Studying Humanities

It is very difficult to imagine students not being educated about humanities while I school. Currently, it is accustomed in this nation that humanities are taught throughout all generations of students. These generations include the basic elementary school, middle/high school, and college. For example, in elementary school, children create art and briefly learn about language and the history of the United States. However, in middle and high school, the instructors expand into more details about these subjects with the students. More specifically, high school students learn about famous, classic literature in the past and also learn about world history. While in college, a student may have to take a required humanities course, most likely a social science such as philosophy or sociology. So, why is there so much focus of learning and studying humanities within education? Because, whether people realize it or not, humanities affect everyone in their daily lives. The study of humanities is essential nowadays in order to both survive and succeed in today’s society. Especially with this nation’s current economic situation. For people that are dealing with poverty now, it is urgent for them to gain knowledge of these resources. In Earl Shorris’ essay, he speaks to a female prisoner named Viniece Walker about the necessity of learning humanities. Walker says that children should learn about “…the moral life of downtown…” and be taken “…to plays, museums, concerts, [and] lectures…”.Still, Shorris asks an important question, which is “how could a museum push poverty away.” Studying humanities may help make a person rich, but “…in terms of life” (Shorris 232 & 235). Some of the greatest benefits that come from studying humanities are that people learn how to become more marketable and cross-cultural. In order to become a part of a certain world or culture, it is necessary to reflect on the background of that life. A person has to “walk a mile in someone else’s shoes”

Cited: Hentoff, Nat. “Colleges Suffer from Lack of Diversity of Ideas.” 2nd Ed. Chattanooga State. Chattanooga, TN: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 226-229. Print. Plato. “The Allegory of the Cave.” Writing on the River. 2nd Ed. Chattanooga State. Chattanooga, TN: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 201-207. Print. Shorris, Earl. “On the Uses of a Liberal Education as a Weapon in the Hands of the Restless Poor.” 2nd Ed. Chattanooga State. Chattanooga, TN: McGraw-Hill, 2009. 230-245. Print.