When it comes to education, especially with students going to college, it is very common to wonder how what is being learned applies to our actual lives. As we go to a university such as Olivet, and have to take courses that cover more topics than those only involved in our major, it is easy to think that it is pointless to learn things that aren’t “essential” for our future careers. This is exactly what Holmes addresses, challenging our natural reaction to this education style. Holmes claims that a liberal education allows us to learn “what it is to see and think and act like the human person God made (us) to be” on page 45. I tend to agree with this point, especially after reading Holmes’ other claims. I like his educational goals in particular, and I agree that an appreciation of the past and creative participation in the future are crucial to improvement to society. There is more to a well-rounded education than simply learning career-specific traits, and it is skills like these that hold great value when it comes to thinking and growing in humanity.

            In Dewey’s passage, I really appreciate the beliefs about the nature of thought that are expressed. I especially like the definition that is presented on page 1: “acceptance or rejection of something as reasonably probable or improbable.” To think includes the ability to form judgements based on observations that are made, often based on a “ground of proof” (3). This goes hand-in-hand with Holmes’ assertions regarding thinking related to liberal arts education. Dewey claims that a certain ability to make judgments is deeply involved in thought, and Holmes explains that a liberal education has the potential to expand these skills. Both writers look into the effects of one’s ability to learn from the past in order to impact the future positively. By learning reflective thinking and being capable of making changes in the future, thinking gives us possibilities to further ourselves both as individuals and as a whole. Utilizing a liberal education that expands critical thinking and reasoning, we are able to develop our abilities to make rational judgements, taking part in the process that defines thought in its entirety.

            In conclusion, Dewey looks into what defines thinking in general, and makes some very good points regarding how this plays into judgments and assumptions. Holmes, on the other hand, relates this to verifying the validity of a liberal arts education, and in many ways the two pieces work together.