Rethinking general education: why every course counts

By Tony Cerqueira

Photo of person writing taken from PICRYL

Many people are very familiar with that first day of school—walking through the halls, aimlessly searching for their first class. In the midst of the chaos, one thing becomes clear: not all students approach school with the same degree of commitment. Although academic experiences vary, students often view certain required courses as nothing more than tasks to complete.  

Intricate in its design, education is one of the most fundamental facets to the human experience. It provides a foundation for how people perceive, interpret and traverse the world around them.

Among the numerous courses required for grade advancement are general education classes, or “gen ed” for short. These classes can range from liberal arts to mathematics and are often dismissed due to their uneventful nature. Despite this, gen ed classes serve a vital purpose in formulating a well balanced curriculum.

One important factor in students’ perceptions of these classes is cognitive bias—a mental “shortcut” in which people interpret information based on an illogical and flawed thinking pattern. Cognitive bias affects the way people judge details (especially in younger, more susceptible minds), leaving certain aspects of what they are seeing to be overlooked. For students, struggling to find a purpose behind taking required classes can be common, as the first thought in many minds is “this doesn’t help with what I want to do in my future.” Additionally, people may simply feel discouraged because they lack confidence in their academic abilities, further reinforcing habitual laziness. 

To combat this mindset, it is crucial that students approach general education with a more layback and active technique.

One method to student success is applying class material to real-world scenarios, making the course’s content more worthwhile. An example of this is applying the realm of history and finding its influence on a subject such as sports or business. There are always going to be recognizable patterns in course work, and the more that is given to the student, the easier it will be to establish a personal connection to the content. Finding and endorsing a personal growth mindset (especially in collaboration with peers) can also be a hidden secret to success; there is always room for improvement. Utilizing these methods generally mediate the long-term tensions that gen ed classes come with. 

Rather than disregarding fundamental classes due to their temporary layout, students can benefit from recognizing their long-term value. With immense overlap, nearly every gen ed course is bound to have an application to a scholar-chosen career path and life as well. By approaching basic general education courses with a more positive connotation, students can expect a dynamic change in their academic gains.