Why people don't appreciate General Education curriculum in college

[Dr. Acula]

And what can be changed. You have people who major in the Math/Science, feel that courses in Art, history & Literature is a waste of time.People in the Arts feel that math is useless, what happened to expanding the mind so you won't be one dimensional. You have people who feel that College is supposed to be where to get a job, I understand those with degrees make more than average, but where's the appreciation in learning without expecting financial gain.

I hate to add to what I think you're addressing which is maybe some for of elitism on behalf of the Math and Science side of things. But, from my experience, people in those fields tend to be more intelligent on average and they tend to already have an interest in learning things like history and political science on their own. At that point, a lot of the humanities are understandably a waste of time because it isn't adding any additional value for a lot of those individuals.

It's a misconception I think a lot of humanities focused folks think their material and field is totally foreign to the hard sciences types. Again, from my experience someone who has a lot of technical and scientific skill most likely know a shyt ton of history too and they didn't need a class to get it. I can just speak for myself. I was reading historical books, for fun, on my own, when I was in elementary school and a lot of people I met in my career and classes had similarly strong grasp on history, political thought, etc.

I will say a lot of them need a class on basic social skills though.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

And what can be changed. You have people who major in the Math/Science, feel that courses in Art, history & Literature is a waste of time.People in the Arts feel that math is useless, what happened to expanding the mind so you won't be one dimensional. You have people who feel that College is supposed to be where to get a job, I understand those with degrees make more than average, but where's the appreciation in learning without expecting financial gain.

our school systems aren't geared toward producing learners/people who love learning, they're about utility. you learn something to apply it to a test to move forward. college is seen as something from which to derive utility - getting a better paying job. people don't see a point in learning stuff that doesn't apply to their interest or won't be utilized in their desired career path. we'd need to overhaul our approach to K-12 education AND greatly reduce the cost of college in order to allow people to see it as a place they can leverage for exploration and learning.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

I hate to add to what I think you're addressing which is maybe some for of elitism on behalf of the Math and Science side of things. But, from my experience, people in those fields tend to be more intelligent on average and they tend to already have an interest in learning things like history and political science on their own. At that point, a lot of the humanities are understandably a waste of time because it isn't adding any additional value for a lot of those individuals.

It's a misconception I think a lot of humanities focused folks think their material and field is totally foreign to the hard sciences types. Again, from my experience someone who has a lot of technical and scientific skill most likely know a shyt ton of history too and they didn't need a class to get it. I can just speak for myself. I was reading historical books, for fun, on my own, when I was in elementary school and a lot of people I met in my career and classes had similarly strong grasp on history, political thought, etc.

I will say a lot of them need a class on basic social skills though.

ehh, i have the complete opposite experience. working in tech, engineers rarely seem to care about ambiguity, soft skills, and subjects in the humanities, those things can't be quantified, there's no right and wrong, etc. i rarely encountered an engineering or science major who went above and beyond in the humanities outside of those who wanted to go into things that would help the public domain (researching infectious diseases, climate change, alternative fuel, etc)

 

[Dr. Acula]

ehh, i have the complete opposite experience. working in tech, engineers rarely seem to care about ambiguity, soft skills, and subjects in the humanities, those things can't be quantified, there's no right and wrong, etc. i rarely encountered an engineering or science major who went above and beyond in the humanities outside of those who wanted to go into things that would help the public domain (researching infectious diseases, climate change, alternative fuel, etc)

Ive had some of my most informed and insightful discussions on politics and social issues with fellow engineers. But I think what I see is more of a black and white dogmatic value judgment by these types about certain social issues more than their lack of understanding. I think there is a difference between not understanding these things and maybe understanding them but think they are pointless or beneath them. I would say there is quite a bit of the latter among these types. They understand history, philosophical ideas, and things you tend to get out of the humanities. There is just a significant portion of those types who are elitist a$$holes and because that type of knowledge isn't a part of a very specialized and esoteric field of study it's "lower". I think what you're describing is their lack of appreciation of it instead of understanding of it. I would agree with that.

But when it comes to soft skills I agree a lot are lacking. But making those types take more humanities isn't going to fix that. What they need is therapy lol. This is a personality defect. Not informational.

 

[High Art]

It's seen as a waste of time and money. If those courses were either optional, free, or non-credit or not requiring mandatory attendance, then you'd see a change in attitudes towards them.

 

[No1]

ehh, i have the complete opposite experience. working in tech, engineers rarely seem to care about ambiguity, soft skills, and subjects in the humanities, those things can't be quantified, there's no right and wrong, etc. i rarely encountered an engineering or science major who went above and beyond in the humanities outside of those who wanted to go into things that would help the public domain (researching infectious diseases, climate change, alternative fuel, etc)

This is exactly true. If anything, look at the people at the head of most major tech companies and they operate in moral grey areas. All my engineering and tech friends basically just copied off of me in undergrad and didn’t care about it at all. They literally trolled those courses as play courses of no value.

 

[acri1]

It's mainly because college is so expensive.

In principle it's good for students to be well-rounded and be educated on topics outside of their major. But I understand not wanting to go into unnecessary debt to pay for classes not directly relevant to your career.

 

[Robbie3000]

And what can be changed. You have people who major in the Math/Science, feel that courses in Art, history & Literature is a waste of time.People in the Arts feel that math is useless, what happened to expanding the mind so you won't be one dimensional. You have people who feel that College is supposed to be where to get a job, I understand those with degrees make more than average, but where's the appreciation in learning without expecting financial gain.

Most students are not in financial position to get a general degree and if they are, they are most likely going to grad school anyway to specialize and get marketable skills.

With that said, I encourage kids to rake advantage of electives outside of their major a as much as possible. The course that I took in the liberal arts have been more fulfilling than the ones I took in my Business and info systems majors. I use my knowledge of philosophy, logic, anthropology, history, psychology in more facets of my life than my actual major.