Core Class Requirements

Posted by Naomi Rockler-Gladen Apr 27, 2007

Yesterday, I asked my students what they didn't like about their education. The topic immediately turned to the core curriculum. Colorado State University requires general education requirements in areas like science, math, government, and history.

"Geology was the most boring class I've ever taken," said one student, who claimed she didn't remember anything from her geology class a few years ago. "It was completely irrelevant to my life."

I agree," said another student. "Why does a communication major have to take geology?"

I couldn't sell them on the importance of geology, but I did try to sell them on the core classes. CSU is a state university, not a technical school. Universities strive to create well-educated students. They're not supposed to be job training facilities.

Why do so many students fail to see the value of education for education's sake? Of course I understand that students want to leave college with some marketable skills, and there's nothing wrong with that. But what happened to the value of knowledge in and of itself, and the value of being an educated person? As a culture, how are we failing to teach our children to love learning?

A few students spoke in favor of the core, and geology even got a few thumbs up. They talked about , fabulous field trips across Colorado, which seems to me would be one of the best places in the country to take a geology class. Heck, that made me want to take geology.