What is college but practice for the real world? And the real world is not just answering a bunch of hypothetical questions, it's "getting your hands dirty" and solving the big problems. For me, it makes no sense to separate practice from theory; they depend on one another. Theory helps a person creatively consider all options while practice shows you a consequence, whether good or bad, once a decision is made and followed through with. And if that decision didn't work as well as once conceived, it's back to the drawing board. A good portion of the relationship between theory and practice when it comes to liberal arts courses (or any course for that matter) is the uncertainties of the job can worked out, from the personal to the practical.
A person wondering if being a newspaper journalist is the job for him, what better way to find out than to talk about what it takes to be a journalist and then going out on campus or even the community and writing a story that is an interest among the target audience. Or, for a young lady who may want to work in television, dealing with a disgruntle camera man is easier after talking about ethics and problem solving in a classroom.
Knowledge is always better retained when accompanied by engagement. From vocabulary words with a picture to a job description with shadowing. Learning all you learn in college means absolutely nothing if you don't put it to good use. Universities are better for it is they offer theory with practice in accompaniment.
~Give Me Room to Stand, And I Will Move the World~
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