Should General Education Classes Be Required?

By: Leslie Tartt

During your first year of college, you must take prerequisite classes, usually referred to as 

general education classes. They are classes that don't necessarily have anything to do with your major and are similar to the courses you took in high school. For example, they are courses like algebra, basic writing, arts, and history. These general education classes are required, but many feel as though they should not be necessary because students have been taking general education classes throughout their only entire primary education. In college, students should only be required to take and pay for courses that are needed for their specific field of study. 

College classes cost thousands and thousands of dollars every semester. Students should not be required to take a course almost exactly like what they took in high school, especially if the class has nothing to do with their major. For example, journalism students should not have to take a math reasoning course as one of their general educations because they will not use math reasoning enough in their field. Engineering students should not take history or arts courses because those subjects will not aid them in their engineering courses. General education courses are costly and unnecessary. 

General education courses can provide students with a solid base for their future classes. It can give the student the beginner's knowledge to explore a particular subject further. For instance, it may be helpful for a student to take a college algebra class before moving on to a math class at a higher level. That said, the student should not have to take a college algebra class 

if they do not move on to more advanced math classes in their field of study. Also, some general education classes can be very difficult for students. Often, students pick their major based on the subjects they get the best grades in. Students might decide to major in English because they are not good at math, so requiring them to take a math class that will not aid in their future courses adds unnecessary stress to an already stressful time. 

Each school provides its students with a degree plan that shows them exactly what courses they must take to graduate. The University of Houston's journalism degree plan says that students are required to take a math reasoning course and a math course at some point during their school career, preferably during the student's freshman year. However, besides those two courses, a journalism student is not required to take any additional math courses. The student is not even required to take a specific math class. They can choose any math class they want, so it's not like the school wants them to learn a particular thing. Therefore, that math class they take becomes completely redundant after their first year. 

A student's general education class should be more focused and catered to the classes they will take later in their degree plan and not just any class within any subject. College classes are too expensive to become superfluous after students enter the sophomore year of college, in which they start courses for their major. Those random general education courses should be reserved for those who have yet to decide on their major. Students should not have to pay for classes they never truly needed to take. The extra cost and stress these classes can put on students is unneeded. 

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