The ‘liberal’ in liberal education doesn’t mean what many people think

Tampa Bay Times

March 23, 2024
James Baldwin said that reading Charles Dickens “taught me that the things that tormented me most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive, or who had been alive.” [ Associated Press ]

The word “liberal” within academics derives from the Latin word liber and the Greek word eleutheros, both meaning “free.” The liberal educational tradition thus celebrates and nurtures human freedom.