Fundamentals of Speech is a required general education course at the University of Central Oklahoma (and the majority of all universities), and our third speech of the semester is coming up pretty soon. This speech is persuasive, and the requirements include choosing a law or policy that we would change, and stating the reason why we think it should be changed. So, after plenty of thinking and researching and digging deep to find something that I feel I can go on about for seven to nine minutes, I've decided to do my speech over unfair general education requirements. I know, it's very deep.
I admit that at first I wasn't sure how strongly I felt about this, or how I would even begin to approach it. All I knew was that I think there are certain classes I should absolutely not have to take in order to be awarded a journalism degree. Two sources of my speech needed to come from interviews I'd conduct with people of my choosing. So of course, I went to some fellow college students to see if their was any agreement. Amazingly, I wasn't the only one with this opinion.
Devann Schroeder, an English major here at UCO, says she see's no reason in having to take Biology, or College Algebra courses for her degree. I related to that on another level, since English and Journalism go hand-in-hand. Mathematics and I have had a terrible relationship basically since I discovered what numbers were. So, since math isn't required all four years in high school, what did I do my senior year? That's right, I didn't take a math class! Now that I'm in my first semester in college (still not taking a math course), I am followed by the dark thought that one day, I'll have to sit in a classroom and learn about numbers. Again. Not only that, but the thought of what it'll do to my GPA is actually cringeworthy.
Besides, there are some general ed courses that make sense. At some point in everyones life, public speaking will probably take place, whether it's at your best friend's wedding, or whether you're proposing a business plan to your colleagues, it's a useful course. As well as comp, and a few others. However, since the school claims to require these courses in order for us to be "well rounded", the chance of outlawing them completely is slim to none.
So my proposition is that we change the grading system for general education courses to a pass/fail standard. Not only would it fulfill the requirements of the university, but as a student, it would take a lot of pressure off of our shoulders. Rather than putting so much time and effort into keeping our GPA the best it can be, we can dedicate ourselves more to our major classes, that actually pertain to our future careers.
The few people I've spoken to about this proposition are ecstatic. They think it's a great idea, and you can probably guess why. They're college students! And if you're anything like me, you hate the idea of learning college algebra, just so that you can literally NEVER use it in your life. Especially not as a journalism major. Anyway, I have high hopes on seeing where this goes! I plan on contacting UCOSA, the student association here at UCO and seeing what they think about it. Fingers crossed for this alternative!
