not-a-business-b-a-for-the-coming-artisan-economy/

 

"But this movement is about a lot more than hipsters bucking a traditional career path. Katz believes the artisan economy can help shore up the American middle class by creating new jobs to replace those mass production and middle management jobs lost to outsourcing or new technology. And he thinks that a firm grounding in the multidisciplinary liberal arts is the best preparation – better even than a business degree – to taking advantage of the artisan economy that he hopes will be a path to upward mobility for the average American."

 And he thinks that a firm grounding in the multidisciplinary liberal arts is the best preparation – better even than a business degree – to taking advantage of the artisan economy that he hopes will be a path to upward mobility for the average American."

 

I heard the show, too, and I'm not sure I'm putting two and two together.  Of the "artisan economy", they talked to:  a woman who sold custom-made dog leashes, two men who sell adult (i.e. alcoholic) freezies, someone who made organic popsicles.  While I have the highest respect for these young people who take matters into their own hands to create their futures, I'm having a hard time seeing how a six-figure private LAC degree is required to start a business selling dog leashes.  Or is it just an odd form of credentialing: if you could get a degree in Art History from Columbia, then you do indeed have hipster credentials, and can learn all the social things required to run such a business.

[elegantlion]

I saved it to read in depth later. I like this paragraph : 

 

"Where I think there’s a future is less just the traditional apprenticeship and more what you might call “contextual learning,†which gives you a foundation of liberal arts that’s very flexible and combines that with learning a trade that’s valuable in an industry today, but not so narrow that if demand for that particular skill goes away, you’re left with nothing."