Republican Sen. Marco Rubio on Wednesday called out President Barack Obama for apologizing for a recent speech in which the commander in chief said college degrees in art history don’t translate into jobs.
Rubio Tweeted: Pathetic Obama apology to art history prof. We do need more degrees that lead to #jobs
Back in January, Obama said this: ” … alot of young people no longer see the trades and skilled manufacturing as a viable career. But I promise you, folks can make a lot more, potentially, with skilled manufacturing or the trades than they might with an art history degree. Now, nothing wrong with an art history degree – I love art history. So I don’t want to get a bunch of emails from everybody. I’m just saying you can make a really good living and have a great career without getting a four-year college education as long as you get the skills and the training that you need.”
Well, the president *did* get a bunch of angry emails, and now he’s said he’s sorry.
Inside Higher Ed reports that the president responded to one of those angry art history scholars, Ann C. Johns, Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Professor and senior lecturer in art and art history at the University of Texas at Austin, with this: “Let me apologize for my off-the-cuff remarks. I was making a point about the jobs market, not the value of art history. As it so happens, art history was one of my favorite subjects in high school, and it has helped me take in a great deal of joy in my life that I might otherwise have missed. So please pass on my apology for the glib remark to the entire department, and understand that I was trying to encourage young people who may not be predisposed to a four year college experience to be open to technical training that can lead them to an honorable career.”
IMAGE: Twitter screenshot
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