Albert Phjols

Umesh =

Email--unarayan@mail.usf.edu

General Education

General education is a vital part of the academic experience at the public universities. General education is made to be part of the academic curriculum in the universities by providing an ancillary tool for students to shape the way for a bright future. Providing knowledge is the main purpose of a university and through general education courses, students are provided with a solid foundation for future courses for their careers. "We attend a university to receive a general education, to study the liberal arts, and to prepare ourselves for entry into government, business, industry, or the professions. These preparations can also lead to postgraduate study at the university and to advanced degrees after the baccalaureate degree." The education we receive allows us to be part of a large society, sharing our cultures and beliefs. This way the people are able to govern themselves and maintain society. "It is natural for humans to live in societies, to have a culture, and to speak a language. It is also natural for us to think about what it means to be human and about how we should live." General education provides us with an opportunity to examine our history and how we have changed as a society through time. "We examine how our history as physical, biological, and zoological entities is part of the history of the earth that we inhabit, and how the history of the earth is bound up with that of other stars, planets, solar systems and galaxies." Overall the general education system provides a guideline for how one chooses to view life.

Public universities look to promote the idea of general education by advocating the benefits about the system. The system is generally questioned by students because it is stated as a requirement. Many students do not realize that the requirement serves as a pathway for students to gain more knowledge about issues they face in their daily lives such as sex, alcohol, raising a family, and so on. The argument by the university is basically trying to imply that education is a very important thing. By having the general knowledge from various different fields, the student is more knowledgeable all-round. The argument does not purposefully try to impose a demanding course load on the students, but instead seeks to educate students on new ideas and disciplines. These ideas provides us with a better understanding of the world around us. "The knowledge we acquire at the university helps us to understand how things happening at one place on earth can profoundly change what happens elsewhere. We see that changes that begin as physical, or biological, or cultural, or economic, or technological almost always initiate changes in other areas as well." The knowledge we gain from our studies should be a collaboration of the biological and physical sciences as well as the mathematics and arts. Students are also informed about the environment in order to protect it from the current situations and are trained to avert future problems or restricitions. General education courses also look to teach morals and life lessons, as well as bring out the character in students. General education teaches us about "evidence, logic, and reason." General education informs the students about theories, facts, and stories that many connect to their very own lifestyles. Finally, general education provides us with resources about human behavior. It seeks to question why humans are the way they are in a holistic perspective.

The general education system at the university is provided to lead students in the path towards a rich and prosperous career. Through the courses, students end up more knowledgeable about conventional issues that are a constituent of their everyday lives. They are also more experienced for the future. The university is providing the opportunity for the students to take advantage of. Most of the essay was very convincing in terms of promoting the general education system and that is why I strongly agree with the council on this issue.

Works Cited

USF General Education Council