Refining Our Education System
General education requirements in universities are very controversial as they are often overwhelming and unnecessary. My own experience with the classes has been rather negative and many studies and researchers in the education field argue that general education does not accomplish its goals. The goal of general education requirements is to aid in the making of a well contributing member of the society, yet this is not the case. The material taught in general education courses is usually forgotten quickly as it is not used often. In addition, general education requirements may sometimes force students to spend an extra semester at the university to get their degree. This results in the students having to borrow more money not only for tuition expenses but also for living expenses. The huge debt students face indicates that even though general education programs claim to teach useful skills, they fail to help students succeed in the real world. This is simply a waste of time and money as the student will end up taking a course that is completely useless in their field and even in their life.
I personally have to take a few general education courses during summers in order to graduate on time. The time spent on these courses could have been used in gaining experience, such as an internship or a full-time job, that will actually help me in the real world. In fact, a friend of mine who is one semester away from receiving her Criminal Justice degree has to give up an internship in order to take a course titled “The Violent Earth”, which satisfies an upper division GE requirement. As I said earlier, the goal of general education requirements is to make a contributing member of society. Clearly, the experience she would receive from her internship would make her a better-contributing member of society as she would be a more knowledgeable professional in the criminal justice field. Instead, her summer will be spent learning a topic that she will most likely never use and putting her behind in her profession. In addition, she will lack experience in the field which may make it harder for her to find a job and start paying off her student loans on time. This shows how big of an impact one pointless GE requirement has in the long run. In fact, general education teaches very little of the skills required to succeed in the real world.
Most students do not learn financial literacy from their general education courses, which is critical given the country we live in. Instead, general education requirements push courses that focus on memorization of facts. This includes memorizing things that will never be useful such as knowing when the pyramids at Giza were built or in what year a certain painter painted an artwork. As a result of these flaws, reforms within the system are necessary in order to improve the education system. The Department of Education and universities should work together in order to reduce GE requirements, which may cause a decrease in student debt and improve the economy.
Student debt is a huge issue in the United States and one could argue that the pricing and tuition of universities is not the issue. The high tuition prices are actually just a small part of a way bigger problem. It is important to realize student debt can be decreased with less general education requirements and more efficient and useful classes since students will graduate sooner, needing less money for college. An article on student debt states that “there’s a whopping $1.5 trillion in student loans out there (through the second quarter of 2018), marking the second-largest consumer debt segment in the country after mortgages, according to the Federal Reserve. And the number keeps growing.” This debt outweighs the debt for auto loans and even credit cards. In addition, it increases at a faster rate than mortgage debts. When tackling this problem, people always focus on economics, while educational reforms may actually be where the solution is hidden. Decreasing student loan debt should motivate students to demand reforms from their colleges, universities, or even the Department of Education.
The problem of student debt is getting more serious as time goes by. A strong economy is good for everyone except for students who owe money. Just like always, interest rates are rising due to the good economy, which means that the rates on student loans are also going up while wages try to catch up. The Federal Department of Education states that “interest rates on federal student loans for undergraduates will increase to 5.05 percent from 4.45 percent for the 2018–19 academic year.” This may not seem like a huge difference, but it amounts to thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars in the long term. In fact, many graduates are not sure if they will ever be able to pay off the huge debt that is constantly taking money out of their bank accounts. The connection between the debt and general education requirements may not be so obvious, but the connection between the amount of money borrowed and the time spent in college as well as the number of classes taken is more direct. Clearly, if fewer classes are required, then less money will be needed to cover the costs. This may lead to lack of jobs as not as many professors will be needed to teach the classes, yet this is one way that could cut the national student debt, which is a way larger issue. In fact, this issue is so serious that it could sink the economy of the United States. The huge amounts of student debt affect other parts of the economy. In fact, “college debt delays buying a house, getting married, having children and saving for retirement, and there is some evidence that this is happening.” The economy can not thrive if there is no money feeding the system and student debt is the reason behind this.
Students must take action and work with the administration of universities in order to cut down GE requirements to achieve a more efficient education that teaches useful skills. General education is an amazing tool that if used right can significantly improve our society. Most people in our society today lack basic skills and they do not realize that the root cause of this is that education has failed them. This applies to high school as well. Instead of teaching impractical knowledge such as physics or art to students who do not enjoy these subjects, the education system must be modified quickly to ensure that our society and economy thrive.
Works Cited
Business Radio. (2018, October 22). Will a Student Loan Debt Crisis Sink the U.S. Economy? Retrieved April 7, 2019, from https://knowledge.wharton.upen...
Carrns, A. (2018, May 18). Student Loan Rates Are Rising. Here’s What You Need to Know. Retrieved April 7, 2019, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/0Loans&action=click&contentCollection=yourmoney®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=collection
Griffin, R. (2018, October 17). Retrieved April 7, 2019, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news...
