Florida’s Much-Needed General-Education Reform

James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal ^ | December 18, 2024 | Scott Yenor

[karpov]

Florida administrators are revising general education in universities and colleges. Perverse incentives have diluted and politicized general-education courses at the expense of foundational knowledge. Since universities will not fix themselves, state administrators must safeguard educational vision where faculty and university administrators will not.

How did we get here? Most college curriculum was prescribed in the 1800s. Harvard under legendary president Charles William Eliot swung the pendulum toward a totally elective college experience in the late 1800s. Under a strict elective system, students could make their way through Harvard guided only by their own choices. Schools stampeded to the elective system. The quality of education suffered, however, because a grasp of the Western heritage simply fell by the wayside, and students were ill prepared for higher-level classes.

Today’s system of major concentration, general-education distribution, and electives was born from these swings of the pendulum. Yale adopted it in 1901. Cornell in 1905. Even Harvard abandoned its elective system for the major/general-education approach in 1910.

In theory at least, general education preserved the liberal-arts education from the old American college system, while allowing for supposedly deep university education in the style of the German system. General education builds common experiences for students, based partly on great works and great questions and partly on working toward advanced literacy and numeracy. General-education courses reflect the consensus on what every graduate should know. Syllabi should not reflect an instructor’s hobbies. Advanced courses or special-topic seminars are not appropriate for general education. General education should look roughly the same throughout state systems and across our shared country.

People have from the beginning worried about what counted as “general education” and what majors should be on campus. Few understand the internal mechanisms that lead to the dissolution of undergraduate education.

[DIRTYSECRET]

I remember being required to take a lab science course-not my bag. The easiest one was.a geology course with the ‘lab’ being a field trip. The trip got canceled so we got out of it. Stupid.

My bud went to college to avoid the draft. His lab class was in biology. One lecture was on the sex life of a plant. He quit and enlisted in the AF to avoid getting drafted into the infantry.

[healy61]

A fulltime college student worked as our receptionist. She did her homework and testing on breaks and lunch time. And got a college degree. I just shook my head.

[1Old Pro]

I hope Trump helps states reform education, it should be a top 5 issue in my book.

[jeffersondem]

“Florida Atlantic's board removed many classes, too, including “Magic, Witchcraft and Religion,” “History of Food and Eating,” and “The Educated Citizen in a Global Context.””

In before the “DeSantis stabbed higher education in the back” crowd.

Lead on, govnur.

[Hiddigeigei]

I am constantly encouraged by what my governor and legislature is during for Florida. I just hope that when term-limits force DeSantis out, he can be replace by someone equal.

[Hiddigeigei]

during = doing