It sometimes seems that high school curricula and “When am I ever gonna use this crap?” go hand in hand. Elective requirements in high school may seem like funny time wasters (I carried a fake baby around for a week and loved every second of it), but as we neared graduation, we looked forward to the end of electives and fixed our gazes on more serious coursework that was actually relevant to a topic and career we chose.
Alas, upon arriving at college we found ourselves taking only a handful of relevant tracking classes and delegating the rest of our time to the same lectures on the Declaration of Independence and the Holocaust we’ve heard since first grade.
College general education classes are nothing more than the same classes we’ve taken for years recycled with different course titles. And here’s the kicker: Unlike high school electives, which were easily navigated with minimal to no effort, the ones in college are actually difficult!
Sure, there are exceptions to every rule, but generally, I have found myself studying just as much for my Gen. Ed. classes as I have for my major courses. No longer an excuse to goof off, these collegiate forms of electives require so much time that they detract from hours that need to be devoted to courses that count toward a major.
In my humble opinion, this is just silly. I understand the purpose of these requirements is to promote “wellroundedness,” but when it’s causing my grades to slip in courses that carry much more weight on a resume, I get a little upset.
General education classes should be just that: general. They should be simple, perhaps even enjoyable overviews on random topics that require a reasonable amount of work that students leave with more knowledge of an ancient culture or plant species.
By the time students reach college, the light at the end of the tunnel is no longer dim and we are anxious to hunker down and power through to that bachelor’s degree. Majors are picked, studying gets serious and nobody can afford to waste time. However, an English major learning about genetic engineering of plants or geometric algorithms is a big waste. Herein lies the paradox: If a student receives anything other than an A in a Gen. Ed. class, it reflects poorly on the student due to the fact that these classes are supposed to be, well, general and simple, so they have to devote valuable hours to them in order to succeed. Of course, college is supposed to be challenging, but I want to devote my time to specializing in a subject that will actually aid me in life, not to a scattering of topics that will only be useful in trivia.
UF requires 36 general education credits divided up among a variety of subject areas. Using 12-credit semesters, that equals three more semesters a student spends at UF than if they were to only take courses to achieve a major. While the university may enjoy the money we shell out to take these bothersome classes, I do not enjoy the hours I spend preparing for a year and half of extra classes.
In the work place, general education classes prove wasteful of resources and time. European countries, ever-so-efficient, recognize the futility of these extra classes and sport an education system that allows students to apply for a program of their choice and focus on a subject area.
Thus, while perhaps less valuable in a game of Trivial Pursuit, European students emerge from school better equipped and area-focused than Americans who spend four years subject-hopping. Perhaps American universities will get it together in the future, but for now, UF can enjoy 36 extra hours worth of my money as I once again learn about Stonehenge and Thomas Jefferson.
Laura Ellermeyer is a first-year finance major. Her column appears on Tuesdays.
