GEs increase value of education

  Daniel Fessler Fessler is an assistant
professor in the anthropology department who enjoys teaching Human
Evolution (Anthropology 7), a course which fulfills a number of GE
requirements..

Before joining the faculty at UCLA, I taught at a university on
the East Coast. I always asked my students why they were in
college. Most replied, “you can make more money if you have a
college degree.”

Although I don’t share this materialist bent (few
academics do ““ we could make more money doing something
else), I was intrigued by the fact that, despite near-uniform
agreement among students that this statement was true, no one had
an explanation for why this should be the case.

I pointed out that for many popular majors it is possible to get
adequate training from a junior college or technical academy
““ these schools are cheaper and take less time.
“Yeah,”my students replied, “but you’ll
make more money if you have a bachelor’s!” Again, no
one had an explanation for why this was so.

If you ask employers why they prefer to hire college graduates,
they’ll probably give you vague statements about being
“well-rounded.” These are euphemisms for being a better
thinker and for knowing more.

Technical academies are fine for jobs that require doing the
same task over and over. But these are not the jobs my East Coast
students were after. Lucrative, challenging and high-prestige jobs
require a great deal of flexibility and a broad understanding of
the world.

In addition to providing detailed knowledge of a specific field,
a traditional American undergraduate education engenders exactly
these characteristics ““ it is impossible to study natural
science, social science and the humanities without increasing
one’s ability to approach problems from multiple
perspectives, to frame questions in diverse ways and to seek
solutions ““ and inspiration ““ in multiple domains.

Although capitalism does not always lead to actions that are in
the best interests of all inhabitants of the planet, happily, this
does occur in the matter of higher education.

I firmly believe that, in addition to making you a more valuable
employee, studying Buddhism, bacteria, by-laws and bronzes makes
you a better citizen of the planet. A broad education allows you to
make informed choices as a voter, a consumer, a neighbor and a
tourist.

How can you have an opinion on stem cell research if you
don’t understand it? How can you decide whether to buy
products from country X if you don’t know the first thing
about its culture? How can you relate to members of your community
if you don’t know anything about their religion?

A diverse undergraduate education provides students with ways of
thinking, learning and understanding that will benefit them for the
rest of their lives. Some students know this and come seeking these
changes; others, like my students back east, acquire them along the
road to more tangible goals. However, regardless of their motives,
all students benefit themselves, and society, by expanding their
minds.

So, a broad education is a good thing, right? Trouble is, it
doesn’t come easily. Students choose a major in part because
it interests them. By definition, other subjects appear less
interesting, and the more different they are from the
student’s major, the more likely this is.

Taking a broad range of courses is sort of like taking vitamins
““ you may know it’s good for you, but it’s easy
to find excuses not to do it. In this area, universities have
something in common with Jenny Craig and the U.S. Marines ““
all three offer to change people in ways that the given individual
deems valuable.

Although they may not realize it at first, students come to
colleges, particularly to great universities like UCLA, to be
transformed. But, just as with Jenny Craig and the Marines, that
transformation is most effectively realized with a bit of stern
persuasion.

General Education requirements are the academic equivalent of a
diet counselor or a barking drill sergeant ““ they make you do
things that, though contrary to your immediate inclinations, are in
your long-term best interests.

Do away with GEs and the value of a university education
declines. Yet, this is exactly what some “reformers”
are proposing.

It is easy to see why ““ just glance at a UCLA parking lot
anytime after 9 a.m., and consider that California’s student
population is rapidly expanding.

Get rid of GEs and students would take less time to graduate.
The UCs would be able to accommodate more students without hiring
more faculty, building more classrooms, or providing more parking
spaces. “But the students tell us they don’t want
GEs!” say the curriculum-slashers.

What a surprise. Vitamins taste bad, dieting is hard and
push-ups hurt, yet they all pay multiple dividends in the future. I
cannot count the number of times that students have told me
“You know, I would never have taken that course if it
wasn’t a GE, but I’m sure glad I did!”

Don’t let short-sighted policy makers devalue a UCLA
education by eliminating General Education requirements ““ you
can’t afford it.