re: University of Alabama proposes changes to core curriculum: Lit and History not required

i wasted so much fricking time on general education requirements for my degree at LSU i lost valuable things i could have learned in my core curriculum

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If you can write well you will always find productive work

It's amazing that such a basic skill with such obvious benefits is being deprioritized

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Exactly. The writing requirements should increase a little, or at a minimum stay where they are.

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Without the proper math background you'd be lost in a statistics course. Unless they water it down too.

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The point I took from Rockford’s statement is that kids get basic math before college. What they need is something to elevate their thinking about math. Statistics is applied mathematics in a real world environment. Since it also relies on spreadsheets like Excel, it creates an opportunity to learn about math in an interactive environment where you can skip the keystrokes on a calculator and go straight to the results.

I was a terrible math student and hated having to take every math class. But statistics changed the way I think. It helped me focus on the process and data visualization that helps persuade others.

Statistics and economics should be core curriculum because both also provide valuable life skills.

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But shouldn’t there be better evidence of me being a dummy than me not experiencing anything meaningful in my life as a result of having to take literature and history classes?

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sure, there might be more and better evidence... but that's all the evidence i need

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you still took a pass on an opportunity to make a better case for why “we need more people who are well versed in literature and history”?

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correct. i do not feel the need to make a case for this.

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On the other hand, the university experience has always been seen as a way to provide a person with a "higher education" that makes them a more informed, better citizen who has developed mind to live a freer life.

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I’m of the belief that instead of 2 units of history, it should be 1 unit of history and 1 unit of economics for core classes for all majors.

Western Civ 1 and Economics 101 for example.

Edit: And keep the Literature Requirement as well. Preferably, it should be required to be foundational literature such as the Classics of Greece and Rome, but it can be British and American Lit so long as students have to read at least 3 stuffy books that the would never get around to otherwise…like Milton or Melville.


Edit: While I endorse learning foreign languages, I do agree, if you have 2 units of a foreign language on your high school transcript with a B or greater, you should be exempt from taking it.

If you can grasp basic Spanish phrases like “Yo soy UndercoverBryologist” and “Donde esta el bano?” you can brush on your Spanish with YouTube videos if you ever need to speak Spanish again in life.

Edit: “Behavior” courses should only be required for people going into psychology or a related health field. Exploring the human condition through history, economics, and literature should be enough to grasp the fundamentals of human behavior.

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foreign language in college

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I took French in HS because the teacher was an OT7. Didn't learn two words. Took it at LSU because I had to have a language. Taught a lady from the south of France free tennis lessons to do my homework.

Professor called me in one day and said "who does all your work?" I played dumb, said it was me and asked why and he said "because this persons French grammar is better than mine." LoL. He passed me with a C and I gladly took it.

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Overall reduction of core credit hours from 53-55 credit hours over two years to 37-38 credit hours

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great idea.

I enjoyed lit and history

Mainly bc I took such a heavy biology/science workload and minored in history and literature fascinated me.

But glad they don’t have to take a world masterpieces class and can instead take electives like Taylor swift : the icon or social media and you

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I’m currently writing a 5 page annotated bibliography for English 102 at the age of 41 and I’m about to shove my fist through this screen. This is the biggest waste of time You’re learning how to conduct academic inquiry, select credible and applicable sources, objectively summarize sources, and synthesize diverse sets of information. You’ll ultimately produce an original argument on a topic based on the work you’re doing. You really don’t see how that has value for an informed, well-rounded citizen? One who wants to participate in life and careers with creativity and intellect?

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I already participate in life and careers with creativity and intellect. Did you copy and paste the syllabus from an English 102 class, cause there’s no way you just pulled that off the top of your head.

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frick that. A student pursuing a STEM degree does not need to be lectured on why Socrates actually wasn't a dumbass by a 22 year old grad student fairy boy with no real prospects of being successful in life.

The liberal arts credit requirements for technical majors were up there on the list of things I hated about college.

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For what it's worth, I do believe an Associate's degree in STEM fields should be an option (Math, Bio, Physics, Engineering, etc.) so people like you can avoid the liberal arts stuff if you want.

(As for what it's worth, you can bypass this stuff anyway with AP credit in the relevant liberal arts stuff like history and foreign language.)

But if you're going to some place that calls itself a "University," its curriculum should touch upon a broader range of knowledge than just "major courses."