Every time I scroll through Twitter lately, there is some new meme making fun of STEM majors for boasting about their course load or Snapchat screenshots of Education majors cutting out shapes from cardboard paper for a project. We make fun of English majors for procrastinating on papers and readings, Communication majors for having a "fake" major, and Business majors because they always seem to be down to black out on a Tuesday and never go to class.
Even with fields of study there's a program everyone makes fun of. Point in case: the science majors sh*t on Environmental Science. Pre-meds make fun of nursing majors. Finance and economic majors make fun of business majors.
Why is making fun of our peers in other fields of study so popular? What need is this fulfilling? What is it accomplishing?
Arguing that your classes are more difficult won't make them any easier, just like calling someone fat doesn't make you any skinnier (to those of you who got the "Mean Girls" reference, thank you).
Also, there is no possible way anyone has taken every single class in a particular major that is NOT yours. Rolling your eyes when someone complains about a class is hypocritical and rude. As a Zoology major, I cannot judge how hard something like Accounting, Social Psych, or 18th Century Russian Literature (I made that one up, sue me) will be because I have never physically been in that course. Therefore, I have NO room to judge someone who is struggling in these courses, and honestly, I have no room to judge anyone in my own major because everyone's experience is uniquely their own.
Some classes are easy for some and harder for others, and certain people learn information differently. The way educators teach is definitely tailored to only one type of learner, and research on optimizing education is just catching up to how professors and teachers present material. You never know what someone is going through and anyone that can balance a full-time schedule, work, family life, and social life is doing DAMN well no matter what their major is.
I'm not saying I myself have never been guilty of doing this in my head. As humans, we automatically analyze and process opinions that are said to us to validate or invalidate them, but our instincts don't need to reflect on our actions. We're cultured queens, not cavemen.
Honestly, if you still think it's funny to make fun of education majors, think about all of your favorite teachers and the impression they left on you. Would you say those comments to their face?
What about the nurses at your pediatrician's office that held your hand as a kid when you had to get shots for school? Do you still think it's funny to make fun of them?
Every major forms a link to a vital career field that helps our world function in this modern state. Money makes the world go 'round, so thanks to business majors we have like, um, the economy. (Sorry I don't know much about business but I am thankful for you guys). Music and art majors bring us our favorite songs, movies, and expand our way of thinking.
Each person is gifted with different skills in the same way that we process information differently in class. Personally, I don't like working with sick people (ew, germs) and don't have enough compassion or patience, so I know I could never be a nurse or healthcare professional. Children scare me and I have a hard time explaining subjects to other people, so that knocks out teaching. I am TERRIBLE with money and can't even convince someone to buy my old textbooks, therefore business is a no go. I like politics but get too defensive in debates and have NO filter on what I say (yes this does get me in trouble sometimes). We know our strengths and weaknesses and choose our future based on these self-evident truths, so you pretending like someone else's major or job is a cakewalk is just lying to yourself and downright embarrassing to watch.
The point is we need all majors to be a well-rounded society and everyone has their place of importance. Let's just focus on getting those A's before baes and lifting each other up instead of tearing someone's career path down to make yourself feel more secure in your choice.It's 2019, get over yourself and mind your damn business.
