Maggie's Farm

What did you really learn?

The Collegiate Learning Assessment. No reason that it should be limited to college grads. It's like a Baccalaureate exam.

It tests your math and related skills, literary and writing skills, historical, art and music knowledge and sophistication. Unlike the SAT, it doesn't look for your potential - it looks at what you have under the hood.

Of course, a good interview would reveal all of that in under an hour with a handful of pointed questions. For a job, though, it's not about what you know about Beowulf, but it's about what value you can add and what sort of personality you show.

A Liberal Arts education - however obtained - is for life-enrichment and enlightened citizenship, not commerce. It was designed mainly for the wealthy and prosperous who didn't have to worry too much about those things and could learn on the family or family-related job.