Universities shouldn't be able to force students to take nonsense liberal arts courses that have no relation to their major. For example, a STEM or Business major shouldn't have to take a feminist literature course in order to graduate.
As a recent college graduate that had to deal with this, it was infuriating to have to spend money on these nonsense liberal arts courses. The only reason universities force students to take these courses is to indoctrinate them, and because they realize they can milk Pell Grants and Federal loans. These pointless courses can be replaced with courses that actually relate to the student's major, and you could probably eliminate an entire years worth of courses just by getting rid of them (thus turning a 4-year degree into a 3-year degree).
I also fail to understand why universities are able to offer useless majors to students like "Women's studies", sociology, anthropology, philosophy, etc. Universities profit immensely by taking advantage of clueless students, and then these same students wonder why they can't land a job after graduating.
most so-called "4 year degrees" can easily be done in 2 to 2.5 years if you eliminate all the "well rounded" shit. no humanities, language requirement, electives, lab science for something that ISNT Biology Chemistry or Physics, etc. stick to just what's needed to do a job.
Remove remedial courses. No one should enter college without college credit from high school... if they are serious.
I disagree with you. One of the reasons being that if you come from a background with poorer socio-economic status (or just moved states and the schools were different, math builds on prior courses...to get into STEM, if you have that disadvantage, a remedial course/s help to get up to speed with the others)
But then again, I’d choose trades over “colleges”, nowadays.
This was me with moving during highschool. I couldn't have done that even if I wanted to. Despite all that I'm still successful so far in getting my engineering degree.
Not even old vets like me that were knuckleheads that barely graduated High School, joined the service because let's be honest I was gonna be a ditch digger for the rest of my life or a Soldier, and am now about to graduate with an Associate's Degree in Computer Networking and working towards a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics?
I know you don't mean that, just pokin' fun!
Nah, I didn't do that and I'm a senior civil engineering student that's been successful so far. Plus I got no debt because I worked my ass off to get scholarships. It's not always so cut and dry.
I would've loved this to be implemented before I had to get through those for my engineering degree. Totally useless for civil engineering and totally useless compared to civil engineering.
idk man, before I took my mandatory gender studies class, I used to think there were only 2 genders. I still think that, but I used to think that too.
I want to sign up for one of those classes so I can say there is only one gender. Women are property. Praise Allah. Then watch their heads explode.
The simple solution is make these heavily endowed universities become first guarantor on student loans. The way it is, they make the parents do it, pitting parents against children.
Or cap the loan amounts - large loans are the single greatest factor in perpetuating the pyramid scheme and tuition inflation.
Or go back to teaching the foundations of Western Civilization again. If they removed all the woke Marxist BS and restored ancient history, philosophy, classic literature and art history, etc., that would be a good thing.
Exactly. And I think the vast majority of h.s. grads are woefully ignorant of most of those things. It may seem like “fluff” to the strictly-functional STEM types, but it’s what keeps society (the social aspects of society, I’m not talking roads and communications infrastructure here) from slumping into vulgarity and tribalism. It was once, in fact, understood to be the case, which is why those classes are there. They just need to be reclaimed.
Knowing the foundations of Western Civ, including art and literature used to be a basic requirement for being considered educated. The founders certainly knew all that stuff from Cicero to Chaucer and etc. Our current credential mills do not produce educated citizens. It's not only the indoctrination that's been added, it's also what has been removed. Which we ought to be restoring to the curriculum.
The same folks advocating cutting fluff are the ones scratching their heads that people Don’t understand basic civics, or history. The issue isn’t the study of humanities, but the corruption of it.
I do think we need to charge appropriately for course study. A humanities degree should not cost the same as a engineering one. Business shouldn’t even be a study, that an applied field at best. Really just trade.
Liberal Arts wasn’t always so fucked up, it was a legitimate foundation for holistic education that has been turned into SJW prerequisite bullshit.
Yep, over the past several decades the left has really taken over the liberal arts field. Its a real shame as learning a subject such as U.S. history is extremely important. Unfortunately, if you take a history course at a university today there's probably going to be a commie teaching it. They've dominated the field for so long, that the vast majority of liberal arts degrees aren't worth the paper they're printed on. It's best to just refuse to provide Pell Grants and loans to students that choose to take up these majors.
Very true! Also think about philosophy, if it were serving it’s true purpose students would understand the value of their minds and liberties.
Don’t even get me started on how anthropology is now racist.
Yep. Got my degree in History in 2005. Of the 5 professors I can remember, 4 were flaming "Socialists."
One particular quote about Mexico: "We helped them get electricity when what they needed was Socialism!"
Universities also shouldn't be allowed to force students to take liberal arts courses as a prerequisite to get their STEM degrees, NONE of these anti-US courses would have more than a dozen dykes if it wasn't required for graduation.
Agreed. It would be amazing to watch all these liberal arts "professors" get laid-off and be forced to find a way to function in the real world. Most of them have never left the education system and wouldn't be able actually get a real job.
Defund the thought police.
Trump should cap all loans at 5k per semester, forcing colleges to cut tuition and cut extraneous staff.
"Defund the thought police." I like it. We should really try to get this trending as this particular issue will drive them crazy. The left relies on the university system to indoctrinate young minds. Without it, they'd be lost.
Totally agree. Just found this - more ideas from VDH https://www.breitbart.com/radio//07/10/victor-davis-hanson-radical-long-term-solutions-leftist-academic-corruption/
I once helped a man I was working out with at the school gym, who needed help with his computer, turns out he needed help accepting his $14,000 Pell grants.
So I help him out, two weeks later I see him get out of his car while we were going in to the gym, and then he talked to me how he dropped "4gees flat" on his giant rims and tires.
I'm thinking wtf, and politely saying nice wheels bro.
They can’t tell you what to spend the money on, that would be raycis
Perfect. PA state universities are poison because of this. Actually counterproductive to society.
I think colleges should have to put up front a 20% down payment on student loans. Colleges should succeed or fail on the ability of their students to pay their bills.
That's a good idea right there!
Or online courses.
If you aren't present, you can cheat.
So who teaches- rhetoric, composition, literature, history, and foreign languages?
Guess we'll be getting back to those!
I've been thinking about maybe offering to teach homeschooled students.
I did a great job homeschooling my own.
I like to teach weird stuff, though. Make them think.
For example, I had my daughter watch a video of Hitler giving a speech to point out the way he emotionally manipulated the audience.
Where else can you learn that?
People who can afford to get luxury degrees that serve to purpose can still take the courses.
I definitely see your point. Honestly, that should all probably be taught in high school and elementary school. I don't really see any reason to incorporate those subjects in a university setting. The point of college should be to learn a trade/skill that will allow you to get a job.
No, that's the point of trade schools, which should be revived as part of high school.
Every tradesman should graduate with the ability to do basic bookkeeping, too.
I agree. Trade schools are the way to go right now, and it would be great if we made adjustments to our high school curriculum to reflect that. Though most STEM and business fields require a college degree, which forces students to endure the "woke" courses as well.
I found that the vast majority of these "woke" professors were in the liberal arts department, so cutting off federal funding for these courses would definitely force universities to make a change.
Why didn't you use J.G. Wentworth instead? It's your money and you need it, after all?
He didn't want it THEN.
It's the regional accreditation boards. They need to be federalized or eliminated altogether.
Actually there is another reason that happens. It is the same reason you find so many post-graduate degreed people working in HR and "staff development" roles.
The additional purpose is to provide otherwise unemployable people with jobs.
Federal government should not be involved in loans for education. Companies should have apprentice programs like in Technical colleges where they pay some tuition if you agree to work for them during summer and x amount of years after. Federal government should expand national guard etc like programs to include work study in needed areas around the country (or low income schools).
General classes or humanities etc should be substitutable with community service hours at near zero tuition cost.
I have a 4 year degree, of which 2 years were fluff. Those years were like high school part 2 - like they were making sure I really really knew how to do a 5 paragraph essay, or algebra, or cite sources using to most proper way of documenting, which changes regularly. Then later on I see some papers a college professor friend of mine is grading, and I don't know how some of them made it out of high school. It was bad.
I dont know what to think on this one. A foundation in history and Western philosophy are key to maintaining our society... the problem is those liberal arts have been replaced with nonsense.
Ideally students would be able to take a history or philosophy course without being indoctrinated, but that just isn't possible today. The left has a complete stronghold on the liberal arts department in the vast majority of universities. Any conservative professor that attempts to legitimately teach history or philosophy is quickly ousted by their "colleagues", and reprimanded by the university.
I really wish students were able to take such courses, but I think the liberal arts field is just too far gone to save at this point. Its best just to prevent federal funds from being used to pay for liberal arts courses. Its the only way to force universities to make a change.
I've been saying this for years. Only pay for things we need.