General Education – the bane of every student”s existence at a university.
Paying to take more than 30 credits worth of classes that don”t matter is appealing to no one. But I think my interest in General Education is different than most.
Tess Fox
Argonaut
It has potential. There, I said it. It could be a great program.
The problem is, it”s not a good program right now. It”s a burden rather than a blessing. Instead of taking classes for my major, I have to take science labs, math and other subjects that I won”t ever use.
General Education comes in two forms – University of Idaho General Education or State Board of Education Core requirements. Most students complete the UI General Education. Transfer students are given the option to choose. UI General Education aims to educate students on several levels according to the university website. Written and oral communication, critical thinking, analytical reasoning, problem-solving, ethics, teamwork, creativity and the “application of knowledge and skills in real-world settings” are all included in this list.
Being generally educated is important. People attend college to broaden their horizons, learn new things, meet new people and receive job training for their future careers. I”m all for being taught new viewpoints, but how many humanities and social science classes do I really need?
General Education should include a life skills requirement. These classes would show students how to do important “adult” things. Most of us have to figure out how to do that by Google searches, or asking friends or parents. But not all students have a great support system where they can ask questions like, “What are the pros and cons of using a credit card?” That”s why several different life skills classes would be beneficial to all university students.
To be good productive, contributing members of society, there are things that we as emerging adults need to know. How do I build good credit? What happens if I don”t? How do I register to vote? How do I do my taxes?
Instead of taking two science classes or several humanities classes, students would be required to take a life skills course. They could be online or in-person and feature a variety of topics to help students pick what they need to learn about. Some topics could include how to make a budget, taxes, how to build good credit, get a loan, buying a car or house and resume or portfolio building.
Modifying the General Education program to create better citizens as well as students would be beneficial to all. It”s more important that I know how to do my taxes than the Pythagorean Theorem.
Tess Fox can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @tesstakesphotos