If I had my way
John E. Peterson, Special to The Gazette
Originally published 02:03 p.m., June 12, 2008
Updated 02:04 p.m., June 12, 2008
HAVING SPENT all my life in education, in one form or another, makes it an important topic for me. I think about it a great deal. In fact, I can never really get it out of my head. Consequently, I am forced to share these thoughts with others, if I have my way.
The last column I wrote on education brought a good many comments. That column was in opposition to the trend requiring research and publication from every university and college educator, in addition to their teaching and service obligations. All who gave me comments agreed with me.
At the Recreation Center, Gene Plank, retired professor, was very complimentary about my remarks. He feels the changes in higher education are fantastic and not all for the better, he told me. Also at the rec center, Jim Lowther told me about that column and how he and his wife talked a good bit about it.
Several people at the university complimented me on that column. Loren Pennington gave me a phone call. Gary Bleeker wrote me a very complimentary note. He said that he always enjoyed my “musings” and that I would address other issues facing higher education, if he had his way.
That column was included in the Higher Education Clips, which goes out to people here on the campus periodically. And a copy of it was on the counter here in the Biology Department office. Someone had written “Excellent article! More people should think along this line !!!”
So! My last column on higher education got a good bit of attention. That stimulates me to think that I should write again about the subject. I would, if I had my way.
Today’s higher education topic has to do with the breadth higher education programs should provide for their students. This has long been a problem, in my judgment, but it seems to be getting worse now. There seems to be less and less of a broad, liberal education going to students as they are being trained for business, teaching and other professions.
As I say, it has long been a problem. The main reason I think about it is because of my own experiences back 60 and 70 years. You will permit me to tell you about them, if I have my way.
The U.S. Navy accepted me into officer’s training as soon as I got out of college in 1942. I had one shortcoming, however. Candidates had to have a year of math. I had only one trivial course, one quarter, since Northern Illinois State Teachers College was on the quarter system. The Navy said they would delay the start of my training while I went back to college and took two more math courses.
I did that and all worked out OK. I have never forgiven Northern Illinois, however, for not having made me take more math. I was good in math in high school. Why should I not have been forced to take more in college? I did not choose to do so voluntarily because I was interested in girls and beer, then.
Later on, I was again displeased with what Northern Illinois had not made me study. My Ph.D. at Michigan State required two foreign languages. I had two years of Latin in high school and I would have had no problem with taking French or German in college, if I had been required to do so. I was not.
Therefore, I had to spend one entire summer studying German at Michigan State. I got B grades and qualified for my doctoral requirement. I also had to study French on my own for most of a year. I then passed the exam and, hence, qualified for that requirement. But I have never forgiven Northern Illinois for not demanding that I should take a language.
As a zoology major at Northern — with chemistry and English minors — I had to take very little botany. That became a problem when I began to teach biology. I had to spend a couple of summers briefing up my botanical information. All in all, I was not pleased with the total education Northern Illinois required me to take.
Now, a positive experience. At the University of Missouri, there were separate departments of botany and zoology. All students had to take either the basic botany or zoology course. We had about 1,500 in botany each semester. Zoology had about 700. That was because students did not have to cut up animals if they took botany.
As botany chairman, it occurred to me that those who took botany were learning about the biology of humans and animals. Those who took zoology were learning nothing about plants. So the zoology chairman and I decided we needed a general biology course, which all students would take. It worked out well.
So! My thought is that an education should be broad. It should cover a broad range of subjects. Not requiring history or literature or the arts or the various sciences or other subjects is not good education. It should be a broad, liberal education! Specialization should come later.
The directions higher education is now taking in knocking out various areas and having students spend more time in studying a special area is not good education. Training for a job, perhaps, but not education. We would all be concerned about that happening, if I had my way.
madpoet (anonymous) says...
I believe ESU gives a fairly broad education. The general education course required for all included art, literature, communications, biology, even PE. Of course this was over a decade ago and things may have changed since then. I made sure to take at least one class outside my major each semester just to give myself a break. My transcript shows a fairly diverse range of courses. I agree that college should be about getting an education not just training for a career.
June 12, 2008 at 2:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )