College Student Dread Their General Education Courses example essay topic

With living costs as high as they are in this day and age, it is completely unreasonable to expect the average individual to squander already limited resources. Receiving a bachelor's degree today requires an assortment of classes that often are not directly related to one's career objectives. For some, they find this to be an enjoyable adventure, broadening their knowledge and learning about new aspects of life, but for others this is just burdensome. However it is looked upon, the college curriculum still requires a diverse selection of courses to develop well rounded, responsible individuals, but in turn creates added pressure upon students. Is it the job of secondary education to start developing all inclusive students who have been familiarized with a broad range of subjects? Is it fair that some children are able to afford private education and expensive tutoring with a one on one basis?

The government needs to step in on this matter because the children who are growing up now are going to be this countries future. The rich are always going to be well educated because they can afford it. There needs to be government programs that provide free tutoring and counseling for the underprivileged. But the way things are going this will never happen because education is almost always one of the first things to be cut. One of the greatest sacrifices of college is the money required to attend.

The Education Statistics Quarterly says: One of the biggest concerns for many families is how they are going to pay their children's college expenses. In academic year 2002-03, the average total price for full-time undergraduates to attend 4-year institutions-including tuition, fees, room, board, books, supplies, and other education expenses, as estimated by the institutions-was more than $12,800 at public institutions and almost $28,000 at private institutions (College Board 2003 a). Over the past decade, inflation-adjusted tuition prices at public and private 4-year colleges and universities jumped nearly 40 percent, while the median income of families with a head of household 45 to 54 years old (those families most likely to have traditional college-age children) rose only 8 percent (College Board 2003 b). Such price increases have made it much more difficult for families from nearly all income levels to pay for college.

Researchers have, for many years, wondered how low- and middle-income families manage to put together enough funds from financial aid and their own resources to pay for their children's postsecondary education. Now if the average family income in the United States is $57,000, college is costing almost half of the annual income. For this reason college is a very serious matter and can not be taken lightly. When dealing with these figures some may not want to have to go through the miserable process of general education. For them maybe even a job school like Bryman College would suit them well, where they can learn the profession that they are going into. This would solve the money issue and also a lot of time that could never be gained back.

No matter what, general education is something that every college student faces. Some students view it as a laundry list that they have to get through, while others see it as an opportunity to explore new subjects. Either way it is viewed, it is still enforced and there is no way to bypass it. Is it really necessary for a focused biology student who is trying to get out of college in four years to take an art class?

The point can be argued either way. No, it is not particularly necessary for that individual to take an art course. They will never need to discuss pointillism while they are with a patient, and the difference between abstract art and non-representational art means absolutely nothing to them. Or it can be argued that an art course is vital to this individual's higher education. Is not the purpose of college to produce well-rounded citizens? Isn't there something to be said for an individual who can look at a work of art in a museum for longer than five seconds and really appreciate the work the artist poured in to it?

Or for the individual who find one's true interest, general education is more than worth the two years it takes to get through. So although the couple of years a college student spends in general education may seem useless, it is important to recognize the value of it. It helps individuals by showing them an array of possibilities that should be explored before one decides on his or hers life's career. It also builds interesting people who are not just specialists, but who have a better understanding and appreciation for the world around them. Even though, as explained previously, general education is valuable it does create stress for the student who is set on his / her major. For many students, especially those who go to state universities, the probability of graduating with a bachelor's degree in four years is highly unlikely.

For those students who have to fight to get into the classes they need to graduate, general education is a villain. The victim of this system can't see the importance of taking a variety of courses. Zinsser recognizes this problem in his essay "College Pressures", which talks about the stresses that college students face. He quotes a dean of Yale University talking about his students: "They ought to take chances. Not taking chances will lead to a life of colorless mediocrity. They " ll be comfortable.

But something in the spirit will be missing". (452) Zinsser picks this quote because it describes a college student who is so focused on his / her goals or what or expectations of them, that the bigger picture is lost. For the narrow sighted college student venturing outside his / her past what is required in general education is not an option. Why you might ask? It is because courses required for majors are so jammed packed that once you get into the upper division courses, adding leisure classes may be stressful or may cause an individual to be in college an extra year. Zinsser looks down upon this way of thinking and blames employers for this mindset students have.

Zinsser says: Long gone are the days of the 'gentleman's C,' when students journeyed through college with a certain relaxation, sampling a wide variety of courses- music, art, philosophy, classics, anthropology, poetry, religion- that would send them out as liberally educated man and women. If I were an employer I would rather employ graduates who have this range and curiosity than those who pursued safe subjects and high grades. (449) Zinsser believes well rounded individuals should get the jobs over the specialist. In reality the job market is highly competitive and the specialist will get the job because they are more qualified on paper. Is this system fair?

Not always, but in some cases it is necessary. When you are on the operating table you " ll want a specialist to do your surgery, not a cultured citizen. Not only are there pressures on individuals to get in all the classes they need to graduate in four years, but there are also economical and peer pressures that students face. There is a not-so-hidden hierarchy of majors that one feels must take if he / she wants a well paying job.

Who has placed this stigma upon majors? Often times it is the students themselves. Michael Moffat, an anthropologist, did a study on a community of students at Rutgers College and he explains the majors and their chain of importance in his essay "Vocationalism and the Curriculum". He said that students believed that "there were useful subjects that presumably led to good careers, and there were useless ones". Moffat then goes on to explain how students also struggle with peer pressures from other students looking down upon their major for being eccentric. Zinsser, in his essay "College Pressures", also talks about this expectation for students to take a "safe" major.

Zinsser describes the pressure that one college student received from her father. She was a "free spirit" and a good artist, but her father strongly opposed this, saying that being an artist was a "dumb" thing to be. The girl continued to follow her art dreams, but also took classes to appease her father on the side. Zinsser says: "she deserves to follow her muse". Now we must think of what could happen to our country if we turn out clones of "play it safe" students who are not willing to take a chance? Something at the core of our country's beliefs will be lost.

The fight that won our country's freedom and dreams that put man on the moon will be a thing of the past and we will all live comfortable lives never venturing into the unknown to take a risk that could (heaven forbid) lead to a failure. Even smaller than this, we have to worry about universities only turning out specialists that are illiterate in many subjects. Kozol talks about the problems with illiteracy in the essay: "The Human Cost of an Illiterate Society". Here illiteracy means not being able to read or write, but there are other types of illiteracy at work. Many people who do not have a basic knowledge of science usually don't question how things work, and are willing to except any explanation. The same problem happens in politics.

Individuals who do not understand politics and the way our country is run will believe whatever the media feeds them. Kozol calls these people "half-citizens" (232) meaning they are not fully informed to make their own decision. Today we live in a society that lives off instant gratification. We want to see results and we want to see them right away.

That is partly the reason why college student dread their general education courses. This mentality is not healthy. Not only are general education classes required, they are necessary for the development of well rounded citizens. It may cost a little more but what is a pretty penny compared to ones future.

These courses are also valuable because it allows students to sample other aspects of life that they may find more interesting than his / her initial major. General education is quite valuable for the development of a fully literate society. For the development of cultured, interesting individuals, general education must be viewed as a necessity.

Bibliography

Kirsziner Laurie G. and Mandell Stephen R. Patterns for College Writing, Bedford / St. Martin's Boston, New York Kozol Jonathan. "The Cost of an Illiterate Society". From Illiterate America by Jonathan Kozol. Copyright 1985 by Jonathan Kozol Zinsser William.
College Pressures". From Blair and Ketchum's County Journal, Vol VI, No. 4, April 1979.
Copyright 1979 by William K.
Zinsser. National Center for Education Statistics web 5/5 2/q 2 4. asp 1990 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20006, USA, Phone: (202) 502-7300.