General Education is the largest red tape behind college. It's very discouraging to go to college to become an Architect, then having to spending $50,000 in classes that I don't need like Theatre, Psychology 101, or Philosophy. How the hell is acting or mind games going to help me build a got dang skyscraper?!
People defending this obvious greedy practice are brainwashed by the bullshit thrown around in those electives/gen ed classes. College is already delaying entry to the workforce and the benefits are greatly reduced due to the sheer number of grads. A degree won't guarantee you a job anymore. Furthermore, unless you are entering a field where it is absolutely necessary like law, medicine or engineering it has completely loss all of it's worth.
I'm all for people trying to "discover themselves" or whatever & I guess having those classes helps them but it's holding back the people that already have a plan SO MUCH. ISTG, I could've graduated in 2 years if I didn't have to take those stupid gen eds.
As a criminology and criminal justice major on the pre-law route I agree! I don't need 3 science classes for my future career, The system is messed up for forcing irrelevant courses on us. 😤😤😤
I hold a bachelor's degree in political science (the traditional "pre-law" major) and a law degree, come from a family with lots of lawyers, have worked in the legal field, and will be sitting for the bar exam soon. Three science classes are actually helpful for future attorneys. Lawyers are frequently exposed to science when tackling criminal cases, medical malpractice cases, personal injury cases, etc. They often hire expert witnesses who are engineers, physicists, physicians, chemists, etc., and the lawyer must decipher these expert witnesses' testimony to present to juries full of laymen. This is easier to do if the lawyer has had some basic exposure to science at the undergrad level. One reason you take general education courses is because no field exists in a vacuum. In your career, you're bound to encounter concepts that are not directly in your major. It helps to be well-rounded. Having broader knowledge and exposure sets you apart from the competition in competitive markets (especially saturated markets like law).
I get what you guys are saying, but me personally, I love gaining knowledge. Even if I'm not going to use it in the real world I love learning history, science, etc. It enlightens me. At least that's how I feel for me. I love it.
@@Vic-rf6hs Yes, we should always be learning new things and continue to improve, but at least for college we shouldn't have to be force to take classes that dont progress us into our majors. If you want to learn these things in your free time, go ahead, but dont make the youth panic over classes that dont matter to them in the end
I agree with you. I believe if you are not interested in a class, it can be very difficult for many people to pass and they still get your money unless you plead for it back with some valid excuse. And I agree again, what the heck was school k-12 for then if we need to do it all over again in college?!
Exactly. It's all about taking money, indoctrinating students, and giving job opportunities for students who work in Academia because they couldn't hack it outside of the School institution.
Gen Ed classes are the only reason I dropped out of college after 1 semester. I then went to a trade school and learned how to weld. Total cost at the end was $1500 and 2 months.
@@fincy645 Trade school has better employability than virtually all majors due to the actual useful skillsets you learn. They don't have useless gen ed classes thrown around and everyone needs a welder these days.
AMEN! general ed is a waste of time. I'm an engineering student. Literally you have to be good at math, science, and upper division engineering courses. Like how does art, psychology, theater, dance, history, english, and humanities class help me? Thankfully, I am at community and do not have to pay a lot if i went to a four year institution.
I live in Croatia and I'm double majoring in Polish and Portuguese, and I am sooo glad that I live here because we don't have those kind of classes. We have sepparate faculties, if you enter mine (Humanities and Social Sciences), that's the kind of classes you'll have, related to your major (we don't have minors). The more I learn about US education, the more I feel sorry for you guys :(
Gymnastics and Beyond trust me elementary (ages 5-11), Middle (ages 11-14), And High School (ages 14-18) suck too, it’s not just colleges and universities. I guess private schools aren’t that bad, but they are expensive.
I honestly agree fully with you, it’s a waste of time and money. I would rather come back to the university if I love it for a masters, which you would complete earlier if you didn’t have to do the general studies.
@Michelle Appiah Same in Canada. No idea what the commenter was trying to prove, this practice is even more vile and disgusting in the States where college is extremely expensive.
Gosh, I'm so thankful I got all my gen ed's out of the way at a community college and then transferred to MTSU. I am a RIM major and my minor is entrepreneurship and that's all the courses I'm taking. I transferred in the fall of 2016 and I'm graduating this May. It only took me two years to complete my degree gen ed's are such a waste.
I understand they want you to be well rounded, but I agree with you on the struggling through classes. There were some math classes and science classes in high school (currently a senior) that I struggled in a lot. I somehow passed them, but that just means that i now, applyng as a studio art major, need to struggle once more to meet college competencies of classes that i already met the competencies of to begin with, hence why ive been accepted to the college. If you're going to require that students have a certain number of years of a subject before high school graduation, than you should know when they get to college that they have already learned what they need to from those subjects, right?
I agree fully - it’s just more stress and headache put on a Student right after dealing with the stuff in high school. They should be able to choose which way they want to do things.
To me “well-rounded” sounds kinda generic. If everyone was truly like that then we might as well be robots. I hate that colleges use the excuse of being “well-rounded” to get their money. I don’t see any appeal in classes that have nothing to do with my major
This is why I left college in my first semester, got a trade and now I have a stable job going on for nearly a decade with some pretty good benefits, and not in a giant pile of debt.
I'm a foreign language student, and I take more classes in gen eds than foreign language and linguistics classes. I pay for all of them. The state should at least either not require all of them, or pay for more of them. I'm terrible at math, so I'm barely sliding by with a 70%. I feel like I'm paying money to feel like an idiot.
I guess they have them to help those who don't have major but why make a requirement? They should make general Ed optional because they are useless otherwise because they are irrelevant to your major.
Gen eds should be a choice. If you don’t know what you want to do, you have the choice to take gen eds, but if not it shouldn’t be a requirement for those knows what to do
Taking the last English class I will ever have right now. Then I have about 5 fucking more gen ed classes. But it will be over soon, still fuck whoever thought it was actually even a decent fucking idea to waste people's time and money with gen Ed's, colleges need money? Fine just let me pay more, but for fucks sake don't make me take these useless classes!
I agree. I think most general education courses are a joke and it makes it even harder for people to graduate college. It probably even explains why many college students take longer for them to graduate. The American college education system is all messed up
I agree 100%!!! It’s adding more years of my life being in college as a grown woman than trying to get through your major then get a job right then and there … what’s does English and statistics and history have to do with nursing nothing!! So I agree
I totally agree with you. I'm a music composition major at the University of Alabama, and I have pretty much the same gen-ed requirements as you. Huge waste of time and money on classes I don't care about in the least.
I'm currently in High school at first once I go to college I could go study what I want but then I find out I have to take classes that has nothing to do with my major I changed my mind
haha my university doesn't have gen eds... Just our major + minor requirements and any 6 credits (2 classes) in a subject outside of our faculty. I'm feeling very blessed after watching this video ahaha
I am very confused. I'm attending college for the first time this upcoming semester (9) days but I'm enrolled in ALL general ed. But these general ed classes seem like electives, they are cinema, music theory, etc. It's not Math, science, etc.
When she said I’m stuck with 3 classes I agree if you are gonna me do something to be more well rounded offer more than just a handful. What I hate seeing is courses I can’t take for example I wanted to take general astronomy 1 but I guess it just isn’t popular enough because my college doesn’t offer it consistently I hope they add it in Spring 2020.
I agree with you completely I am a Civil Engineering student, and thank God for all the AP Classes that I took in high school (APUSH, AP Spanish, AP US Gov, Calc BC, Computer Science) that it took care of half of my Gen Ed, but even with that I had to take Art I, Texas Government, Composition, Psychology, Gen Chem (I know its not technically a Gen Ed at my school but still required for Civil Engineering when in my career I'll be designing building and worrying way less about what chemical reacts with what). And some professors I had for those Gen Ed classes though that their class was the most important and everything had to rotate about them, like I have a Dynamics midterm tomorrow but yet I'm reading a 5 page article about the Railroad Comissioner election, writing a 500 word journal entry about it, and replying to 2 classmates with 200 words each. Like the state can calm down I won't vote for Trump or Biden and won't screw over America, I just wanna get my degree and get a job in my field.
Also, what will the quadratic formula help me in my major of nutrition.... quadratic formula like whaaat. If its math, I would like to know how taxes work, finances in my day to day life...
that’s what i criticize in the state, which is protecting the market of education, in my country we have an example of this: with all bureaucracy required from the state, there are some institutions (not recognized by the state) providing a much cheaper quality “college” education with less general education courses and the job market is welcoming them, because the employers knows that the person learned what is necessary for working on the field... very sad
Does anyone know how to get out of doing them? I have bad ADHD and cant focus on things that don't interest me but I excel at the things that do, (like most normal people) but it goes beyond the normal avoidance, no matter what I do I cannot sit long enough to understand the material to write anything substantive. I paid 1500 so far to take this class and despite already knowing what to expect i ended up dropping it the second time around because its a waste of my time.
I totally agree with you 100%.. like we have to go through grade school and high school with those Gen ED classes.. college should be you taking classes that you should want to take based on what your majoring in .
Well said, can't agree more. I'll just add one more fact that our brain can only hold so much stuff, useless things will either take up space for truly meaningful things or get thrown out, and since they are useless, they get thrown out fast so what's the point of it? I've been grinding on my GEs in community college but even so it's still lots lots of unnecessary work that wastes hours and keeps delaying my cs side hustles I wanted to get going with, dreadful. Everybody is different, this mode is made mostly for money imo. Side note for us intl student it's at least 50k+ per year.
I am very fortunate to receive financial aid at my local community college and I am getting my gen eds out of the way now. They're not my favorite in some aspects but for me its more bad luck with instructors, I had to take a government course with an instructor that was condescending and gave their opinion rather then teach the material. I was so glad to be done with that. Personally, yes, i can't wait to be done and never take them again.
The idea that a comp sci student who took 25k worth of art, communications, psychology, physics, bio, chem, English, history classes would outcompete a student who spent all of that extra time learning to code is completely ridiculous, that mentality is outdated. It’s too expensive to justify general university credits these days, the world is changing university needs to adapt
I agree with a lot of things you are saying but unfortunately I did not take physics I was not offered calculus I was not offered college level algebra these are a lot of skill sets I will need to pursue a career and anything with science medical or even programming many of these general education courses may not apply forward to your success in your field but you will still have that knowledge and refresher to maybe cover a news story that does require such skill sets
I graduated from college nearly 13 years ago, and I once felt the same way. Life has dealt me a rude awakening. Honestly, quite a bit of of the prior knowledge that I've used as a working adult wasn't acquired in my major coursework. A lot the skills and information that I've used, I learned in those classes that students often deem unnecessary. A broad liberal arts education hones skills in written and oral communication, problem solving, critical reading and critical/analytical thinking. These are skills that are important in any field. Would you hire a brain hire surgeon or civil engineer who can't communicate effectively? Imagine how many deaths that could result in. I'd want my doctor to have taken some type of English composition and/or rhetoric intensive classes along with their pre-med studies. Doctors are also made more effective when they know the historical and sociological context of the healing that they do. It makes for a more humane caregiver. That's why humanities and social science play an important role in the seemingly unrelated field of medicine. Lawyers frequently major in political science, English, history, etc. as undergrads, but in practice, they often find themselves analyzing concepts in physics, medicine, engineering, accounting, etc., in order to qualify expert witnesses and competently represent their clients. Lawyers who've taken classes in those fields often have an advantage over those who haven't. In addition, even if you're into the humanities, social sciences or business, some exposure to STEM classes can benefit a student in a world that is increasingly high tech and science-driven. Also, I think that general education classes give students a less rigid, more versatile and more marketable education. Life doesn't always go exactly as planned. A friend of mine has a business degree , but now works in a medical laboratory. Exposure to a variety of fields (at the collegiate level) may give a student the intellectual and practical flexibility to tackle the potential curb balls that life could throw. There are hundreds of thousands of people who not working in their degree field, especially in THIS economy. Lastly, the general education core at most schools only comprise 25-40 percent of a typical bachelor's degree program, so it's really doesn't consume an overwhelming amount of your college curriculum. The majority of your coursework will be in your major and/or related fields.
Thanks for this video. I teach a class about the learner/fixed mindset and the student/growth mindset. This video is gold b/c it beautifully illustrates the student mindset. We use principles from the book Becoming a Learner (Matthew Sanders) to debunk all of the points in this video. Small changes in mindset allow us to embrace challenges, see that information/knowledge is interconnected (even from GE courses) and that the transferrable soft skills you learn in GE classes are invaluable b/c many of the hard/job skill that students expect to learn in college will become obsolete.
I love this girl! U speak my mind. As a Mechanical engineering student y I have to take English literature, world literature, music, art, American history, British history ,...fuck well rounded knowledge. By the way u get general education just by watch tv. Gened is just East of time .
I understand the struggle but I think GEs are good for those who might change their major more than once, possibly resulting in a change in department (i.e. from humanities to science or from math to English).
Yaritza Jimenez hmm valid point but what of those who aren’t in those sort of academic areas, such as a studio artist like me? Besides maybe geometry, we aren’t likely to use it.
You do realize that you are paying for those "easy classes" with a lot of money and time. In places like Europe, the gen eds are thrown out the window once high school is over and college courses only teach things relevant to your major. The result is quicker and cheaper graduation for the student and a faster entrance to the workforce. It's a win-win situation for everyone except for the greedy academic institutions.
@@zerohero5753 the UK does education right. Look at transcripts of the mathematicians at cambridge. They didn't suffer in writing their masters or phd thesis from not taking an english composition course. the whole thing here about "well rounded" education is just the works of filthy corporatist uncle scam
The whole point of gen ed classes is to ensure that people get a well rounded education. I am a microbiology major with a minor in cellular biology and I totally understand the need for gen ed courses because otherwise my only education would be science and math based and then I would very one tracked. At least the state that I live in, there are plenty of community colleges and trade schools and it is really easy to knock out gen ed courses and then transfer to a large university.
Most people do not go to school for education They go to get the skills and degree to get a good paying job Also most gen ed classes you can learn easily for free at home
@@TenshinhanIsKing A college graduate isn't guaranteed a good paying job in their field, especially in today's economic climate. That's why isn't important for one's education to expose them to a variety of fields in addition to the specialized knowledge they get in their major. Also, even if one acquires work in their field, skills from seemingly unrelated areas may wind up being useful when one least expects it. I was a political science major, and in the years since I've graduated, my undergraduate exposure to biological and physical science has proven useful when analyzing policy and legislation related to the environment, global warming, medicine, etc. No field exists in a vacuum. If a person simply wants to get skills for a job and nothing more, then a bachelor's degree may be the wrong route. Trade school may be the better option (and better paying option).
@tincredible now i'm an animation student and I have to take math, history, programming and other not so related/unrelated stuff which I've already learned in highschool. I understand that college want their students to be "well rounded" but question is, are these subjects really that necessary? Is it worth my time, effort, and money? Is there no other way for me to learn this things? How about internet, other people, life experiences? Gawd, tution are skyrocketing these days and taking these subject is such a pain. Some people like me are struggling financially and every dime counts. Taking these subjects is like buying a toy instead of food when you're very hungry, it's just that sometimes we have to set priorities in life. Why don't they give us the freedon to choose what subjects we wan't to take instead of forcing us just so that we can graduate?
@@ralfnikoparohinog1918 Perhaps you should have found a vocational/trade program at a "career school". College is not trade school. You don't simply go to college to get a trade; you go to college for an education. A college education entails both broad learning AND the acquisition of specific set of competencies in a specific field. Also, any student who feels hat they shouldn't have to take anything outside of their major can reduce their coursework by taking dual enrollment, AP and/or IB courses in high school. Also, even though you're required to take some of the same subjects required in high school, college professors usually find a way to make those courses challenge you on a higher level. The course shouldn't be taught in the same mundane fashion as a high school teacher would deliver course instruction You're right that every dollar counts! You want to know what else counts?...making a living after graduation. With the economy being what it is AND your degree being in such a specialized field, there is no guarantee that you'll be working in that field immediately upon graduation. You need to have an education that somewhat prepares for anything that life throws at you.
@tincredible Trade school is what comes to my mind when deciding what school I should choose but the problem was there is currently no available trade school that offers animation course in the province where I lived in. Just a few universities have it and I was also thinking about going to a film school but it's way too expensive for me. Another reason why I have to get to college is because of the diploma, even if you are equiped with all the necessary skills needed in the field that you want to be into, employers would still prefer to hire those who have that piece of paper over the skilled ones. Yeah I get it that it's better to be prepared to whatever life throws at you but I already made up my mind, I know what I want in life, I know my passion and what I'm good at so why do I still have to be force to take something I don't want? Arts is the career that I want to pursue, so why am I forced to take math? It's not that I hate math though but most of the stuff they teach has no use whatsoever to my course. How am I going to use complex equations in animation? Basic arithmetic is all it takes to sum up the total frames per second in creating animated films and we can just use calculators in doing that. College should be about preparing people to get a job and not to learn all available bits of subjects in school. U see lots of college grads end up in a field unrelated to their major it's because they aren't fully equiped with all the necessary skills for that particular field related to their major and it's Gen ed that is taking up students time that they find it necessary to make sacrifices to their majors just to pass those Gen ed. This Gen ed only pose more difficulties to students who want to pursue their chosen careers in life that is my opinion.
I disagree. I think you misinterpreted GE classes with how expensive colleges are. GE classes, no matter how we perceive them as dumb, are very much necessary. A component I would point out is that just because I despise math does not mean I do not need it for my art and English degrees. For a lot of jobs, I need to know math for animation, design, speech writing, etc. I would suggest looking into jobs and what they are and require you to learn/do while doing it. I think you’re a hypocrite Katie. Simply because you said you are there to learn in college, but yet refuse to learn classes you may very well need for the future. And many (if not all) are prerequisites of some kind for any number of career paths. College is expensive, even with all the resources to pay for it debt-free (which IS possible). College can be stressful and also difficult in subjects we are less good at, but with the right teacher, tutor, study skill, etc you can pass and actually learn a thing or two when applying the class in some way. You only learn that way, and you can’t possibly just take general classes in HS and get a job in a specific field with no other info (accounting, business, editing, all require a mix of math and English and such). I would have stressed how unnecessarily expensive college can be everywhere, not how GE classes are the worst. Your article was very informative about the necessity of GE classes, no matter how boring or stressful they can be. And I love electives. It’s a break from what I am doing towards my degree. I don’t think they should be cut out simply because they do not apply to my current path. They help destress and a break from crazy studying and homework. And hey, maybe it might be something worth continuing out of class and or after school. A hobby maybe. College is not a scam. Advisors care about your career. And there are a TON of trade schools. No trade school or university is as bad or better than the other, it depends on your focus. I apologize for the long comment. My opinion is that you’re angry and misinformed.
It's not lack of appreciation. Mathematics applied to psych, music, arts, etc. can be studied AFTER the fundamentals of those respective fields are established This is coming from someone who loves mathematics and computational biology
Olivia Longwell Why must we be ‘well rounded’ instead of going after our dreams which is the entire point of college? I don’t want to waste valuable time stressing over stuff I learned ages ago and wasn’t good in just because of ‘it makes you well rounded’. I would rather devote my time to my actual coursework that directly affects my degree.
Olivia Longwell Yeah, that’s what colleges tell you. Just another way for them to siphon money. I shouldn’t need to go through humanities courses for my computer science degree.
In one of these General Education Classes they require me to take a "communication course" in this course you have to learn to communicate with people, and with a group of people, to do that you have to talk to people one-on-one, and give a presentation to a group of people; well I can do the one-on-one, but I cant do presentations, I just start sweating, shaking, I start getting dizzy, my heart starts beating faster, I can just feel it, getting ready to pop or something, one of the reasons why I just cant go to college. I have a big BIG problem with presentations, enough that I would rather spend the rest of my life making minimum wage than give a single presentation. I wish there was a way to bypass these GE classes.
General Education is the largest red tape behind college. It's very discouraging to go to college to become an Architect, then having to spending $50,000 in classes that I don't need like Theatre, Psychology 101, or Philosophy.
How the hell is acting or mind games going to help me build a got dang skyscraper?!
Or figuring out which gender to identify a building
People defending this obvious greedy practice are brainwashed by the bullshit thrown around in those electives/gen ed classes. College is already delaying entry to the workforce and the benefits are greatly reduced due to the sheer number of grads. A degree won't guarantee you a job anymore. Furthermore, unless you are entering a field where it is absolutely necessary like law, medicine or engineering it has completely loss all of it's worth.
What if the calculator is wrong, and the architect doesn’t notice?
@@MusicManKendrick Let's be realistic here dude, let's not go grasping at straws here.
I'm all for people trying to "discover themselves" or whatever & I guess having those classes helps them but it's holding back the people that already have a plan SO MUCH. ISTG, I could've graduated in 2 years if I didn't have to take those stupid gen eds.
As a criminology and criminal justice major on the pre-law route I agree! I don't need 3 science classes for my future career, The system is messed up for forcing irrelevant courses on us. 😤😤😤
Juliana Paulin Same, Also a criminal justice major going for the U.S. Marshals, I don't need three math classes for the route I want to go down.
I hold a bachelor's degree in political science (the traditional "pre-law" major) and a law degree, come from a family with lots of lawyers, have worked in the legal field, and will be sitting for the bar exam soon. Three science classes are actually helpful for future attorneys. Lawyers are frequently exposed to science when tackling criminal cases, medical malpractice cases, personal injury cases, etc. They often hire expert witnesses who are engineers, physicists, physicians, chemists, etc., and the lawyer must decipher these expert witnesses' testimony to present to juries full of laymen. This is easier to do if the lawyer has had some basic exposure to science at the undergrad level. One reason you take general education courses is because no field exists in a vacuum. In your career, you're bound to encounter concepts that are not directly in your major. It helps to be well-rounded. Having broader knowledge and exposure sets you apart from the competition in competitive markets (especially saturated markets like law).
I get what you guys are saying, but me personally, I love gaining knowledge. Even if I'm not going to use it in the real world I love learning history, science, etc. It enlightens me. At least that's how I feel for me. I love it.
@@Vic-rf6hs Yes, we should always be learning new things and continue to improve, but at least for college we shouldn't have to be force to take classes that dont progress us into our majors. If you want to learn these things in your free time, go ahead, but dont make the youth panic over classes that dont matter to them in the end
Go to Technical School is - it’s college without the Gen Ed and just classes dedicated to your field of interest.
Yup college is a business. Just money money money. 😞
I agree with you. I believe if you are not interested in a class, it can be very difficult for many people to pass and they still get your money unless you plead for it back with some valid excuse.
And I agree again, what the heck was school k-12 for then if we need to do it all over again in college?!
Exactly. It's all about taking money, indoctrinating students, and giving job opportunities for students who work in Academia because they couldn't hack it outside of the School institution.
Gen Ed classes are the only reason I dropped out of college after 1 semester. I then went to a trade school and learned how to weld. Total cost at the end was $1500 and 2 months.
Were you able to land a real job with the credentials you got from learning how to weld there?
@@fincy645 Trade school has better employability than virtually all majors due to the actual useful skillsets you learn. They don't have useless gen ed classes thrown around and everyone needs a welder these days.
That was a smart move.
@@zerohero5753 lol I mean there’s no point in going to a university for a blue collar job
Yep waste of time and money. It doesn’t apply to the real world
AMEN! general ed is a waste of time. I'm an engineering student. Literally you have to be good at math, science, and upper division engineering courses. Like how does art, psychology, theater, dance, history, english, and humanities class help me? Thankfully, I am at community and do not have to pay a lot if i went to a four year institution.
@@kevinhuynh8409 you have a point, in that matter, english is useful
I live in Croatia and I'm double majoring in Polish and Portuguese, and I am sooo glad that I live here because we don't have those kind of classes. We have sepparate faculties, if you enter mine (Humanities and Social Sciences), that's the kind of classes you'll have, related to your major (we don't have minors). The more I learn about US education, the more I feel sorry for you guys :(
Gymnastics and Beyond trust me elementary (ages 5-11), Middle (ages 11-14), And High School (ages 14-18) suck too, it’s not just colleges and universities. I guess private schools aren’t that bad, but they are expensive.
yeah the education system in Europe is a lot better than America
I honestly agree fully with you, it’s a waste of time and money. I would rather come back to the university if I love it for a masters, which you would complete earlier if you didn’t have to do the general studies.
Right haha we would graduate a lot earlier if no general studies were in the way.
In Canada most of the general Ed classes are done at grade 10
@Michelle Appiah Same in Canada. No idea what the commenter was trying to prove, this practice is even more vile and disgusting in the States where college is extremely expensive.
Really?? In quebec, we do gen eds till university… we have 2 years of cegep which is the biggest waste of time.
Gosh, I'm so thankful I got all my gen ed's out of the way at a community college and then transferred to MTSU. I am a RIM major and my minor is entrepreneurship and that's all the courses I'm taking. I transferred in the fall of 2016 and I'm graduating this May. It only took me two years to complete my degree gen ed's are such a waste.
In Tennessee?
I understand they want you to be well rounded, but I agree with you on the struggling through classes. There were some math classes and science classes in high school (currently a senior) that I struggled in a lot. I somehow passed them, but that just means that i now, applyng as a studio art major, need to struggle once more to meet college competencies of classes that i already met the competencies of to begin with, hence why ive been accepted to the college. If you're going to require that students have a certain number of years of a subject before high school graduation, than you should know when they get to college that they have already learned what they need to from those subjects, right?
I agree fully - it’s just more stress and headache put on a Student right after dealing with the stuff in high school. They should be able to choose which way they want to do things.
im a studio art major too and honestly these GE classes are trash 🗑 like what do i need science and shit for Art
To me “well-rounded” sounds kinda generic. If everyone was truly like that then we might as well be robots. I hate that colleges use the excuse of being “well-rounded” to get their money. I don’t see any appeal in classes that have nothing to do with my major
This is why I left college in my first semester, got a trade and now I have a stable job going on for nearly a decade with some pretty good benefits, and not in a giant pile of debt.
General Ed is bullshit waste of time and money just take the courses for your major be out of school sooner and have less debt
I'm a foreign language student, and I take more classes in gen eds than foreign language and linguistics classes. I pay for all of them. The state should at least either not require all of them, or pay for more of them. I'm terrible at math, so I'm barely sliding by with a 70%. I feel like I'm paying money to feel like an idiot.
And after you start paying taxes, they'll spend that money on kids who are also required to take general education. Isn't it exciting?
I guess they have them to help those who don't have major but why make a requirement? They should make general Ed optional because they are useless otherwise because they are irrelevant to your major.
Also they have them to just make more 💰 because they care more about 💰 than actual education.
Gen eds should be a choice. If you don’t know what you want to do, you have the choice to take gen eds, but if not it shouldn’t be a requirement for those knows what to do
I am SO glad I live in Britain and I don't have to take them.
How am I suppose to find a major (I'm undecided) when all my classes are gen ed.
Watching this while I’m taking stupid English classes as a stem major :/
Me taking english next week this time as a stem major…
Taking the last English class I will ever have right now. Then I have about 5 fucking more gen ed classes. But it will be over soon, still fuck whoever thought it was actually even a decent fucking idea to waste people's time and money with gen Ed's, colleges need money? Fine just let me pay more, but for fucks sake don't make me take these useless classes!
I agree. I think most general education courses are a joke and it makes it even harder for people to graduate college. It probably even explains why many college students take longer for them to graduate. The American college education system is all messed up
I agree 100%!!! It’s adding more years of my life being in college as a grown woman than trying to get through your major then get a job right then and there … what’s does English and statistics and history have to do with nursing nothing!! So I agree
I totally agree with you. I'm a music composition major at the University of Alabama, and I have pretty much the same gen-ed requirements as you. Huge waste of time and money on classes I don't care about in the least.
I'm currently in High school at first once I go to college I could go study what I want but then I find out I have to take classes that has nothing to do with my major I changed my mind
I feel your pain. Thank you for ranting my thoughts.
haha my university doesn't have gen eds... Just our major + minor requirements and any 6 credits (2 classes) in a subject outside of our faculty. I'm feeling very blessed after watching this video ahaha
Emily Han where do you go?!?! I wanna sign myself up!
She died :(
Hell yeah that sounds awesome.
I am very confused. I'm attending college for the first time this upcoming semester (9) days but I'm enrolled in ALL general ed. But these general ed classes seem like electives, they are cinema, music theory, etc. It's not Math, science, etc.
So can you opt out of math and do something like you were enroled in?
I love u girl. Ur the only one on RUclips against general education classes. I agree with you, gen class is completely useless
When she said I’m stuck with 3 classes I agree if you are gonna me do something to be more well rounded offer more than just a handful. What I hate seeing is courses I can’t take for example I wanted to take general astronomy 1 but I guess it just isn’t popular enough because my college doesn’t offer it consistently I hope they add it in Spring 2020.
I agree with you completely I am a Civil Engineering student, and thank God for all the AP Classes that I took in high school (APUSH, AP Spanish, AP US Gov, Calc BC, Computer Science) that it took care of half of my Gen Ed, but even with that I had to take Art I, Texas Government, Composition, Psychology, Gen Chem (I know its not technically a Gen Ed at my school but still required for Civil Engineering when in my career I'll be designing building and worrying way less about what chemical reacts with what). And some professors I had for those Gen Ed classes though that their class was the most important and everything had to rotate about them, like I have a Dynamics midterm tomorrow but yet I'm reading a 5 page article about the Railroad Comissioner election, writing a 500 word journal entry about it, and replying to 2 classmates with 200 words each. Like the state can calm down I won't vote for Trump or Biden and won't screw over America, I just wanna get my degree and get a job in my field.
Fully agree. That's why I pre gamed those classes with clep and Sophia. Saved me a lot of money
Also, what will the quadratic formula help me in my major of nutrition.... quadratic formula like whaaat. If its math, I would like to know how taxes work, finances in my day to day life...
that’s what i criticize in the state, which is protecting the market of education, in my country we have an example of this: with all bureaucracy required from the state, there are some institutions (not recognized by the state) providing a much cheaper quality “college” education with less general education courses and the job market is welcoming them, because the employers knows that the person learned what is necessary for working on the field... very sad
just graduated hs 2 weeks ago and i’m so lost…my mom has been telling me that i should “at least” take general ed classes for now…idk man
I do agree with you 100%... I'm an art major and I had to take statistics I'm not good at math it took me an extra year it's sucked
Does anyone know how to get out of doing them? I have bad ADHD and cant focus on things that don't interest me but I excel at the things that do, (like most normal people) but it goes beyond the normal avoidance, no matter what I do I cannot sit long enough to understand the material to write anything substantive. I paid 1500 so far to take this class and despite already knowing what to expect i ended up dropping it the second time around because its a waste of my time.
GE is useless for my career. Took technical course like electrical & solar installation to obtain certifications then boom I got the job faster.
Best video ever. Every point that you hit is gold
I totally agree with you 100%.. like we have to go through grade school and high school with those Gen ED classes.. college should be you taking classes that you should want to take based on what your majoring in .
so why are they required to have any professional license? everything is a money pit, just a big business that feeds burocrats that don’t do nothing
Well said, can't agree more. I'll just add one more fact that our brain can only hold so much stuff, useless things will either take up space for truly meaningful things or get thrown out, and since they are useless, they get thrown out fast so what's the point of it? I've been grinding on my GEs in community college but even so it's still lots lots of unnecessary work that wastes hours and keeps delaying my cs side hustles I wanted to get going with, dreadful. Everybody is different, this mode is made mostly for money imo. Side note for us intl student it's at least 50k+ per year.
This is a really good video. I was thinking about creating my own video around this topic. But tons of info. Thank you!
I’m in my fucking senior year taking art classes as a premed student. What the actual fuckkkkk.
So the point of this video is that they give you classes you don’t need....that’s pretty obvious
SUPER FAVORITE THIS VIDEO
I am very fortunate to receive financial aid at my local community college and I am getting my gen eds out of the way now. They're not my favorite in some aspects but for me its more bad luck with instructors, I had to take a government course with an instructor that was condescending and gave their opinion rather then teach the material. I was so glad to be done with that. Personally, yes, i can't wait to be done and never take them again.
The idea that a comp sci student who took 25k worth of art, communications, psychology, physics, bio, chem, English, history classes would outcompete a student who spent all of that extra time learning to code is completely ridiculous, that mentality is outdated.
It’s too expensive to justify general university credits these days, the world is changing university needs to adapt
I agree with a lot of things you are saying but unfortunately I did not take physics I was not offered calculus I was not offered college level algebra these are a lot of skill sets I will need to pursue a career and anything with science medical or even programming many of these general education courses may not apply forward to your success in your field but you will still have that knowledge and refresher to maybe cover a news story that does require such skill sets
I graduated from college nearly 13 years ago, and I once felt the same way. Life has dealt me a rude awakening. Honestly, quite a bit of of the prior knowledge that I've used as a working adult wasn't acquired in my major coursework. A lot the skills and information that I've used, I learned in those classes that students often deem unnecessary. A broad liberal arts education hones skills in written and oral communication, problem solving, critical reading and critical/analytical thinking. These are skills that are important in any field.
Would you hire a brain hire surgeon or civil engineer who can't communicate effectively? Imagine how many deaths that could result in. I'd want my doctor to have taken some type of English composition and/or rhetoric intensive classes along with their pre-med studies. Doctors are also made more effective when they know the historical and sociological context of the healing that they do. It makes for a more humane caregiver. That's why humanities and social science play an important role in the seemingly unrelated field of medicine.
Lawyers frequently major in political science, English, history, etc. as undergrads, but in practice, they often find themselves analyzing concepts in physics, medicine, engineering, accounting, etc., in order to qualify expert witnesses and competently represent their clients. Lawyers who've taken classes in those fields often have an advantage over those who haven't. In addition, even if you're into the humanities, social sciences or business, some exposure to STEM classes can benefit a student in a world that is increasingly high tech and science-driven.
Also, I think that general education classes give students a less rigid, more versatile and more marketable education. Life doesn't always go exactly as planned. A friend of mine has a business degree , but now works in a medical laboratory. Exposure to a variety of fields (at the collegiate level) may give a student the intellectual and practical flexibility to tackle the potential curb balls that life could throw. There are hundreds of thousands of people who not working in their degree field, especially in THIS economy. Lastly, the general education core at most schools only comprise 25-40 percent of a typical bachelor's degree program, so it's really doesn't consume an overwhelming amount of your college curriculum. The majority of your coursework will be in your major and/or related fields.
Hi Katie..nice one..
Thank u for video, u speak my mind general education is just bullshit , waist of time, money,... why I have to take calculus for my veterinary major?
Very well spoken !
Thanks for this video. I teach a class about the learner/fixed mindset and the student/growth mindset. This video is gold b/c it beautifully illustrates the student mindset. We use principles from the book Becoming a Learner (Matthew Sanders) to debunk all of the points in this video. Small changes in mindset allow us to embrace challenges, see that information/knowledge is interconnected (even from GE courses) and that the transferrable soft skills you learn in GE classes are invaluable b/c many of the hard/job skill that students expect to learn in college will become obsolete.
to be honest you are the only one who asks this question.
I actually ask this too about why we can't just study our majors only and I'm sure many others wonder also.
Me and my friends trash gen ed all the time. I get that it's to make more money but can you not waste both my money AND time?
I love this girl! U speak my mind. As a Mechanical engineering student y I have to take English literature, world literature, music, art, American history, British history ,...fuck well rounded knowledge. By the way u get general education just by watch tv. Gened is just East of time .
I understand the struggle but I think GEs are good for those who might change their major more than once, possibly resulting in a change in department (i.e. from humanities to science or from math to English).
Yaritza Jimenez hmm valid point but what of those who aren’t in those sort of academic areas, such as a studio artist like me? Besides maybe geometry, we aren’t likely to use it.
@@SunnySimmer80 Exactly
I'm a physics and math major, yea feel my pain m8s
It’s so they can get people can take those useless classes
RUclips Video # 2 General Education Isn’t Working Here # 2 is here
I was in spec-ed in highschool amd i want to get my GED
I want to work with youth offenders
Totally agree!👏
You are right
Preach
As an engineering major I thank Gen ed classes so I don't have to take 5 hard af classes in one semester and get fucked over
You do realize that you are paying for those "easy classes" with a lot of money and time. In places like Europe, the gen eds are thrown out the window once high school is over and college courses only teach things relevant to your major. The result is quicker and cheaper graduation for the student and a faster entrance to the workforce. It's a win-win situation for everyone except for the greedy academic institutions.
@@zerohero5753 the UK does education right. Look at transcripts of the mathematicians at cambridge. They didn't suffer in writing their masters or phd thesis from not taking an english composition course.
the whole thing here about "well rounded" education is just the works of filthy corporatist uncle scam
I paid nothing for generals and make 92 a year as a lineman, not sure how you make a video throwing shade at school YOU SIGNED UP FOR
for many careers it's the only option
The whole point of gen ed classes is to ensure that people get a well rounded education. I am a microbiology major with a minor in cellular biology and I totally understand the need for gen ed courses because otherwise my only education would be science and math based and then I would very one tracked. At least the state that I live in, there are plenty of community colleges and trade schools and it is really easy to knock out gen ed courses and then transfer to a large university.
Most people do not go to school for education
They go to get the skills and degree to get a good paying job
Also most gen ed classes you can learn easily for free at home
@@TenshinhanIsKing A college graduate isn't guaranteed a good paying job in their field, especially in today's economic climate. That's why isn't important for one's education to expose them to a variety of fields in addition to the specialized knowledge they get in their major. Also, even if one acquires work in their field, skills from seemingly unrelated areas may wind up being useful when one least expects it. I was a political science major, and in the years since I've graduated, my undergraduate exposure to biological and physical science has proven useful when analyzing policy and legislation related to the environment, global warming, medicine, etc. No field exists in a vacuum. If a person simply wants to get skills for a job and nothing more, then a bachelor's degree may be the wrong route. Trade school may be the better option (and better paying option).
@tincredible now i'm an animation student and I have to take math, history, programming and other not so related/unrelated stuff which I've already learned in highschool. I understand that college want their students to be "well rounded" but question is, are these subjects really that necessary? Is it worth my time, effort, and money? Is there no other way for me to learn this things? How about internet, other people, life experiences? Gawd, tution are skyrocketing these days and taking these subject is such a pain. Some people like me are struggling financially and every dime counts. Taking these subjects is like buying a toy instead of food when you're very hungry, it's just that sometimes we have to set priorities in life. Why don't they give us the freedon to choose what subjects we wan't to take instead of forcing us just so that we can graduate?
@@ralfnikoparohinog1918 Perhaps you should have found a vocational/trade program at a "career school". College is not trade school. You don't simply go to college to get a trade; you go to college for an education. A college education entails both broad learning AND the acquisition of specific set of competencies in a specific field. Also, any student who feels hat they shouldn't have to take anything outside of their major can reduce their coursework by taking dual enrollment, AP and/or IB courses in high school. Also, even though you're required to take some of the same subjects required in high school, college professors usually find a way to make those courses challenge you on a higher level. The course shouldn't be taught in the same mundane fashion as a high school teacher would deliver course instruction
You're right that every dollar counts! You want to know what else counts?...making a living after graduation. With the economy being what it is AND your degree being in such a specialized field, there is no guarantee that you'll be working in that field immediately upon graduation. You need to have an education that somewhat prepares for anything that life throws at you.
@tincredible Trade school is what comes to my mind when deciding what school I should choose but the problem was there is currently no available trade school that offers animation course in the province where I lived in. Just a few universities have it and I was also thinking about going to a film school but it's way too expensive for me. Another reason why I have to get to college is because of the diploma, even if you are equiped with all the necessary skills needed in the field that you want to be into, employers would still prefer to hire those who have that piece of paper over the skilled ones. Yeah I get it that it's better to be prepared to whatever life throws at you but I already made up my mind, I know what I want in life, I know my passion and what I'm good at so why do I still have to be force to take something I don't want? Arts is the career that I want to pursue, so why am I forced to take math? It's not that I hate math though but most of the stuff they teach has no use whatsoever to my course. How am I going to use complex equations in animation? Basic arithmetic is all it takes to sum up the total frames per second in creating animated films and we can just use calculators in doing that. College should be about preparing people to get a job and not to learn all available bits of subjects in school. U see lots of college grads end up in a field unrelated to their major it's because they aren't fully equiped with all the necessary skills for that particular field related to their major and it's Gen ed that is taking up students time that they find it necessary to make sacrifices to their majors just to pass those Gen ed. This Gen ed only pose more difficulties to students who want to pursue their chosen careers in life that is my opinion.
I disagree. I think you misinterpreted GE classes with how expensive colleges are. GE classes, no matter how we perceive them as dumb, are very much necessary. A component I would point out is that just because I despise math does not mean I do not need it for my art and English degrees. For a lot of jobs, I need to know math for animation, design, speech writing, etc. I would suggest looking into jobs and what they are and require you to learn/do while doing it. I think you’re a hypocrite Katie. Simply because you said you are there to learn in college, but yet refuse to learn classes you may very well need for the future. And many (if not all) are prerequisites of some kind for any number of career paths. College is expensive, even with all the resources to pay for it debt-free (which IS possible). College can be stressful and also difficult in subjects we are less good at, but with the right teacher, tutor, study skill, etc you can pass and actually learn a thing or two when applying the class in some way. You only learn that way, and you can’t possibly just take general classes in HS and get a job in a specific field with no other info (accounting, business, editing, all require a mix of math and English and such).
I would have stressed how unnecessarily expensive college can be everywhere, not how GE classes are the worst. Your article was very informative about the necessity of GE classes, no matter how boring or stressful they can be.
And I love electives. It’s a break from what I am doing towards my degree. I don’t think they should be cut out simply because they do not apply to my current path. They help destress and a break from crazy studying and homework. And hey, maybe it might be something worth continuing out of class and or after school. A hobby maybe. College is not a scam. Advisors care about your career. And there are a TON of trade schools. No trade school or university is as bad or better than the other, it depends on your focus.
I apologize for the long comment. My opinion is that you’re angry and misinformed.
For a girl, this chick is really smarter than anyone of her stature!!! Trust me, she knows what she is saying!!!
For a girl?
the lack of of appreciation for math nowadays is concerning 😔
Math is hard
It's not lack of appreciation. Mathematics applied to psych, music, arts, etc. can be studied AFTER the fundamentals of those respective fields are established
This is coming from someone who loves mathematics and computational biology
Gen ads are going to make you a more well rounded and educated American. It's just the way it is.
eds *
Olivia Longwell Why must we be ‘well rounded’ instead of going after our dreams which is the entire point of college? I don’t want to waste valuable time stressing over stuff I learned ages ago and wasn’t good in just because of ‘it makes you well rounded’. I would rather devote my time to my actual coursework that directly affects my degree.
Olivia Longwell Yeah, that’s what colleges tell you. Just another way for them to siphon money. I shouldn’t need to go through humanities courses for my computer science degree.
"Just the way it is" thinking will never propel anything in the world forward. Maybe we should change this sham.
Yeah but if you dont use the well rounded education you learn in college you can lose it and the gen eds render pointless and unnecessary.
In one of these General Education Classes they require me to take a "communication course" in this course you have to learn to communicate with people, and with a group of people, to do that you have to talk to people one-on-one, and give a presentation to a group of people; well I can do the one-on-one, but I cant do presentations, I just start sweating, shaking, I start getting dizzy, my heart starts beating faster, I can just feel it, getting ready to pop or something, one of the reasons why I just cant go to college.
I have a big BIG problem with presentations, enough that I would rather spend the rest of my life making minimum wage than give a single presentation. I wish there was a way to bypass these GE classes.
Try taking it online better it’s a lot easier because when you have to present all you had to do is record yourself and send it to the teacher.