Plaidoyer pour les "liberal arts"

J'aime bien cette sortie de Michael S. Roth, historien et président de Wesleyan University (sortie inspirée de "Trauma, Memory and History: Essays on Living With the Past" ).

Je considère qu'une des faiblesses de notre système est la baisse de la culture générale. Oui, "je prêche pour ma paroisse" puisque je suis enseignant en Histoire, mais je souhaite une base de connaissances la plus large possible. J'aime enseigner au sein du programme de sciences humaines de mon Collège, mais je crois que la formation la plus intéressante au plan de la culture générale est celle que je retrouve au sein du programme du Baccalauréat international. Nous ne parlons pas ici de former une "élite", mais bien de la philosophie d'ensemble de la formation.

"In recent years university leaders in Asia, the Mideast and even Europe have sought to organize curricula more like those of our liberal art schools. How, they want to know, can we combine rigorous expectations of learning with the development of critical thinking and creativity that are the hallmarks of the best American colleges?
But in our own land we are running away from the promise of liberal education. We are frightened by economic competition, and many seem to have lost confidence in our ability to draw from the resources of a broadly based education. Instead, they hope that technical training or professional expertise on their own will somehow invigorate our culture and society.
Many seem to think that by narrowing our focus to just science and engineering, we will become more competitive. This is a serious mistake.
Our leaders in government, industry and academia should realize that they don't have to make a choice between the sciences and the rest of the liberal arts. Indeed, the sciences are a vital part of the liberal arts.
The key to our success in the future will be an integrative education that doesn't isolate the sciences from other parts of the curriculum, and that doesn't shield the so-called creative and interpretive fields from a vigorous understanding of the problems addressed by scientists.
Already at liberal arts schools across the country there is increasing interest in the sciences from students who are also studying history, political science, literature and the arts. At Wesleyan, neuroscience and behavior is one of our fastest growing majors, and programs linking the sciences, arts and humanities have been areas of intense creative work."

Pour l'article en entier:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/05/21/roth.liberal.education/index.html