The system of educaction has to be changed

[KevinM1]

One thing education provides is training in delivering a product we don't want to work on, on schedule. That is actually going to be most of your life's work. I personally think that a well-rounded education is a good thing. Good luck changing the direction of that juggernaut.

Moreover, general education requirements tend to be staggeringly easy to meet. At the university I went to, they were almost all freshman level courses that could be taken pass/fail so as to not negatively affect one's GPA. I, personally, found them to be a refreshing change of pace.

Degree courses were all at least tangentially related. A computer science degree at my university, for example, was centered around a variety of programming courses (data structures, assembly, operating systems, compilers and linkers, etc.), but also had a physics requirement (two courses), a math requirement (four courses), and an electrical engineering requirement (two courses).

But, yeah... A lot of a college education is about getting used to doing what you don't like by a certain deadline, with decent results. For most people, work isn't fun or interesting, but needs to be done regardless.

[ignoramus]

Truthfully, no matter what your interests, maths and English (or whatever your native language is), seem to be the 2 key components we need in life.
The rest is optional.

I know so many computer geek geniuses who can't spell to save their lives ...And when they move up and need to communicate with customers, it can get embarrassing...
the worst (funniest) part is when code doesn't go right, it's almost always a spelling error.

[vulcanlogician]

People don't generally stroll on out of Plato's cave. Sometimes they have to be dragged. It's an unpleasant experience on the whole, but those who make it out are thankful once they clear the threshold. The gift of knowledge is the greatest gift there is. Try not to take it for granted.

Except for philosophy, P-U.

Yeah, yeah... I'm not so naive as to think that requiring a bunch of philosophy courses in college is going to open the minds of millions or anything. 

But I've said it before: intro to logic is a philosophy course that ought to be mandatory to all. At my university the only majors that were required to take the course were philosophy and pre-law. Everyone ought to take it in my opinion. Logic is useful in any career. Same thing with ethics. Everyone ought to have to take it.

I believe that philosophy 101 was the only phil course required for a great breadth of students. To me, they would have been better served by taking logic and/or ethics instead. What path in life can one take that doesn't involve at least one of those?

[brewer]

Except for philosophy, P-U.

Yeah, yeah... I'm not so naive as to think that requiring a bunch of philosophy courses in college is going to open the minds of millions or anything. 

But I've said it before: intro to logic is a philosophy course that ought to be mandatory to all. At my university the only majors that were required to take the course were philosophy and pre-law. Everyone ought to take it in my opinion. Logic is useful in any career. Same thing with ethics. Everyone ought to have to take it.

I believe that philosophy 101 was the only phil course required for a great breadth of students. To me, they would have been better served by taking logic and/or ethics instead. What path in life can one take that doesn't involve at least one of those?

You're so easy.

[KevinM1]

Except for philosophy, P-U.

Yeah, yeah... I'm not so naive as to think that requiring a bunch of philosophy courses in college is going to open the minds of millions or anything. 

But I've said it before: intro to logic is a philosophy course that ought to be mandatory to all. At my university the only majors that were required to take the course were philosophy and pre-law. Everyone ought to take it in my opinion. Logic is useful in any career. Same thing with ethics. Everyone ought to have to take it.

I believe that philosophy 101 was the only phil course required for a great breadth of students. To me, they would have been better served by taking logic and/or ethics instead. What path in life can one take that doesn't involve at least one of those?

As much as philosophy bores/annoys me (I find much of it to be masturbatory nonsense that's the opposite of interesting), I agree with you. I had to take an intro logic course for my communication degree, and I'm baffled that it wasn't a mandatory course. The entire thing was about understanding the differences between sound arguments and fallacious ones, and was one of the more useful classes I've ever taken.

I also think a course on propaganda and persuasion should be mandatory. It was another required course for me, and in conjunction with intro logic, really helped peel away a lot of the BS we all encounter in media, which is incredibly important in a 24/7, ubiquitous 'information' (I use the term loosely) age.

[brewer]

Marching Band should be mandatory.

[KevinM1]

Marching Band should be mandatory.

Knowing the band girls I know... hell yeah!

[SteelCurtain]

You can go get an associates degree or go to a technical college and take just the courses you want for your chosen field.

But a Bachelor of Science in Engineering means something. Holding that degree means you meet the basic requirements of a Bachelor's degree and have taken the accredited courses for your major. When an employer looks at a resume and looks at two candidates, one that went to ITT Tech and one that got a BS from an accredited University, s/he is assured that you at least passed English and Maths and took the no-fun classes that are required in the field. Nobody likes assembly. I contend that only a psychopath would voluntarily write assembly language. But in today's world, everything electrical is in some way tied to computers. You need to know how computers work at a low level, and assembly is a good way to do that.

If I can get an A in assembly while working overnight 65+ hours/week, anybody can get an A. You may not ever write another line of assembly code, but the architecture shit you learn in that class is valuable knowledge.

[purplepurpose]

Agree, anime should be mandatory in school as well as the Bible.

[The Grand Nudger]

It;s a strange day when an ed thread contends that we're being taught too much.