For all undergraduate students at Arizona State University, the General Education program requires completion of a course in each of the five core categories of general studies: “Literacy and Critical Inquiry” (three credit hours), “Mathematical Studies” (six credit hours) “Humanities, Arts and Design and Social-Behavioral Sciences” (combined 12 credit hours), and “Natural Sciences” (combined eight credit hours). It also requires that three awareness areas that engage with global awareness, cultural diversity in the United States, and historical awareness. The aim of the program is to encourage students to gain mastery of intellectual skills, “investigate the traditional branches of knowledge and develop the broad perspective that frees one to appreciate diversity and change across time, culture and national boundaries.”
But even so, the program is not realizing its goals. Drawing upon survey data from 4,000 undergraduate students, across the board, it was agreed upon that general education classes are deemed less important than elective or concentration classes. The statistically significant results reveal the prevalent indication of this failure is the negative student perspective toward general education classes.
Science and empirical reasoning classes are
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The problem is primarily rooted in the conflicting missions of the university and the student body. While general education seeks to provide a liberal and broad education, in reality, the students have an eye on reaching as the end or progressing successfully through the years spent at the university. This is especially true at a university with high-achieving applicants. The future is the student’s determinant of selecting undemanding courses at orientation. The unquestionably fixed mental inclination is acquiring useful skills, getting into graduate or medical school, and building the ideal
College can be a stressful time for students. They go to college to work on creating a better future for themselves. But sometimes everything gets so overwhelming, that they can’t do it anymore. In the article “What is College For?” I found the author Gary Gutting’s thesis to be “Nonetheless, there is incessant talk about the ‘failure’ of education” (412). Gutting proves his thesis to be true throughout the article. He makes different points as to why he thinks this epidemic of failure is happening in college. Access, dropouts, students becoming disengaged in learning, and focused mainly on studying for their jobs and careers. All of these things acting as the building blocks to one another in the epidemic of failure that is happening among
Wellmon, R. , Gilin, B., Knauss, L., & Linn, M. I. (2012). Changes in student attitudes toward
Coming to college as an adult, we have many expectations and preconceptions of what college will or will not be. The expectations we have can influence our college life for the better or the worse. My experience since starting college has been an interesting one. People have misconceptions about college because they do not know what to expect. After doing some research, I have concluded that there are three major factors that are often misunderstood about college life. The first is the financial aspect of college. Second, is the relationship between the professors and students. Third is time management. These three factors play an important role in why people are afraid to go down the path to college.
Let me take you back to being a sophomore in high school: fifteen-about-to-turn-sixteen-year-olds, beginning thoughts of college just blooming in their minds, and they are taking more challenging classes than ever before. Every year, classes are changed in schools in order to fulfill new requirements and the difficulty is increased in order to challenge the new students. These new classes and the amount of choices students now have between the different classes available now put new pressures on students that the older generations may not understand. Not only do students have the choice of electives, but now they have the choice of different mathematics, sciences, and English courses on a range of sometimes four different levels. With all these choices, students may have a hard time deciding which is the proper course and level to take. Unfortunately, there is one more pressure in the mix of this decision: the pressure to take advanced placement (AP) courses. More students are taking AP classes every year but the number of students who “bomb the AP exams is growing even more rapidly” (Simon). This leads into the idea that students are not getting more intelligent than the previous classes, but simply that there is too much pressure on them to take these AP courses. Students in high school are being pressured too much to take advanced placement courses whether or not they are academically qualified for them.
The Ontario school system dedicates a great deal of the high school curriculum towards preparing students for University. Ontario high schools provide students with many courses that will help prepare the students that decide to go on to post secondary education. However, the Ontario School System lacks in preparing them for the most prominent aspect of University, stress. The Ontario school system does not prepare students for any of the on coming stresses which will be the number one factor in a students success or failure at University.
It seems as though the majority of college students these days aren’t looking to further their education because it’s what they really want, they do it to please their parents, to be accepted by society, or because there’s nothing else for them to do (Bird, 372). These expectations have led to students being unhappy and stressed, and have pushed them into a school or a job that they don’t particularly care for.
A college education gives a person the opportunity to be successful in life, either financially or morally dependent on the goals that they set for their life. They will choose a college that offer programs for the major of their choice, where they will specialize and receive a degree. The decision to pursue a higher education will give the opportunity to earn a better income over someone who does not have a degree. College is more of life preparation course that will help make sure a successful career. If a person pursues a career in engineering, physics or mathematics their curriculum would include more liberal art preparation courses, in order for them to earn their degree, so someone pursuing a degree in these types of careers are attending college for job preparation. On December 10, 2009 at Hamilton University in Clinton, New York, college professors debated current college curriculum (Liew). They talked about how their college could make a leap from being good to being great. At the 22nd American Mathematical Association of Two-Year Colleges conference held in Long Beach California on November 14, 1996 the topic of changing curriculum was discussed (“Mich”). The University of Louisiana, Lafayette, is eliminating its philosophy major, while Michigan State University is doing away with American studies and classics, after years of decline in enrollments in those majors (Zernike). The purpose of a college education is to meet the student's liberal art’s needs so that they can compete and understand the connection between a degree and a job that will enable them to compete with other world economies, give them a well-rounded education that will enable them to earn a higher income, and retain a lifetime full of knowledge.
Within recent decades, college has become a more easily available path than it has been for the past generations. In a current news release, The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that, “Of the 2.9 million youth age 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 2014, about 68.4 percent were enrolled in college in October” (BLS Economic News Release from April 2015). When a student graduates high school, most of them intend to continue on to college. They have the idea that, while there, they can break away from all the general classes and just focus on what they want to learn. However, for almost all students, they find that this is not the reality. Just like high school, they find that they have to take approximately two years in general studies in order to attend and graduate with the major of their choice. General education classes should not be required because a majority of the information learned has already been covered in past years. Most of the courses do not benefit a student 's major, and the total amount of required hours for these classes can become a big waste of time and money.
As the world becomes more specialized it raises the question, should undergraduate institutions change their curriculum requirements to better equip students? The goal of a liberal arts education is to enlighten individuals and prepare them for the complex and diverse world by requiring the study of literature, philosophy, mathematics, and sciences. As professional careers evolve into more specialized fields the argument that a liberal education is no longer needed rises. Some educators feel that future professionals would be better primed for the future by focusing specifically on subjects that deal with their intended field. However, a liberal arts education provides benefits that go beyond the classroom. The experience of studying a wide range of material makes an individual well rounded, creates opportunities, and allows for personal evaluation. Broadening one’s knowledge in vast areas develops communication, problem-solving skills, and social responsibility regardless of intended careers.
Students go to college in search of knowledge, a new lifestyle, and the hope of a job after graduation. For many young adults, college is a rite of passage into an independent, mature new lifestyle. Not only is higher education a rite of passage, for some, it is also an opportunity to have a better life. Overall, college is a wonderful part of many people’s lives, yet the way the college education system is conducted wastes students time and money. College is basically composed of two parts: general education classes and major specific classes. General education courses are the source of wasted time and money, and should not be required of students. A few of the problems associated with general education classes are that they are basically a repeat of high school, unfortunately they can be the demise of students, they are costly, and they waste time.
The education system has been a controversial issue among educators. Requirements of school do not let student choose what they want to study for their future. It’s a big issue to force student study specific curriculums, which don’t help them improve, and what they like to create something. Educators choose a general system for education to all students which based on general knowledge. Intelligent or genius students have to be in that system of education, which doesn’t let them improve their creativity. Educators attempt to change that system to make it better, but their changing was not that great to be an example for the world. Also, did that change qualify education system to compete other systems or not? In some examples and reasons have been made me agree with some of points from Gatto’s and Edmunson’s and disagree them.
The general education classes offered at colleges help create seasoned students with knowledge in areas other than just their intended major. They can help a student become well rounded and give them an opportunity to learn a broad range of ...
The reasons we educate our children have changed over time. However, some of the core values remain the same. One of the most important purposes of schooling is the transmission of a culture from one generation to the next. It is important to pass on our culture, values, and beliefs to our children so we continue to have a cohesive population. Schooling offers opportunity to our children by teaching them valuable skills that allow them to be self-sufficient and lead successful lives. Schooling also serves to decrease the social ills those without an education suffer from. A final purpose of education is to create people who are active in civic life.
College for an incoming freshman is exciting, however, it is often focused on the social aspect such as the connections that can be attained through Greek life, parties and independence. Due to the social interactions, freshmen tend to drop out of college after their first year. Focusing on what college is meant for can prevent these situations. The pressures of college such as impressing parents, and maintain a high standard GPA-wise can lead to stress and freeze a student from achieving the proper academic performance. During the mid 1900s, college was considered more of a luxury than anything; people would attend college exclusively to acquire knowledge in hopes of obtaining a career after graduation. People in the twenty-first century, however, attend college to get away from home and enjoy freedom at parties. Education is taken lightly, and those who feel that education isn’t the main focus of college should not apply for sakes of the greater good.
Having to take these general education classes evidently serve a purpose for the students attending colleges or universities that require the courses however, it is questioned if these classes are really necessary? Debates pertaining to whether college education is worth the trouble dates back to when the colonist returned from Europe in 1636, and founded the “New College” (“College Education”). In order for college students to obtain their college degrees in a timely manner there should be some accommodations made to the requirements necessary to graduate including the general education courses.