College students should not be required to take general education courses because they are a waste of time, can be a waste of money, and they do not pertain to the student’s chosen major. General education courses should not be required for college students, because for many, they are a waste of time and money that could be better spent elsewhere. “Students should not be forced to take classes that cover materials they have already been familiar with at some point in high school” (Pracz). If students have already taken certain classes, such as foreign language, and already met or surpassed the certain college’s admission requirements, students should not have to take or retake foreign language classes as part of the general education curriculum. “As a freshman, students may be taking classes such as ENGL 103 or COMS 100. Yes, both classes may be beneficial to some, but they mostly just rehash concepts and skills that the majority of students already possess or will pick up in other courses throughout their academic careers” (Pracz). By the time people get to college, most of them know how to write essays or speak in front of their class. Overall, general education courses are seen by students as pointless and a waste of time. The attitude towards the general education curriculum is more negative than positive. “Humanities courses are likewise scouted for easy grading and little work (Woo). General education classes are regarded as less important than classes required for
General Education requirements for students results in a longer time to actually work on minor and major requirements. Allysa Pracz, Oral Communications teacher at Northern Illinois University, holds a just and honest opinion that General Educations classes are useless because they may have nothing to do with one’s major. For instance, a college algebra course would obviously have no effect on a student studying Creative Writing. The only question left to answer would be, why do such requirements exist? It could also be understood that courses required in fact focus on what students should have learned in high school. Pracz recalls her freshman year in college, stating, “I remember as a freshman taking classes such as ENGL 103 or COMS 100. Yes, both classes may be beneficial to some, but they mostly just rehash concepts and skills that the majority of students already possess or will pick up in other courses throughout their academic careers.” College students should be somewhat familiar with the basic concepts of many subjects offered, such as writing papers or algebra. It could also be proven that students are not quite interested in classes that they see as useless. For instance, students who major in Apparel Merchandising would have no interest in taking biology courses. Disinterest could ultimately result in bad grades and a low GPA for students.
Some people believe students should be required to take a music, a drama, or an art class. This requirement could prove problematic for many students. Students would be unable to take necessary classes before college. The classes should be electives because some people may want to take more advanced classes, some people do not have talents in the arts and if students are forced to take the classes, they may not focus as much.
In some schools there is only standard subjects. These classes do not teach you things you will need, outside of school such as cooking or how to pay bills. In order to prepare students for outside of school rather than just them being taught what they need to pass school, there should electives. It is important students know how to take care of themselves. Ultimately, having classes for students will give them a chance to learn how to be on their own.
I will disagree with those people because, students shouldn't take those classes unless they want to. If they don't, they're going to have a hard time in that specific class. If they're put in art class for example, most of those students either won't like the class, or just don't know how to draw. If students want those classes, they should choose it as one of their electives for the following year. Students should not be required to take music, drama, or art class unless they feel comfortable in it and will like it. There could be a student who wants to be an engineer, and is in a drama class, that makes that student look awkward because, everything he sees, he'll use his imagination and make it have to do something with engines.
Some believe that the purpose of a college education is to teach these fundamentals, but that isn’t entirely the case. The information that everyone should know as a citizen can be taught through primary and secondary school, because children are very good at memorizing facts and stories compared to adults. While every child has different abilities, they can all still learn all the basics that they need to be a functioning adult. Not everyone is smart enough to go to college.
College Education Education allows one to improve in the world and creates many marvelous improvements to the world. Education teaches one understanding of new technologies, the ability to determine what’s right or wrong, and helps one to make better choices in one life so that one may pursue he/she’s dreams of happiness. To better achieve in life, one needs to get better education and for that, one needs to complete high school and college. In “Where College Fails us” by Caroline Bird, Bird talks about how college is not for every student and say that college is only for those who are hard workers and believe college is the only way to be successful. On the other hand, Barber, in his “America Skips School” argues that American children are learning many wrong lessons outside of school and that society does not care.
After someone completes high school, their first step is figuring out what kind of career they want to pursue. Most careers require a college degree just to apply. At this point, they should decide what their major is going to be and see what college is best for them to attend. Every college requires “general education” classes that the students must pass to graduate. Taking these extra mandatory classes is just time lost that college students will never get back. General ed classes are also a waste of money, as many students acquire major debt from trying to pay for these required classes. If students were able to only take courses that help them in completing their major, more students would actually finish the classes and get their degree instead of dropping out. Universities should not necessitate students to take these general education courses that have nothing to do with the their major.
Alyssa Pracz, a journalist at Northern Star, makes the point that “[p]rofessors, however, tend to teach the material as if everyone taking the class is planning on majoring in the subject” when, in reality, students just see the class as another general education course. Additionally, students struggle in some of the subjects which have nothing to do with their particular majors. Pracz also states, “As a result, many students' grades suffer, sometimes to the point of lowering their grade point averages so much that they are unable to get into the major they planned on pursuing”. Ultimately, if a student has a huge passion and dream for his life, and cannot pass a certain general education course then his whole future is foiled. General education classes are redundant and do not aid the student whatsoever in cultivating skills required for his future job. Colleges and universities think general education courses are helping students when they actually are hurting them.
Many people think gen ed classes are a waste of time and should not have to be taken. I think gen ed classes can be a very helpful resource for multiple reasons. Gen eds are a great way to show students what options are available for majors and minors. Gen eds are also ways of getting enough credits to graduate. Here at WLC students need 128 credits to graduate. Students will not be able to gain that amount of
Recently, a dispute in the Midwestern university concerning if we should keep are General Education Courses or get rid of then and have a 2-year college. 45% of the curriculum committee want to get reed of General Education to go to a 2-year college. But 55% are wanting to keep the GEC so the students can in rich the knowledge that the world can give, students also are introduced to different ideas to explore. But what if the General Education Classes are removed students don’t get the knowledge that they need to succeed in the world. Because students don’t get to have solving, reading and speech skills that any they apply for uses those exact skills. Although, not having GEC would only take 2-years to learn, but without GE Courses students wont progress to their potential and learn to their fullest. Their four, I the dean of Midwest university has decided to go with having GEC so the student can learn whatever they want.
Colleges should require students to take liberal arts classes but the students should be able to choose which liberal arts class they would like to take. Whether a student takes a literature, art, history, or even a philosophy class, they will benefit from it in many ways. Students learn a lot from practical and technical training but they could learn so much more with liberal arts classes. Taking liberal arts classes can help a student develop grit, relate to real life situations, and help overall development.
Is it fair for students to waste their time and money on classes that will not help them in the future? I agree that a little bit of knowledge on each topic can be helpful but your time spent at college should be the time to focus on your specific major for your future career. All the general education one could need should be learned in High School. Kids spend roughly thirteen years acquiring a liberal education. The fundamentals of Math, History, etc., are definitely capable of producing a productive citizen. Many of these fundamental courses can also be learned on the internet for free if a student wishes to know something irrelevant to their
Second, choosing their own courses makes it possible for students to learn deeper and become more professional in their field. Now there is a hot word called general
More and more college students seems to be asking the question of why are general education courses like math and history still mandatory to graduate. In this twenty first century, fast paced world we live in college students are focused more on career planning. In countries like Europe college students are not required to take general-education classes and are more focused on their majors. The argument can be made that colleges should not require students to take general education courses. This decision in turn would help college students with finances, time and energy.
I believe that a student should be able to choose some of the classes that he/she is interested in. This is the basis of the existentialist philosophy that was developed in the nineteenth century. A student should be allowed to choose classes that they are interested in other than the classes that are required by the school curriculum. Even though