For Gov. Rick Scott, the preparation of a competent workforce should be the sole purpose of a college education.
Who needs to ask questions about our role in the universe or the meaning of justice or the epistemological foundations of truth or the philosophical basis of our legal system?
No, Scott believes we go to college to get a job.
His goal for the state is to pull the focus (and the funding) away from liberal arts and direct resources toward "degrees where people can get jobs in this state."
Yes, many of us enter college with the ambition of one day doing something we love. But during this journey, it is our chance to really find out who we are.
College presents an opportunity for all of us to question the foundations upon which our entire belief systems stand.
Although the goal of liberal education should not be to make you forgo your beliefs or leave you with the conclusion that there is no right way to look at the world, it should attempt to present alternative views throughout a variety of disciplines.
It should force you to justify modern ideas that are often taken for granted. Is democracy the best political system? Should pure gender equality be a desired goal for society?
By answering these questions and more through the examination of ancient and modern philosophy, literature and scholarly work, students (should hopefully) enter the "real" world with a truly well-rounded understanding.
They should also graduate with the ability to support the ideas on which they base their personal behavior and political beliefs.
Scott's top-down approach to education makes the claim that he is for smaller government laughable. He has shown a complete disregard for the purpose of a university education. Instead, he has used GOP talking points to try to "reform" the university system. He should let those closest to the "front lines" of Florida's university system determine the proper course for educating our students, not legislators in Tallahassee.
By ridding the university system of liberal arts programs, he would be flooding the professional, technical and scientifically focused sectors with an overabundance of labor. This will create a huge bubble that will lead to higher unemployment in those sectors.
There is already a huge higher education bubble getting ready to burst, and this move by Scott will only increase its self-destructive growth.
There are more than 12,000 undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students at UF's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
There is a demand for these fields. Someone has to study the idiotic behavior of politicians like Scott.
