"On the Uses of a Liberal Education" Reading Response 2|13

     From the beginning of the article, it is clear that the author realizes he is dealing with a challenging group of students but he is excited about teaching them. I can sense his excitement from the phrase “I liked the group already.” The author is arguing that this humanities school will help the students get on the same level as the “rich people” and help them become more likely to use their works in an argument and less likely to use their actions. He tells them it will be hard work and they will have to put a lot of effort into it but almost every student signed up for the course. The author started out having interviews for the course so that he could get a different array of people. The author ended up taking in poor people, pregnant people, and a couple people who barely could speak English. The course ended up being a success because about half the class ended up passing and some of those even got college credit.

     I believe the author argued his point well because he proved that with hard work, people could learn to solve problems and learn things that they wouldn’t learn outside of school. I noticed the author was assuming that the guy who had a confrontation with a coworker would deal with it physically when in reality, the man actually used what his teacher taught him and though “what would Socrates do?” The teacher didn’t believe that the course would actually help and was surprised to see that what he was teaching was actually benefitting the students. He also doubted that many people would come to the first session with him but, again, he was wrong because almost everyone showed up and was ready to learn. If the teacher was convinced not a lot of people would show up to the sessions and more people wouldn’t retain the information being taught, why was he teaching the course to begin with? Also, was he really writing a book or was that just a cover-up?

     I agree with this author and believe that these kinds of courses should be taught everywhere. No matter what the material is or who is attending the classes, any bit of knowledge than can be gained is worthwhile. This reading just further proves that you’re never too old to learn and better yourself. It may become more difficult as you get older, but it isn’t impossible.

     I chose this as my golden line because I agree with the statement that knowledge will make you rich in life. Yes, it is true that sometimes knowledge can affect your success in money and wealth. On the contrary, if you are rich in knowledge, you are always guaranteed a rich life.