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Kandimalla1

Saisiddharth Kandimalla

Suzanne Thomas

November 4, 2018

UWRT 1104

Thesis

General education courses, what many students within the American university system

perceive as a waste of time and what professors perceive as building blocks of education. Why

are American Universities structured so differently from other universities around the world?

Why are UK students able to complete an undergraduate a year quicker than American students?

Why are american colleges more flexible when it comes to switching majors compared to most

other colleges? General educations courses are a major part of this problem because unlike many

other countries, colleges in the US require students to take courses unrelated to their major.

Students who may be trying to achieve an English Major may find themselves within a

Chemistry Laboratory or within a Math Classroom trying to learn about subjects that more than Commented [1]: I like this example and I agree that
general education can be pointless for certain majors.
What about 2 year colleges? Do 2 year colleges do
likely they won’t be using in their future. general education as well or only the courses you need
for your chosen major.
General education courses are a major part of a student’s life which takes around ¼ of a Commented [2]: nice examples
Commented [3]: UNCC's staement and another
students courses throughout their college career. What are the justifications for a student to take article:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gYbpplee8aeXO
around a year of their time on classes that aren’t related to their major? Some justify the actions QNvl9sZrYtrkA2JtYaPi1VZCzi7rBw/edit?usp=sharing
Commented [4]: gen ed-- non specialist
of American College by saying that these courses provide you with skills which can make a

student more well rounded for a future career which was mentioned in a Huffington Post

article.(Cohn) This may be true for most courses such as English and communication which is Commented [5]: consider developing this point of view
more. Who is Cohn? Is it skills, or also habits of mind,
perspective?
used in almost every single major, but when would someone writing a journal for an editorial The responding to the "pro" perspective in another
paragraph.
need to know how to draw a Lewis Structure or find the slope of a quadratic equation? When
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would a Mechanical Engineer need to know how to analyze a Shakespearean literature? Some in

support of General Education have done surveys on students to show a more positive outlook on

general education courses.(Schee) Students according to this government funded survey done by Commented [6]: ? Is this your survey?

Brian A. Vander Schee had an option to select whether or not “they have a nice understanding of

general education”. Students in freshman year feel that they have a grasp on general education

and once they go to sophomore year they feel that they know less than they thought. This data

does not incorporate outlying factors such as general education courses teaching at a higher level

than what should be considered general knowledge. This survey also lacks a large survey group

which could make the data more accurate. Even with this data, it does not take into account the

education that the students may have received prior to the college. Some schools offer a higher Commented [7]: new para.? high schools?

variety of courses such as AP level courses. These course can help prepare a student for college Commented [8]: I know you can only get credit for an
AP level course if you pass the exam. Has AP been
successful for students in high school? How many
but these courses are not universally available in all high schools. The funding of the school and students have gotten AP credit?

whether they are private or not can also greatly affect the quality of education a student is getting

and whether or not they are properly being prepared to college. In low income areas, the level of

a course is being taught at is being dumbed down due to a lack of parent involvement and

funding.(Stauss) How a student is taught in high school can dramatically impacts the foundation

of general knowledge. If high schools were more interconnected as a whole nation instead of

being different from school to school, they can coordinate efforts to help better prepare students

to college to help eliminate general education courses that can be taught in high school such a

math, history, and science.

Some perceive general education courses as a pathway to show undecided students to a


Commented [9]: good point
possible major. But this is also a flaw in the American school system, students need to decide
Commented [10]: Keep your readers in mind. Can be
the class, and instructor. What do they know? What do
earlier about what type of major they are planning to take. they need to know to buy into your position?
Commented [11]: I think readers need to know the
UNCC statement to have an informed opinion.
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Work Cited
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Cohn, Chuck. “Why You Need to Take Gen Eds and How You Can Appreciate Them.”

The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 7 Oct. 2013,

www.huffingtonpost.com/chuck-cohn/why-you-need-to-take-gen-_b_3720942.html.

McGrath, Charles. “What Every Student Should Know.” The New York Times, The New

York Times, 8 Jan. 2006, www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/education/edlife/what-every-

student-should-know.html.

Schee, Brian. “Changing General Education Perceptions through Perspectives and the

Interdisciplinary First-Year Seminar.” The Journal of General Education, 2011, p. 9.,

doi:10.1353/jge.0.0016. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ946164.pdf

Vise, Daniel de. “Three-Fifths of Colleges Get C or Worse in General Education.” The

Washington Post, WP Company, 30 Aug. 2011, www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/college-

inc/post/three-fifths-of-colleges-get-c-or-worse-in-general-

education/2011/08/30/gIQAn1VepJ_blog.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.b5578ded6879

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