I went to the Great Books school (St. John's) and I remember one of the quotes on their brochures that influenced me greatly: An alum said that he had gotten his degree and then become a farmer; he admitted that his degree didn't help him learn how to farm, but noted that it more useful for helping him learn why he might want to become a farmer.
I think this kind of broad education is very useful at the undergraduate level. How do we demonstrate to our gen ed students the usefulness of our disciplines to their general life?
I envy you. I desperately wanted to go to St. John's; they sent me a brochure when I was a junior in high school. It sounded like the purest form of heaven to me. My parents, solid blue-collar people that they are, laughed and laughed. They couldn't imagine a more useless pursuit, even though they are (well, Mom is) very well-read. They had this strange idea that a person should gain some kind of practical skill and thus never fear being a burden on the rest of society.
I showed them, though. Majored in English.
