""David G. Bell"" wrote in message
.. .
On Friday, in article
"Jim Webster" wrote:



Arts degrees in the not so distant past did prove a certain
accomplishment in the ability to think; to research a problem and find,
present, and judge the possible answers. My own recollection is that
there was a shift in what was expected at different stages in the
system. O-level was about knowing the book solutions, whether science
or arts. A-level began to bring in the problem of picking the right
approach from several choices. And I am not at all sure that anyone
could have blathered their way through a decent Arts degree. The
blather would at least have had to be a properly-written essay. rather
than the near-stream-of-consciousness which fills the modern media.

Having said that, and while still wondering if enough was done at my
school to teach the skills of structuring an essay, it is perhaps
possible to pick up a lot of the skills of an Arts graduate by some sort
of osmosis. Read the good stuff, whether Gibbon or Pratchett.

And anyone who thinks that there is nothing about writing which cannot
be learnt from Terry Pratchett's work probably hasn't noticed how it
floats in a sea of literary reference.

At its best the arts degree did teach the student how to write and structure
an intelligent and readable essay and gave a clarity of thought. It is
probable that there are still courses out there that do it, but when you
look at what is produced at times then we might as well stick them all in
historical philosophism courses at wallaballoo university and have done with
it.

Jim Webster