Liberal Education Vs. Vocational Education

Recently I asked myself, "What is liberal education, really?" I've heard the term many times, and I've always had a pretty good grasp of its meaning, but I wanted to find out the exact etymology behind this term. Dictionary.com defines liberal education as, "an education based primarily on the liberal arts, emphasizing the development of intellectual abilities as opposed to the acquisition of professional skills." So, what are the liberal arts, exactly? Wikipedia states, "liberal arts refers to those subjects which in classical antiquity were considered essential for a free person to study."

The phrase that pops out at me is "essential for a free person to study". Even the word liberal comes from the Latin liber, meaning "free". Does this mean a vocationally-based education is not driven on educating people towards the ultimate goal of freedom? It's a touchy subject, especially considering the current economic trends and ensuing natural inclination toward job-oriented training. When it comes down to it, learning to think with a certain freedom of mind is important. But, eating is more important. If forced with a choice between vocational training or a liberal education, many college students may choose the former in order to secure more immediate employment.

But, what about younger children? Should vocational training be pushed in high schools? Elementary schools? At what age should we turn the focus from ensuring free, educated citizens to merely churning out worker bees (if ever)?

I don't really have answers, but it's something that has been weighing on my mind recently. Personally, I think there needs to be some balance. Liberal arts can't go completely out the window, but neither can practical skills. As always, I'll just lay the blame on the limitations and hidden agendas of compulsory education and call it a day. My best answer is: everyone run through the fields all day, teach each other what you know, and figure out how to survive. It seems to be what happens anyway, regardless of our attempts to formally educate people.

Image of the seven liberal arts (grammar, rhetoric, logic, mathematics, geometry, music, and astronomy) via Wikipedia.