James Rupert

jrupert2@mail.usf.edu

The fascinating concept of general education sounds great on paper. It teaches young people how they can better themselves and others around them by gaining knowledge that will excel them in many aspects of life. Unfortunately, the general education paper written by Joanne Waugh and faculty contradicts itself in one major way. If people spend most of their time learning about liberal arts subjects from books, then how does that change their daily lives?

In the article “Philosophy of University Education”, the first major point brought up is that general education gives us “the knowledge of the world and those who live in it”. Living in the world gives us knowledge of the world and those who live in it. Its certainly a weak point. It is easy to read about secluded tribes in South America, but it would not be the same as actually being there, talking to the people, hearing their language and seeing the way the people interact. Books certainly can paint pictures in our minds, but they can not show everything.

In my daily life outside of school, I rarely encounter a moment where I have failed to enter a conversation because of my lack of knowledge of a subject. Plato’s Republic is not ever a topic in my life outside of school. I rarely look at rainbows and say “hey, that’s because light frequencies are separated into the several different colors”. But knowing why a rainbow is what it is, somewhat does make me less interested in it.

I do not hate the General Education requirement, I do believe that people globally should be well rounded and have a clue on what the world is about. But my point is that not everything learned in life can be found in books, which is what is clearly stated by Waugh’s paper.

“Preserving Knowledge” is certainly important. Future generations have the right to learn about previous generations scholarly efforts. Though what this has to do with the general education requirement is somewhat sketchy to me. If someone wanted to learn about a subject, than the opportunity should be there, but not forced upon them.

Thinking critically, understanding theories and methods is important. It comes into play in daily life for all jobs. How can I bake a cake without knowing how to follow directions? It can not be done, if I bake before mixing the end result would be…catastrophic! That’s just an extremely basic example, but her final point is her most powerful. People should be able to comprehend things such as scientific theories and mathematics at least at the basic level. To live life in total ignorance can not be bliss. People should be able to communicate and comprehend each other intelligently. If the people are without knowledge then we are all completely lost, and the general education requirement wants to help students have a path, not just during their collegiate career, but beyond.