Ideas for posts originate almost anywhere and at anytime and this one’s no different. I got to thinking about all the various “general education” classes you have to take in the pursuit of a degree. You know the classes I’m referring to: those that have no bearing on your intentional study/career path. If they seem like nonsense to you then you’re not alone. Scores of people feel the exact same; taking classes outside of your chosen degree is arduous and takes up precious time. Why is this the norm with colleges across the country? What is it that makes them stick to this regiment? Might it make more sense to truly focus on a chosen discipline rather than split attention elsewhere?

Care for some college class hazing?

This might surprise some but I am not actually anti college – I’m anti “you need to go to college to get a good job” – and that’s a BIG difference. If you told me tomorrow you wanted to be a vet, a doctor, a chemist, or an engineer then I’d tell you to carry on with college because for those career paths it’s a necessity. However, if you told me you wanted to be a writer, I’d inquire as to what you wanted to write about, tell you to read good authors, and, depending on what you told me, caution you to not spend your money on a degree. Law, plagiarism, format, intellectual property, theft, etc., are but a few things which pop in my mind when I weigh it all out. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse as they say. Of course, there are other ways of obtaining this information to keep you out of hot water but alas, I digress. This post is for those in the throes of pursuing college degrees.

A different view

Imagine what your career path would look like if you didn’t have to take that humanities class; you know, the one you will never put to use. Picture what your class schedule and degree would look like if you didn’t have to endure that one required math class but instead focused on something more relevant instead. What if you could take another engineering course instead of taking that social science class – how much more relevant would that be for your chosen career?

Can you recognize what is taking place here? In case you can’t I’ll shed some light on a sneaky thing: college class hazing. Yes, it’s a real thing. Sometimes it only takes one person to name something for it to stick and I’ll be that one in this instance. Being “required” to take certain classes when they have no bearing whatsoever on your career path is nothing but good ole’ fashioned hazing at it’s finest.

Take a second and think of how different your educational experience would have been (or will be for some) if instead of taking the nonsense classes you instead could take additional classes in your chosen field of study. What would it look like if you took an additional engineering class as opposed to a humanities? How about a second engineering class in another discipline rather than that social science class? In many programs, you’re now half way into a minor by now. Can you picture it?

What’s the point, anyway?

Critics will argue the general education classes are designed to make a better well-rounded person. Oh please; let’s get down to brass tacks for a moment. That is a smoke screen argument and a frail one at that. People do not decide to hone the areas where they are weak – or, in this case, areas of little significance to them – because it’s not worth it, nor is it natural. If given the choice, just about everyone will choose to take classes more interesting and pertinent to their chosen direction.

You know what people naturally gravitate to though? What catches people’s attention, time, and energy? What they like and are interested in. People spend hours upon hours developing interests into hobbies (I’m working on a whole other post discussing this very thing) and the same applies to classes in a chosen field of study.

And, since I’m on a roll, I’ll go ahead and state what needs to be said: emotional intelligence is a far better indicator of whether or not someone becomes more “well-rounded.” Research in emotional intelligence as a barometer for success is merely ground level at this point and still it has established itself as a solid measurement discipline. Check it out here and some additional articles demonstrating the power of emotional intelligence can be found here, here, here, and here.

This is only a fraction of what’s out there. There are far too many articles to list to be anywhere near comprehensive. Besides, there are two sides to this coin – degree holding doesn’t make you any smarter than those who don’t. There are scores of reasons why this is but I don’t want to high jack my own article. And, since this is true, what does it say when we scale it down to a few unnecessary classes? We are suddenly going to be better well-rounded individuals because of them? Not a chance. Experience is by far the best indicator here, and coupled with emotional intelligence they become a force to be reckoned with.

Others who think the same thing

What’s more, I am not alone in this thought process. There are others who argue the very same thing I do but from a whole different perspective. Click here for a well written article from a professor who argues against teaching higher level mathematics – because those requirements invariably hold people back. He has some good numbers to back up his claim, too. This article, though, is but a taste of his findings. “The Math Myth and Other STEM Delusions,” a book he wrote, has far more information, data, arguments, and references to under gird his position.

*A side note here: I certainly don’t agree with his assertion that “the skills shortage is a myth.” There is a very real skilled labor shortage in our country which is exacerbated by the retirement of baby boomers. Unless, of course, he equates “skills” with engineers and other white-collar professions. Then I am in his corner. *

*UPDATE: I ordered his book immediately after discovering it and have since devoured it – what a page turner it was. “the skills shortage is a myth” addresses those in the white collar world, namely silicon valley, and their assertion of a “skills shortage,” which is their sly way of advocating for as many H1B Visas as they can. Not only is he right but also meddling with the status quo – which is why he received an abundance of push back with the release of his outstanding book.*

Here is another article about the same author and book. It has a little more depth to it. This article is arguing for quantitative reasoning classes as opposed to college algebra – which I heartily agree.

And if you click here, this article is the first one I found while researching this topic. This is a math professor who argues against the college algebra requirement and in its place we find according to him, “both courses (Introduction to Mathematical Modeling and Quantitative Skills and Reasoning) are taught at the same level of sophistication as CA, [college algebra] and each is a better alternative to simply repeating the high school experience. The point of these courses is to enable students to be able to evaluate quantitative information, so they can make logical deductions and arrive at reasonable conclusions. Such skills are crucial in today’s world.” That is to say, the classes are a mix of various mathematics designed to better aid the person – to which I say amen.

I could go on and on but I won’t; I think I’ve made my point here. The kicker is it isn’t just any ole’ person who agrees with me – it’s math professors, political scientists, and other ostracized persons in academia (because, that’s the position they find themselves in when they disagree with the system) who feel the same. It shouldn’t matter who is in league with me but alas, it does. There is more force when the argument comes from math professors and others as opposed to the rest of the world (like the plethora of students who bemoan the requirements).

I’m not picking on math here, either. If fact, my initial intention was to argue against the mandatory general education classes that are so prevalent and useless when people really get into their chosen profession. I was just taken aback for a bit there were some who argued against some of the higher math classes. To demonstrate this, you can click here for a seasoned article against the general education classes in college. Here is another article arguing against that pesky gen ed curriculum. Want to view some more? Click here, and here, and here, for more information and articles on this topic.

Here is an interesting article where two people take opposing views on the general education classes and here is an article on Forbes discussing the erosion of the college education (which is a whole other topic – but I have been saying this for years, anyway).

I particularly like how they analyzed the core curriculum where “colleges ought to cover these seven areas in their general education requirements: English composition, literature, foreign language, economics, college-level mathematics, and natural or physical science.” – not that I agree with it all, mind you – but in some ways it’s nice to see the origin of a general education argument.

All things considered, it’s interesting to note this line of argumentation and reasoning comes from not merely me but college professors (especially in the math department, anyway) – AND it’s an argument against the college requirement of a mandatory math class. I initially began with the general education classes; to my surprise, others have tackled higher requirements. When I first discovered this, I thought it amusing but now that I have had time to reflect on it, I think it’s a wise argument to make.

It’s hard to argue with the stats those in favor of an educational overhaul make. When someone tosses out a stat that 1 in 5 don’t graduate college and according to NPR, 48% do not finish because of required math – well, the proof is in the pudding. To top it off, the reason most assert is the mathematics requirement is a silent killer; a crouching tiger waiting to take the mathematical deficient down to their demise.

A different tact

To change things up a bit, there is another angle which we can look at things. I haven’t spoken with every engineer in the world, but overall, the many I have spoken with (and are transparent) use very little they learned in college. For some, I have witnessed this and for others I must take them at their word. I even had one tell me he asked a professor why some of the classes were so hard. The response he got was something akin to “we may as well hand out diplomas on (the main street outside the university) then if not.” Can you spot the hazing here? Taking classes because of having to take classes and nothing more? The college class institutionalized ritualistic hazing is alive and well.

And, not that this needs to be publicly divulged here since many other outlets have a high word count concerning this, but despite the obstacle that is what I’ve termed college class hazing, the entire college institution has an image problem that is growing. Some assert colleges have abandoned their culture of free thought and expression to oppressive indoctrination. Political correctness rues the day, stifling disagreement, and differences of opinion. Societal oppression via identity groups reigns supreme. It’s difficult to argue this perspective down when you hear about safe spaces, (there are so many posts about them it’s insane – here’s another one), trigger warnings, and campuses coddling their students. And do you know what is necessary to instill this line of thought into as many of the youth as possible today? Mandatory classes that likely have nothing to do with the discipline you initially chose to pursue. Forget broadening minds; let’s control them instead. Indoctrination is a powerful thing, indeed.

Scores of people have an opinion about this; what’s yours?