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[quote=Anonymous]I found this comment by a reader in response to an article in Time. It addresses the constant refrain from some on this thread that graduates in the humanities are the ones who are capable of critical thinking and problem solving:
[i]
"what would be lost [by reducing humanities graduates] is exactly what employers say they really need: the kind of educations that teach students how to think, innovate, communicate, work in teams, and solve problems."

I'm sorry, but this REALLY irritates me.  I've got nothing against the humanities, but I really get annoyed by this idea that the ONLY place you can learn critical thinking, communicating, and problem solving is through them.  Yes, a good liberal arts background will help teach you these skills.  But so will a good engineering or science background (and surely other degrees as well which I know less of).  I've been working on a multinational science satellite mission for the past decade.  You're really telling me that because I got an engineering degree, I don't know how to work with a team, pose complex and creative problems, and think critically about how to solve them?

Another way to ask this question:  would you really want a doctor or airplane-designer to NOT have critical thinking, creativity, communications, and problem-solving skills?  Do you really think they could do their jobs well without those skills?

The same general skills taught in the humanities are ALSO taught in other disciplines.  Focus on why your major is important and valuable, please, not why things we ALL learn are valuable.[/i]

When those who espouse the humanities begin to argue that they are the ones best able to write, communicate, problem solve and think critically and STEM graduates not have those skills to the same degree, it does come across as a shade desperate.

No great surprise when you consider that according to the  article: 
[i]
"Only 8 percent of students now major in the humanities, according to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, down from a peak of more than 17 percent in 1967.

Worried that enrollment in these subjects will continue to slip, university officials say it could lead entire departments to disappear."[/i]

[url]http://nation.time.com/2013/03/07/who-needs-philosophy-colleges-defend-the-humanities-despite-high-costs-dim-job-prospects/[/url]

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