The committee based the current ACT proposal (Appreciate, Connect, Transform) on the following document written by the General Education Task Force in May 2004 and presented to the Senate in November 2004.
The Educated Person
An educated person is many things and although there may be disagreement over the relative importance of any particular aspect, there is a great deal of agreement over what combinations of traits of mind make up such a person. Therefore, the categories below are not ranked, but the educated person can be characterized as exhibiting some degree of accomplishment in as many of these aspects as possible.
The educated person is connected to society and the world. Knowledge and appreciation of the history and accomplishments of one's culture is important in becoming an active contributor to that culture. Awareness and understanding of other cultures gives insight into emerging global associations and relations. The educated person is one who has joined "the great conversation" in philosophy, has engaged the ideas of great philosophers, and others, and is equipped to consider what virtue is, what the good life is, and other questions which may transcend cultures and time. The educated person develops ethical values with a sense of responsibility toward society (such as honesty, integrity, a work ethic) and an ethical responsibility toward the self (such as tenacity, perseverance).
The educated person is a life long learner, and active, creative problem solver. The use of the past tense is misleading in the expression educated person, since one of the aspects of being such a person is a commitment to continued intellectual development, knowledge, and skills. Such a person is characterized by intellectual curiosity and imagination and maintains a questioning attitude and inquiring mind. Habits of life long learning enable the educated person to learn quickly and efficiently, developing the skills of incorporating and integrating new knowledge and experience.
The educated person is a critical thinker. This person has the ability to understand and use analytic reasoning, logical thinking, can synthesize ideas, and is not easily misled by logical fallacies. The educated person is a critical listener and reader, able to find information, comprehend and integrate information, and critically evaluate the credibility of information and information sources. This person is able to understand and expound general scientific concepts, able to understand the social sciences and interpret and make decisions in context/everyday life and has the ability to understand how conclusions derive from evidence, make deductive analyses and inductive syntheses.
The educated person is skilled in expression, communication and social interaction. It is especially important that this person can organize ideas for presentation and deliver them effectively and convincingly in writing and speech. Powerful, clear, and rhetorically sound writing and presentation skills provide the vehicle for the educated person's ideas to travel to the rest of the world. Without these skills, no matter how otherwise well educated, a person is alone. Skills in expression allow the educated person to engage successfully in illuminating and satisfying civil discourse, gratifying social relations, and rewarding professional endeavors.
The educated person has well developed core functional skills. These include an understanding of mathematical reasoning, including the ability to evaluate simple mathematical/statistical information; technological literacy, including competence as a computer user; scientific literacy, able to evaluate scientific claims and evidence. The educated person understands general research processes (e.g., library searches) and understands the need evaluate the integrity and credibility of the results of these searches.
The educated person appreciates the arts. Such a person understands the processes of creation in the fine and performing arts, has had some experience in creating art, and has some appreciation of methods of evaluating the arts.
The educated person has flexibility of mind. This person has the ability and willingness to question his or her own information, beliefs and values. The educated person is willing and open to a change of mind, and changes in society.
The educated person has an understanding and appreciation of the physical world. Such a person appreciates that good physical health improves quality of life, enhances intellectual ability, and understands what lifestyle choices maximize physical and mental well-being, and knows how to implement those choices. Beyond the self, the educated person has an awareness of environmental sustainability, with a consciousness about our relationship to the planet that supports life.
Written by the General Education Task Force, May 2004