Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Dr. Colombo
UWRT 1104
13 February 2017
Research Question: Are Current General Education Requirements a Waste of Time and Money?
Citation:
Kelly, Sean. The Purpose of General EducationThe Purpose of General Education. Harvard
Main Claim:
And embodying these great works is nothing like learning the rules for living. It is,
instead, learning a way to see what is meaningful and worthwhile in a life. And that, I
believe, is what a general education could be for at its best. (Kelly 5).
Common courses can be capable of being better if it was focused more on the knowledge
This article is about someone who spoke at a university in China on general education. In the
article they talk about their personal experience with issues on general education as well as other
people's experiences. Kelly brings up Aristotle's views as well. The main point is raising the
importance that relevance in general education classes is still an issue today. Most people argue
that general education classes are in place to teach you how to be well rounded in the rules of
life. However this article leans more towards the classes being based around the significance and
beneficial values of life. The speaker also points out that this is a topic that many universities are
going back and forth about. They are raising the question as to what
This is a reliable and credible source. Sean D Kelly is an American Philosopher and also a
Professor at Harvard University. He is known for his expertise on various aspects of the
This source is still relevant today although this speech was given in 2010 this issue is an ongoing
topic today. Also this topic ties right into the research question that I am raising.
Important Quotations:
a philosophical one, since ones views about how one ought to be generally educated will
depend closely on ones views about what success in a life requires, what the
prerequisites for such success may be, and what role the college or university program
consist in, as it typically is in America. Instead, the debate was about whether there
a good thing, or that youll be able to pass some kind of exam more easily if you know
how to do it. The point is that learning to reason carefully and clearly is the essence of
what it is to be a human being, and so to live the best life possible for us we must be able
Citation:
www.collegexpress.com/articles-and-advice/majors-and-academics/articles/college-
academics/general-education-requirements-whats-point/.\
Main Claim:
general education requirements are all about preparing students for the unknown. A
students interests can change, careers may advance, and new jobs may be createdall
situations where a foundational skillset and broad-based knowledge are necessary for
success. (Seraphin)
Often peoples preferences, Job choices, and overall career paths may change and for
changes like this in your life you will need to have studied broader courses than just what
you decided to major in, which is what common courses prepare you for.
Summary of the Source:
This article discusses the purpose of general education classes. The article talks about the
reasoning and the importance of general education classes. The most important reason that stood
out was unexpected life changes. This being because you never expect to lose your job or want to
change careers while you are still in college but that happens in real life and your next job may
not be the same area of study as your last. Seraphine says the purpose is to prepare you to gain
broad knowledge, learn intellectual and practical skills, understand cultural differences, evaluate
ethical consequences, and make connections across academic disciplines. (Seraphin) The article
also highlights that there are two different types of general education courses, with this
This is a reliable source. Catherine Seraphin is the Digital Media Project Manager at Harvard
University, formerly the Assistant Editor, Online Specialist for Carnegie Communications.
Catherine graduated from Penn State University with a degree in journalism, a minor in English,
and course concentrations in business. This article also pulls in other universities inputs, this is
relevant today because the information she provides is linked to my research question as well as
Important Quotations:
Umbaugh emphasized what a general education curriculum enables students to do: gain
broad knowledge, learn intellectual and practical skills, understand cultural differences,
(Seraphin)
Hanstedt references a study done by the Association of American Colleges and
Universities (AACU) in which 91% of employers said they are asking employees to take
on more responsibilities and to use a broader set of skills than in the past. In other words,
job seekers need to know a lot more than just the basic skills required to work within
their fields. Additionally, 88% of employers said that to succeed in their companies,
employees need higher levels of learning and knowledge than they did in the past.
(Seraphine)
One often-overlooked benefit, regardless of the type of general education program, is
the ability for students to do some discovering. For undecided students in particular,
particular school, without the potential of getting off track and wasting creditsand in
Citation:
Purpose and Outcomes. General Education: Purpose and Outcomes, Washington State
University, gened.wsu.edu/overview/atWSU/.
Main Claim:
One of the goals of General Education is to assist students to understand the
This article gives a demonstration on what Washington State University strives to use general
education to do. WSUs general education program helps students to become better critical
thinkers as well as learn different lessons that will help you in life. There are four different
categories that this university aims to strive in with their general education courses. This is to
highlight student potential, give a stable background for students upper division majors, allow
students to gain a broad range of knowledge, and prepare students to be a citizen in the
community.(Washington State University) Under these four different categories the article goes
This is a credible and reliable source. This is an article put together by Washington State
University to educate the public on how they aim their general education courses. This is
relevant because it directly relates to my research question and provides me with many different
Important Quotations:
To function well in the workplace, it is necessary to see beyond it. The General
State University)
The breadth of General Education requirements reflects our historical experience of how
new knowledge has been acquired and how it is likely to be acquired in the
Citation:
Smith, Beth.The Value of GE or the Answer to "Why Do I Need to Take This Class?". The
Value of GE or the Answer to "Why Do I Need to Take This Class?". Academic Senate for
class.
Main Claim:
Faculty have many ways to answer the question "why do I need to take this class?" such
that a student is connected to learning throughout the college as well as the workplace
and life.(Smith)
Many students raise the question are general education courses necessary? but
professors should know how to handle this question, simply by telling the student that
when you acquire knowledge through education you are gaining it for the outside world
as well.
This article talks about how students raise the question why do I need to take this class? quite
often.(Smith) Although we may not mean any harm raising this question it puts a lot of pressure
on faculty to come up with an answer says Smith. When we as students raise this question it not
only questions the reasoning for the course but also how it fits into general education courses and
why it is important in that category. Smith also talks about why general education courses are
necessary for students to take. The article explains that we as students do not take the time to
realize what all we have actually gained from a general education course. Many students do not
realize that a lot of the skills we have acquired over time are in result of general education
courses. The article challenges students to sit and go through all of the skills we have gained
from each course. Also what skills has helped us to be qualified for our first jobs.(Smith)
This source is very reliable and credible. Beth Smith, vice president of The Academic Senate for
California Community Colleges wrote this article to inform the public on the value of general
education courses. This article was published in 2012 but is still very much relevant today still
serving its purpose which is to educate on the relevance of general education. This source is very
Important Quotations:
Today not just students but also people beyond the perimeter of the campus are
questioning why some courses are included in general education (GE), whether the class
in question is art history, algebra, anthropology, or from another discipline. In fact, some
people within the college family may not realize or understand why GE is essential for all
college graduates and why that fact remains especially true today.(Smith)
This quick exercise may help to put GE in perspective: Think of all the skills you have
needed for the various jobs or roles you have held in your life and eliminate all the ones
tied to your major or discipline. Skills that come to mind might include technological
planning a sprinkler system, navigating workplace cultures, and so on. Now think about
students specifically, but we must be able to articulate that value. How does one answer a
student who asks, "why do I need to take this class?" When teaching a class specifically
for students majoring in that field, the answers are different than if the course is a GE
course.(Smith)
Citation:
Becker, David.The Time Has Come to Get Rid of General Education Requirements. Logos
education-requirements/.
Main Claim:
To end this piece, I will end it with this: if our generation can get gay marriage legalized,
then I think we can take the next step and get rid of general education classes. After all,
change then why can we not take a stand and eliminate common courses, especially since
This is a piece written by a college student. This writing aims directly for how most students feel
about general education courses. Becker explains how students of different majors do not
understand why we are forced to take courses that we never aspire to use in life. Becker also
raises a point that the professor's claim they want students to be well rounded but students just
want to be experts in our fields of study. This meaning that we as students do not care about
being well rounded, it is more of adults wanting it for us. Becker raises a good point when he
says that students within undecided majors should take the general education classes to see what
they are interested in doing for the rest of their life but people who know should not be forced to.
(Becker)
This piece is written by a student, David Becker, and published of the Logos Lite page. A page
where Iowa Community College publishes their students work. This article is not the most
credited article but it definitely serves its purpose. This piece directly relates to my research
question and is very relevant hitting key points that support my question. Therefore this piece is
Important Quotations:
Through the course of time, students for generations have been forced to take these
classes often known as gen eds. They primarily consist of classes very similar to the
ones you take in high school, but once again, you are forced to take these
classes.(Becker)
I am a journalism major, so how do you think I feel about taking classes like Math for
Liberal Arts and Environmental Science? Ill tell you this; its torture. (Becker)
Do you think an author like Stephen Chbosky (screenwriting) or John Green (English)
majored in what they majored in so they could waste their time in a classroom with a
teacher who teaches nothing about what theyre interested in or their major.(Becker)
Now, we as human beings will never be the human calculators that the government
wants us to be.(Becker)
The only time a student should be forced to take general education classes is if he/she is
undecided in his/her major. This way, the students would go into classes where they can
find out what they want to do with the rest of their lives.(Becker)
Nowadays, people will not go to a teacher or a book to find out a question about history.