The old expression “there are always two sides to a story” is a very important adage when applied to education. Liberal arts colleges have changed and adapted this saying to fit their style of education. Higher education institutions often have students take courses that cover a similar concept, but different disciplines. This is incredibly important for a holistic education. However, the recent push towards STEM education and the elimination of the humanities is very disheartening. Specializing in one area is not an effective way to work towards the future. The liberal arts not only teaches you for the job market today, but also for the future. The importance of perspective shapes not higher education, but the entire human being. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As today's society evolves, it becomes more and more dependent on technology. In turn, many countries have felt the need to train more people capable of working in these fields. Misturu Obe, a specialist in economics and international affairs, reports a specific and relevant example of this in a recent Wall Street Journal article. This specific situation occurs in Japan, one of the most advanced countries in the world. Their main goal “is to transform Japanese government-funded universities into world leaders in scientific research or schools focused on professional training” and, consequently, limit the study of the humanities and liberal arts (Obe 2). The Japanese hope to model schools like the California Institute of Technology and maximize technology-ready staff. This approach to the education system may not actually be in the country's best interest. A similar situation is also occurring in the United States, but with slightly different motivations. The United States has had difficulty in the recent past regarding national test scores. Math and science scores are surprisingly low for a national power like the United States. Because of these low scores, legislation has even been enacted by the President to counter this trend. In a Christian Science Monitor article, Amanda Paulson details Obama's plan to boost STEM education. After the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) ranked the United States fourteenth in mathematics and nineteenth in science, there was an uproar for a change in the education system (Paulson 3). Many, including President Obama, believed that “the nation that educates us more today will be more competitive than we are tomorrow” and therefore STEM funding is necessary to ensure the United States is at the forefront of innovation (Paulson 2). In response, Obama signed the Educate to Innovate Act, which provided $250 million in funding to advance STEM education and create quality teachers in these fields. However, the effort to push STEM disciplines for economic gain may be in vain. Furthermore, countries with particularly high math and science scores that also contain many high-tech companies do not necessarily perform well economically. This is yet another flaw in the modern push towards STEM disciplines. Fareed Zakaria, host of CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS and Washington Post columnist, provides evidence against the alleged association that strong scores in STEM fields lead to economic success. Zakaria recognizes Sweden and Israelas countries with large numbers of high tech companies that have also pushed STEM fields. He also links it to an international study on foreign economics and technological advances. Israel ranked first, the United States second, and Sweden sixth in providing the world with technological advances. Contrary to popular belief, this did not lead to them having a high economic position. In the study, “all three countries rank surprisingly poorly in the OECD rankings. Sweden and Israel performed even worse than the United States in the 2012 assessment, placing overall in 28th and 29th place respectively among the 34 most developed economies” (Zakaria 7). Both Israel and Sweden have made great strides when it comes to their STEM programs. Because of their focus on science, their children do well on standardized tests. While test scores and their technological output look good on paper, they do not have the desired effect on their respective societies. There is an overarching theme in the push of STEM fields: a removal or lack of importance compared to the liberal arts. These are all examples where the liberal arts are being pushed aside in favor of their seemingly more lucrative and marketable cousin, STEM. While the complete disregard of the liberal arts is appalling, it also has hidden value. Many successful people, like Mark Zuckerberg, often praise their liberal roots. Liberal arts and a well-rounded education often provide their students with many tools for their future, personal marketability, and a broader state of mind. These colleges achieve these results by using perspective and a broad range of classes. The solution to the push towards STEM disciplines is already here. The liberal arts and their benefits have the ability to solve the epidemic that is the STEM craze. One of the benefits of attending a liberal arts college is the tools you are “given” when you graduate. Through the use of perspective and many different classes, students develop many new skills. These perspectives often involve different disciplines with non-typical points of view. This allows students and professors to grow accordingly. Critically acclaimed author and thinker William Cronon details the positive consequences of the liberal arts. One of the most important skills learned by taking a Liberal Arts course is the ability to think critically. The ability to “look at a complicated reality, break it down into pieces, and understand how it works to do practical things in the real world” is an important skill not only today, but forever (Cronon 5). This is a great strength of the liberal arts. The liberal arts prepare their students for the future by giving them the ability to problem solve and think critically. This allows them to adapt and change the ever-changing world around them. After graduation, most students look for work. One of the biggest benefits of a liberal arts major, from both the student and parent's perspective, is their job marketability after earning their degree. Additionally, many students have the opportunity to receive STEM grants and this remains a great advantage in this system. We've described how students can receive a scholarship in our informative article on STEM scholarships. Carol Kleiman, a critically acclaimed author on personal growth and advancement, writes about the skills and employability that the liberal arts provide. It tells the story of John Marshall, an engineer who graduated from Princeton (Kleiman 1). John realized that he had earned a good degree from a prestigious school. However he felt something was missing. Marshall recalled that,.