Burtchaell likes liberal education

L y ° 1***' N o~ 6 8 ____________________________________________________________________________ W ed nesday , January 25, 1978 by Mark Perry Staff Reporter Fr. Jam es T. B urtchaell, a t a sm all gatherin in F isher Hall last n igh t, s ta ted th a t he believes studen ts are p ressu red into study­ ing for certain professions and are th u s losing m any of th e benefits of a liberal education h ere a t Notre D am e. B urtchaell d iscussed how col­ leges and universities o rig inated as sim ply tra in ing schools for certain professions, bu t gradually began to adopt a m ore liberal education. He advised studen ts to use the ir liberal education to help them choose a career. H e explained how tra in ing and education differ. “ If you ask to be tra in ed , you are really asking to be in itia ted into th e skills th a t it takes to be proficient in a job or profession . If you w ant to be educated , you are not asking to be tau g h t skills so m uch as to have your in tellect tra ined so th a t you m ight be resourceful in thinking and expressing your th inking. “ The point of a liberal educa­ tio n ,” he continued, “ is to help the m ind m atu re , and th a t m ight not involve any sk ills .” B urtchaell noted th a t w hen m aking a career decision, s tuden ts a t N otre D am e have certain advan­ tag es . “ On th e basis of selectivity, s tuden ts a t N otre Dam e have in tellectual and educational advan­ tag es th a t p u t them in the first one or two per cen t of people th e ir a g e ,” B urtchaell said. “ If you are ta len ted enough to com e to N otre D am e, it is likely th a t people will