The Flaws of General Education
General education requirements in universities are very controversial as they are often overwhelming and unnecessary. 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 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 the real world. In addition, general education requirements may sometimes force students to spend an extra semester at a university to get their degree. This results in students borrowing more money and contributing to the trillion-dollar student debt in the U.S. The Department of Education and universities should work together in order to reduce or modify GE requirements, which may cause a decrease in student debt, improve the economy, and improve the society in many ways.
General education requirements have been around for decades. The Association of American Colleges and Universities states that the term “general education” started being used more and more in the beginning of the 1900s. It described all the courses that were outside of a student’s major. The Harvard Committee on General Education made the term more significant and more widely used. (Reality Check) Later on, colleges and Universities started to develop general education requirements focused around the institution’s mission and values. Many institutions rather use the word “core” instead of general when describing the courses required outside of the major. Prior to general education being introduced, colleges and universities described their education as a liberal education. Evidently, titles differed from time to time, which significantly affected the program. Liberal education focused on the appreciation of knowledge, an ability to solve problems, and a desire to improve society. It was not as practical. Graduates did not really possess skills that would allow them to enter the workforce after graduation. Institutions that provided more focused education started developing around the late 1800s.(General Education…) Later on, this started a debate. Some people were criticizing the fact that institutions were teaching their students very narrow topics. Their skills were very focused and they did not have much knowledge in other fields. The Commission for Higher Education called for a change and a balance between liberal education and major focused education was established.
My experience with GE requirements and their contribution to my education have been negative. I 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 valuable 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 a 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 way 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, 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 and other crucial skills from their general education courses, which is critical given the capitalist system we live in. Instead, general education requirements push courses that focus on memorization of facts. For example, GE requirements in the field of arts focus on memorization of dates of artworks and other such things. This may be interesting for some students, yet having such classes as a requirement and not optional is a big mistake. 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.
Just like with any other controversial topic, people have various opinions on general education and it is important to take into consideration all perspectives in order to come up with a solution that works for everyone. An article that studied these different perspectives mentions that “each of these perspectives holds a different view of academic values and what direction of education should be”(Aldegether). The three perspectives, according to the article, are the conservative perspective, the multicultural perspective, and the radical perspective. People who support the traditional perspective “argue that if the subject major provides intense professional knowledge for students to be able to participate in the economic and commercial life of their country, then other knowledge is essential to successfully use this professional knowledge”(Aldegether) In other words, general education provides a person skills needed to fully use their potential knowledge. Essentially, this perspective suggests that general education is required to help students advance intellectually and personally. The second perspective, or multicultural perspective, suggests that general education helps students to think for themselves and make good decisions rather than “be manipulated by the media or any other sources”(Aldegether). This will make people richer as individuals and more interesting people all around. I somewhat agree with this perspective as it teaches people how to effectively use reason and logic to judge situations and weigh out their choices. Being able to judge situations and weigh out choices makes it easier for people to deal with problems that are encountered by people on a daily basis. Such an approach will also help people form conclusions about situations or come up with solutions for problems. Another crucial point made by the supporters of this perspectives is that “when students learn about different nations and understand where these differences come from, they come to realize that they themselves are not the norm and that the others are not aliens”(Reem). This is especially important in the United States as we are more diverse than most countries. The third perspective aims at social reformation. It encourages “an educational climate that helps those students who have always been marginalized”(Aldegether). These perspectives all have great points, yet the implementation of these kinds of education is where the flaws lie.
Student debt is a huge issue in the United States and 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.”(Griffin) 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. Many college graduates do not learn financial literacy at school, which results in poor financial decisions after graduation and even more debt. Decreasing student loan debt should motivate students to demand reforms from their colleges, universities, or even the Department of Education since this is where the root cause lies.
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 amount of money borrowed and the time spent in college as well as the number of classes taken is evident. Clearly, if less classes are required, then less money will be needed to cover the costs. This may lead to a 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. 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. As a matter of 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.
The main goal of general education at most institutions is to provide students with skills that will help them succeed in the professional field and be a well-educated person overall. Even though that is the goal, it is often left unaccomplished. Majority of students do not take general education classes seriously as they do not see the connection between these classes and their profession. In fact, the connection between general education and one’s chosen career path is so indistinct that even professors might fail to see it. Since students do not see the purpose behind some of the required classes, attendance rates drop and students pass courses without learning much. Dr. Matthew Sanders uses a few approaches to display the benefits of general education and make a vague connection between general education and one’s profession more obvious. He mentions his experience when giving a speech to student-athletes. He asked the group of athletes, which included soccer players, football players, and many other athletes a few simple questions. The questions essentially focused on why athletes do exercises that will never be done during a game. For example, why do football players practice squats, bench press, and running for miles if they do not perform these exercises during games? A football player does not bench press during a game, so why does it matter for him to be able to bench press heavy weights? Most of the athletes answered saying that such exercises help them improve their game by helping them be more explosive, strong, and have stronger stamina. He states that “the purpose of all that exercise and conditioning for an athlete is to be able to thrive and flourish on a field of athletic competition…they want to adapt and change and overcome. And all of that exercise and conditioning helps them get there.”(USUSoar) Even though this connection may be obvious in athletics, it is not so obvious in academics. He goes on connecting this key concept to general education. The extensive writings, chapters of readings, and countless other assignments that students do not have interest in mirror the exercises done by athletes. Athletes do exercises that will not be performed in a game and students complete assignments that they will not perform at a future job, therefore the two are very similar. I agree with the idea that general education is a great program with great values, yet the curriculum at most colleges fails to act according to those values. Most students do not know why they are taking certain classes and do not see the benefit of these classes to their major. Once again, this is a huge issue because lacking purpose is the quickest way to failure. For example, an art major may be very frustrated having to take physics because the student does not understand the purpose of this. Most of the time such a student is not able to see that physics will help them think in a different way, see the world from a different perspective, and be educated in another field. Lacking knowledge about the purpose of certain requirements leads to less motivation, poor grades, and discouragement.
General education has major flaws at most colleges. People even criticize general education at the best universities in the world. A 2015 article states that students admit not taking general education requirements as seriously as their other classes. (Rosenberg) People may argue that this is not that big of an issue as students still attain some information, but it has a negative influence on students’ college experience. Students also look for low workload classes that are looked at as easy A’s. This raises an expectation in students. Students start to expect high grades for little work, which is not always the case. In fact, the article states that not all faculty who teach general education courses know that their course is only for general education requirements. (Rosenberg) Not being aware of this may change the approach professors take to the course. They may go too far in depth into the subject thinking that the students will use the knowledge in future courses or after graduation. I personally hardly remember anything taught in my general education classes. Some classes though, such as English and Communications, teach skills that will be used after graduation. Communications teach public speaking which is essential in most professions. The goal of such courses is clear, yet certain other requirements are widely unreasonable. In fact, “Gen Ed occupies no place in the College’s identity. Students report that from the time they interact with the College as High School juniors through the end of their time as undergraduates, the College does little to convey what Gen Ed is or what role it plays in undergraduate education at Harvard.”(Rosenberg) This further proves the fact that class requirement is simply handed to students without colleges taking a step back and asking themselves if the students understand why they are required to take the classes. Once students understand how certain classes outside of their major will benefit them, they will take the classes more seriously.
As mentioned earlier, the goal of general education is great but the approach universities take to accomplish this goal is inefficient. General education courses should be required but huge modifications should be made to the program. Many people in the United States suffer from mental health issues such as depression, anxiety disorders, etc. Instead of requiring students to take classes that have nothing to do with their major or life, classes around emotional literacy and holistic health studies should be required as these will truly impact the students’ lives in a positive way. Emotional literacy is a skill that most people, especially college students, do not have. This leads to countless issues in our society. In addition, classes focused on financial literacy should be required as well. Most people in the United States are in debt or struggle financially. In order to improve the economy and reduce student loan debt, universities must require classes on financial literacy so graduates know how to manage and invest their money. Communication skills are also critical in the real world, therefore classes on communication must be required. Most general education curricula already require introduction courses in this field, but it is not enough as one intro class does not teach how to communicate in a professional manner. Most employers seek great communicators, therefore this should be required. Classes around basic computer skills should be a requirement as well as technology has become an inevitable part of our lives. If general education focuses on these 4 subjects, time spent in school will decrease significantly.
There are countless problems within our society, economy, and just everyday lives. Most people do not possess the skills needed to deal with these problems since the education system has failed to teach them. In order to start coming up with a solution to these problems at a faster rate, the education system must be modified. The target of this modification should be general education courses at colleges and universities since students at these institutions are mature enough to understand the importance of this information and apply it to their lives.
Works Cited
Aldegether, R. A. (2015, April 29). “What Every Student Should Know”: General Education Requirements in Undergraduate Education. Retrieved March 01, 2019.
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
“General Education in Higher Education.” Encyclopedia of Education. . Retrieved February 20, 2019 from Encyclopedia.com
Griffin, R. (2018, October 17). Retrieved April 7, 2019, from https://www.bloomberg.com/news...
Review, P. (2014, December 29). Reality Check: What’s in a Name? The Persistence of “General Education”. Retrieved February 15, 2019, from
https://www.aacu.org/publications-research/periodicals/reality-check-whats-name-persist
ence-general-education
Rosenberg, J. S. (2015, May 26). General Education under the Microscope. Retrieved February 15, 2019, from
http://harvardmagazine.com/201...
USUSoar. (2014, June 27). Retrieved March 12, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x2IUXFGlHg
