Sample Essay On General Education Reflection Paper

In my original paper, I wrote about the two classes I had taken and their effect on my general learning experience. The two classes I discusses were a class called Global Comparative Literature and one called the Solar System. The first class was about short stories originating form all over the world. This class involved a great deal of reading and applying meaning to these stories. I expected this course to assist me in my major because the stories come from all over the world. This way, I can learn to think about my sport in a variety of cultures, not just the one that I currently live in. This class also required me to write a lot, which I expected to assist in my general communication as far as sport management requires. Communication and writing are a substantial part of sports management and this course provided a good deal of practice with both. Additionally, the critical analysis of the short stories could also have helped me to critically analyze things that pertain to my field of study.
The second class was an Astronomy class called the Solar System. This class involved an intense study of the planets and bodies that exist in space. When taking this class, I expected the detailed learning of gravitational and physical theories to assist me in understanding the more complex parts of the sport management field of study. The tough learning of the universe’s fundamentals and mathematical theories would help my brain grasp the more difficult and mathematical concepts of sports and sports management. Additionally, the critical thinking skill is employed during this course could be greatly beneficial to my general skills in learning and understanding difficult concepts no matter the subject. I planned to apply the same problem solving and systematic techniques learned in this course to the various issues I encountered throughout my sport management studies.
After completing most of my classes and requirements for the completion of my major, I have concluded that much of what I learned in these classes was not all that applicable to most of what I studied. I had hoped and expected the classes to deal with many of the same concepts that my sport management courses would cover. Most of all, I hoped that the critical thinking necessary to pass these classes would also greatly assist me in many of my actual sport management classes. Lastly, I hoped that regardless of the fact that most all of the subject matter involved in these classes had nothing to with my major, at least some of the fundamental concepts might be applicable to my field of study. Unfortunately, I found that most all of my experience in these classes did little to support my learning in the classes that actually dealt with sport management.
Since writing the paper, I have also taken a US History class. This class focused on 1960s American history. I learned many valuable things in this class involving the purported dawn of the golden age. This decade held an extremely controversial topic known as the Vietnam War. The civil rights campaign also played a major role in shaping this decade. This class was mostly a memorization of facts and a general overview of the country during the 60s. While this class did teach much knowledge that may be valuable for other reasons, most of what I learned in this course had little or no effect on the overall learning in my actual sport management courses.
The truth of the matter is that my general education courses did little to assist in preparing me for my actual major. I struggle to find many areas where they helped prepare me for graduation or for my future career. Though short stories and constellations may be interesting, this information will not go a long way in helping me manage a team or organize a group. While history has its importance, I struggle to find an application for history in my particular field of study. While the concept of general education is sound in some ways, my experience with general education courses did little to further my support for this system. If any help from my general education courses can be found, it is in the concepts of learning themselves. By teaching my brain to learn and think critically, I may have assisted my sport management related learning throughout my college career. However, though teaching the brain to learn well is important, it was not necessary for me to acquire these skills using the classes that I was required to use.
Every arts student must study science and math, while every science student must study art and history. Why must each student learn a small and inconsequential amount of knowledge on many things instead of learning as much as possible about their actual major? Would it not be more prudent to apply each moment and every effort of learning at college to what the student will actually be doing for the rest of their lives? Why prepare a student for their career for half of their time at school and prepare them for nothing for the other half? While some would argue that general education classes do assist with students’ lives after school, many students would disagree. Evidence suggests otherwise as well. Trade schools are on the rise and many people have been skipping college entirely, choosing instead to pursue careers straight out of high school, believing that they can learn more about actually doing the job by actually doing the job.
I believe that colleges must learn to adapt to the changing world. While a liberal arts education may have been critical and important for students fifty years ago, today students waste much of their time learning information that is, at any given moment, a Google search away. The liberal arts system of holistic education is based off of an old practice of teaching a well rounded education. Unfortunately, the education system has become both watered down and largely commercialized. Colleges have gone from teaching an interconnected web of valuable concepts that complement each other and assist with each career to essentially wasting half of students’ time at college. For this reason, many colleges are considering abandoning general education requirements entirely in favor of actual interdisciplinary education that teaches career focused, practical, and fully integrated knowledge.
However, students at this university studying sport management are required to fulfill general education requirements at this point. Therefore, I would suggest that if the university will not yield on this proposition that these courses at least be selected to complement each students’ major of study as much as possible. For sport management students, I would suggest a course on general business management. Although there is no equivalent general education course, such a course that simply studies business management fundamentals would serve a variety of disciplines. I would also suggest that sport management majors also take a variety of English and writing courses. While these courses are not largely similar to sport management courses in their subject matter, they do pertain to much of what will be required of sport management majors during their actual careers.
The majority of sport management majors at our school speak English and will be working in an English speaking environment. Therefore, if any general education course is applicable to the sport management major, it is one pertaining to English. Sport management majors will be required to write as a part of their actual career on numerous occasions. Thus, majors should learn to effectively use their language at a high level. English writing and grammar courses would thus be an essential part of any sport management majors’ course of study. Additionally, these classes would assist in many of the coursework requirements of the sport management major as many of those assignments are writing assignments (such as this one) or assignments that involve a sufficient understanding of the English language and grammar.
Over the last four years, I have acquired many skills and a great deal of knowledge that I did not anticipate. For these and others reasons, I find that my college experience was both valuable and rewarding. I did learn a fair a good deal of how to write effectively and how to use my words with greater clarity and power than I used to. I have learned a great deal about how to relate to people and how to critically think about the world and apply that thinking to real world situations. I have gained a greater appreciation what it takes to gain a degree and to complete something. I learned the value of connection and free thinking. I learned how to learn with others and when to pursue my own interests without others. I learned to use lessons learned in one place and apply them to a totally different situation. I learned that some connections are more valuable than money. Most of these things did not come from my general education courses.
I expected my general education classes to provide a foundation and a basis for the more practical education that I would receive. I expected to be able to apply the learning concepts form these classes to my further courses in order to assist my sport management studies. Unfortunately, I found my general education class largely to be a waste of time and the information learned in them to be largely forgettable. The first thing I hoped for a college education to provide was a solid base of practical knowledge to assist me in my career after school. While many of my classes did provide information that I feel will go a long way in helping me after school, my general education courses did little to by way of practical help. These courses were not totally without value, however, I did learn a few interesting trivial facts. My college career was doubtless a valuable experience and I am grateful that I attended the university. I do hope that in the future this university and the education system as a whole begin to rethink its educational process and the liberal arts system of general electives.