A week ago, I was told that I "look like the kind of person to read an actual book". This took me by surprise, considering 1. what does that kind of person even look like, and 2. I was on a college campus, full of people who were supposed to be there to learn, because they wanted to, meaning they've probably read some "actual books" in their lives. Don't get me wrong, I appreciated the observation, especially considering I was in fact reading a book (James Patterson's, "The Murder of Kind Tut", great read), but it made me wonder why we even had to consider that a phenomenon these days. The other shocking factor was that it came from my philosophy professor, who I admire a lot. He is always pushing us to learn for the sake of learning, and to resist falling into the zombie-like state of what the university as an institution is becoming. It was the fact that he felt he even needed to point out that someone was reading from an actual printed and bound book that made me start to wonder: why is our society rejecting the notion that we should seek knowledge just for the sake of wanting to know?

This brought my class to a discussion on general education courses, gen eds, and why students were increasingly dismissive of them, claiming to see no point in taking them. Most students want to just get on with completing their major, and see no value in courses that may not align, like an English or Art appreciation class. I understand this point of view. If students are going to be spending their money at a university, they want to get their worth out of it, so they feel as if they should squeeze as much information out of their area of study as possible. However, Gen Eds are much more than just earning some extra credits, and spending more time at the university.

When we take General Education courses, we learn so much more than just the main themes of "The Great Gatsby" or how to solve a statistics problem. We learn skills that can used in life, we learn how the world works. College Express explores the importance of these courses, saying "that they [students] often overlook the importance of learning general skills like problem solving, communicating effectively, and analyzing information". We can learn very valuable, every day functioning skills that can help us in the long run, not just in our careers.

Not only do we gain beneficial life skills, but we learn about life itself. Studying things like art, literature, philosophy, theatre, psychology, etc. are so important because they are all examinations of the human experience. It's how we learn about the world around us, how we interact with it, and the experiences that make us who we are. If we do not study who we are, and where we come from, how can we accurately decide where we fit in with life? How can we know how to be an active participant with the world around us if we don't know how it works?

When we take Gen Eds, we gain an appreciation for humanity, culture, and life. I may never have a technical use for the Art Experience class that I took in my first semester, but I got to learn how people's minds worked. I was able to explore how people reacted creatively to the evolution of society through war, economic roller coasters, and social enlightenment. I was able to gain an appreciation for the human mind, and apply these thoughts and ideas to my own life. We can never truly appreciate the human experience and our part in it if we don't even know how it exists. Gen Eds allow us to explore this.

Before we can be a part of society, we have to learn how to function in it; sometimes a degree in Nursing or Mathematics can teach you how to work in the world, but not interact with it.