Thinking about my GE requirements at undergrad, I think it would be a waste of this girl's time to be forced to learn about and write about random subjects that don't interest her. She has but one lifetime, and can contribute much to her field.

The subjects such as English composition, she should be allowed to test out of if she is already a good writer.

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com2kid 5 days ago | parent [-]

> I think it would be a waste of this girl's time to be forced to learn about and write about random subjects that don't interest her.

This is a common STEM view, but it is inherently wrong. IMHO it dates back to the unfortunate divide between science and the liberal arts, whereas both were once considered a single field, now days there is disdain and mistrust between the two sides.

The point of history classes isn't to memorize the dates of wars, is it to understand the motivations of humans, it is to understand how the world we lived in has been shaped throughout time, and it is to learn how to do, and understand, research about the history of a place.

The point of English classes isn't just to get good at writing, it is to get good at various types of writing, it is to learn how to read different forms of literature, and it is to have a guided tour through a chosen selection of literature to hopefully develop one's character and thoughtfulness.

One of the most valuable classes I ever took at University was the Art Of Listening To Music. We started off around 500ad or so and went forward through time up until about 1920. We learned the vocabulary of music, how to sit down and listen to a piece of music and describe what we were hearing. After I was done with the class I went from appreciating a handfuls of genres of music to appreciating music itself no matter the genre. It was a 3 credit guaranteed A class that had enriched my life by an enormous amount.

If you really love your major, then the point of going to university was NOT your major, odds are you would've studied that field with or without the school. (Barring fields that require large capital investments, chemistry, physics, playing with an entire orchestra, building airplanes, etc) The point is everything else.

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terminalshort 5 days ago | parent | next [-]

But that isn't how it works in reality, at least in the US. In reality, outside of their major (and sometimes inside it too), students usually pick the absolute easiest classes that satisfy the requirements. The ones that are known that the teacher doesn't take attendance are heavily desired. And the university is happy to oblige. Departments are funded based on a formula of how many students are in their classes, and they know that if they gain a reputation for being hard, students won't take their classes for GE requirements. It's a race to the bottom. So most departments offer enormous 1 level classes with 200 students taught with minimal rigor, and where you really only have to study a few days before the final to collect your A. And on top of that the frats all keep collections of graded tests from every class for years past, so basically anyone who wants to cheat is able to do so easily. This isn't education. This isn't worth six figures.

	▲	com2kid 5 days ago \| parent [-]
		> In reality, outside of their major (and sometimes inside it too), students usually pick the absolute easiest classes that satisfy the requirements. In reality, no one eats healthy food, everyone eats fast food hamburgers all day. Just look at the sales numbers of fast food / junk food VS organic lunch salad bars! Except, that isn't true. Some people eat junk food all day, and some people choose to eat healthy. Obviously in America we have a bit of a bias, but just looking at averages doesn't give a complete picture. > The ones that are known that the teacher doesn't take attendance are heavily desired. Almost none of my university classes took attendance. Why would they? We were paying to be there, if we wanted to waste our money, it wasn't the university's problem. > So most departments offer enormous 1 level classes with 200 students taught with minimal rigor Reading books and writing essay's doesn't require rigor, the learning is in the doing. I put in honest work to learn and I got honest feedback from my 100 and 200 level professors, which was all I expected. > And on top of that the frats all keep collections of graded tests from every class for years past Almost none of my GE classes used multiple choice tests. They were typically essay tests, written in class. I should note I did my GE requirements at a local community college, where class sizes averaged ~20-30 students, professors had office hours, and I think I only saw a TA once. > This isn't education. This isn't worth six figures. The price is too high yes, but a university is place to go where you can dedicate yourself fully to learning, hopefully w/o other outside worries (sky high tuition ruins that...). What a person chooses to do with that time is up to them. Now one can argue that the worth of a degree is lessened by students who didn't actually learn all that much also being in possession of one. That is a closely related, but separate topic. That said, the poster I was originally replying to was indirectly advocating for not caring about one's GE classes, and I was replying that one should indeed care, because those classes are incredibly important!

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ykonstant 5 days ago | parent | prev [-]

>One of the most valuable classes I ever took at University was the Art Of Listening To Music.

I also benefited tremendously from such a class. I would recommend it to anyone interested in music, or not interested in music and trying to figure out why others are interested in music.