The general education programs are indeed an important part of a sound and worthwhile college education. While most students are taking general education in order to become at their best turns to be an inconvenience and a waste of time, there are numerous reasons why these courses are still important for the students. Reducing the number of hours spent for these courses is generally not a good idea.
Since it is a fact that college is primarily intended for providing the students with the required credentials for the career of their option, it comes with other significant functions also, particularly in this period of globalization. First of all, it should assist one in becoming a better person and citizen. Undergraduate and graduate education can help a person a lot in this matter. The world is in need of scientists, attorneys, medical experts, educators, businesspeople, law enforcement professionals and a lot more, especially those who have cultivated and developed the skills of critical thinking. The trend to narrow specialization at the expense of general education doesn’t take it into consideration.
Secondly, in democracy, it is important that people participate and vote for good reasons and not to benefit those people who attempt to make use of the non-rational or irrational persuasion in manipulating the voters. The solid foundation in humanities, arts, and sciences could help in preventing this. Even when you do not remember more after spending years in studying physics, psychology or philosophy, the critical thinking skills that you need in these various field would remain with you and will serve you very well. These skills could also prevent you from being at the expense of subtle manipulation that is used by a few advertisers.
General education has been found to be suitable for everyone over specialized education for some reasons. The leading reason is that most people are changing their career directions for several times throughout their lives. The foundation of the critical thinking skills and knowledge that has been cultivated in terms of general education classes would serve a person better for the rest of his or her life over 3 or four more courses in the major of one. In the present years, companies and businesses ought to get and hire those professionals who have humanities education for the reason that they are well trained to think of things in more innovative ways. It is believed that a person who wants to be successful in business should take philosophy instead of M.B.A.
While most universities and colleges have gutted and reduced their general education requisites, it is not actually the best thing to do. Maybe, those schools that kept thorough general education requisites may be the better places to go that can provide the students with a wide and deep education so they are better placed to become successful throughout their lives.
To conclude, general education requisites have more significant purposes and it is in the interest of the students, colleges, universities, employers and the society to this a vital aspect of college education.
