In Defense of a Liberal Education

　　近幾年，美國大學的人文教育系所飽受質疑，佛羅里達、德州與北卡羅萊納州政府都表明停止補貼這些科系任何經費，連歐巴馬總統都在公開場合說過，拿藝術史學位的人賺得不如商人多。種種跡象顯示，曾經風光一時的英語、歷史等人文科系在人們心中的地位正大幅衰退。

　　札卡瑞亞回想起過去在印度的經驗，學生也是以習得一技之長為求學主要目的，不過這種想法是錯誤且短視的，人文教育重點在教導人們有效的溝通與有條理的思考，好比說工程是一項專業，但還必須要有創造力、橫向思考力，甚至是設計、溝通與說故事的能力，才能讓自己不斷進步、享受學習樂趣──而這點正是人文教育帶來的禮物。

　　科技正在改變教育的面貌，網路上越來越多的教育資源向全世界開放，善加利用下，豐富的人文知識勢必帶領人類邁向更進步的未來。(文/ 博客來編譯)

　　CNN host and best-selling author Fareed Zakaria argues for a renewed commitment to the world’s most valuable educational tradition.

　　The liberal arts are under attack. The governors of Florida, Texas, and North Carolina have all pledged that they will not spend taxpayer money subsidizing the liberal arts, and they seem to have an unlikely ally in President Obama.

　　While at a General Electric plant in early 2014, Obama remarked, "I promise you, folks can make a lot more, potentially, with skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might with an art history degree." These messages are hitting home: majors like English and history, once very popular and highly respected, are in steep decline.

　　"I get it," writes Fareed Zakaria, recalling the atmosphere in India where he grew up, which was even more obsessed with getting a skills-based education. However, the CNN host and best-selling author explains why this widely held view is mistaken and shortsighted.

　　Zakaria eloquently expounds on the virtues of a liberal arts education—how to write clearly, how to express yourself convincingly, and how to think analytically. He turns our leaders' vocational argument on its head. American routine manufacturing jobs continue to get automated or outsourced, and specific vocational knowledge is often outdated within a few years. Engineering is a great profession, but key value-added skills you will also need are creativity, lateral thinking, design, communication, storytelling, and, more than anything, the ability to continually learn and enjoy learning—precisely the gifts of a liberal education.

　　Zakaria argues that technology is transforming education, opening up access to the best courses and classes in a vast variety of subjects for millions around the world. We are at the dawn of the greatest expansion of the idea of a liberal education in human history.