This chapter will give you an inside look at where where “general education” requirements came from and how they got started.

Almost all students complain about “Gen Ed” requirements. We hear students saying things like:

• “Why do I have to take a history class? I’m not interested in history?”
• “Why do I have to take math classes? I’m terrible at math and never going to use it.”
• “Ugh! Why do I have to take a class in the fine arts? I’m going to be a doctor?”

There are answers to these questions and coming to understand why there are required general education courses will help you shift your paradigm (your way of thinking) about it. Know the why always helps with the what and how. Colleges and universities the world over, have over the last 900 years, or so, developed shared sets of common (basically) knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) expected for college/university graduates. These sets of KSAs all answer the question, “What is an educated person?” and “What does it mean to be (formally) educated?”

A “general” education, often referred to as G.E. or Gen Ed, is also known as a “liberal” education. The term “liberal” as used here has nothing to do with politics or with one’s political or social beliefs. Liberal in higher education means broad as in becoming broadly and generally educated in the fundamentals of the sciences and mathematics, the arts and humanities, the social sciences, and health and wellness.

General education requirements basically boil down to this: if you want a college education and degree, completing general education courses is required.

DID YOU KNOW?

Started under the Egyptians and practiced by the Greeks and Romans, “bloodletting” continued until the end of the 19^th Century. What exactly is bloodletting? Well, people used to believe that our body was made of four parts (called humors): blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile. If you became ill, that meant there was an imbalance in your body, so doctors would attach a leech or use a sharp tool to drain out large amounts of your blood! If you survived your treatment, then the bloodletting had saved you. If you died – well, you were so sick nothing would have saved you!

We all hate those pesky flies around in the summer, but did you know the ancient Egyptians used to smear servants with honey so flies would be attracted to them and leave the pharaoh in peace.

Just because you are in the middle of a war, that doesn’t mean you can’t be civilized! All British tanks include a machine for making tea.

Pope Gregory IX hated cats and believed that people used them for devil worship. He ordered them exterminated throughout Europe. Many historians believe that this caused populations of rats to multiple quickly and resulted in the rapid spread of the black plague.

Art used to be an official Olympics event. Can you imagine? You could have won a gold medal for that vase you made your mother in 3^rd grade! Painting, music, and literature entries could also be awarded medals.

• Knowing random facts like these may be good for impressing friends, but actually having a strong foundation in history and the arts can be critical for future success! We can use lessons learned from the past in our present day – to plan the future!

You’ve heard of Leonardo Da Vinci (not the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle), Albert Einstein, and Socrates! However, does the name Buckminster Fuller ring a bell? Probably not! He developed a theory that has a great impact on how we live our lives, learn, and progress as society. It is the “Knowledge Doubling Theory.” He measured the time it took for all accumulated knowledge to double in size. He estimates:

• The first doubling took from the beginning of recorded history until 1 C.E.
• The next doubling only took 1500 years.
• The rate began to accelerate, with the next doubling only taking 250 years (think Renaissance).

And what’s happening today?

Resource: Retrieved

Scientists estimate that about 85% jobs that will be available in 2030 have not even been thought of!

How will we ever keep up? And what does this mean to you as a student?

Well, let’s look at a little history to answer that question! Back in 1803, a scientist named John Dalton first proposed the theory of the atom. This started the atomic era, with scientists and doctors trying to break down things into the smallest possible pieces. Before long, we had quarks and gluons, electrons and neutrinos, and final the Higgs boson particle.

As exciting as this all is, when you focus on the parts, you sometimes lose track of the big picture! The doctor diagnoses you with a kidney infection, but can that affect your heart? Or how did the industrial revolution affect the art of that day? Today more and more individuals are taking a more broad-based approach – a systems thinking approach. With systems thinking, you try to understand how parts of a system are related and how they affect each other. For a better understanding of the concept, watch the following video:Systems ThinkingSo, how does systems theory relate to you, a college student? Well, every bit of knowledge you acquire is part of another larger system, and the more you understand that larger system, the more effective you will be. So, you come to UVU planning to get a degree in marketing or nursing or computer science, but then you learn about general education requirements. These mean much more than being forced to take a bunch of classes you aren’t interested in. Instead, general education is an avenue to provide you a broad, systems view of knowledge and how all the pieces influence each other.

Remember all those jobs that haven’t been developed? Think how much better you will be prepared if you have learned critical thinking, curiosity, flexibility, analytics, creativity, and adaptability – if you have a broad foundation of knowledge to draw upon, not just a narrow specialization. Employers are looking for individuals who can bring random parts together for a unique whole!

Take a minute and review the UVU information on General Education . Be sure and click on the tab labeled Requirements, and consider how these courses could influence your view of the world.

Resources Retrieved from:

• 9 Interesting Art Facts
• Can you make tea inside British tanks?
• 55 Interesting History Facts You Won’t Learn Anywhere Else
• The Unfair and Ridiculous Reasons Black Cats Are Considered Unlucky
• The history of bloodletting
• 85% Of Jobs That Will Exist In 2030 Haven’t Been Invented Yet: Dell