For the new, undecided student being initiated into the university trek, general education requirements provide a way to explore the possibilities of their education.
With the justification of working toward a diploma, they give students an excuse to scope out what is available to them and their interest.
For those who left off some of these requirements until their twilight semesters - people like me - terms spent in general education bring on a time to examine their system of education and the true quality of their general education.
From this perspective, what once in more tender years displayed promise, begins to show itself as a frustrating arrangement that demands an unfortunate amount of effort to ensure a lasting, valuable experience.
Rather than only working to produce specialized scholars and capable professionals, ASU takes up the honorable effort of cultivating well-rounded and aware individuals.
In the words of the 2006 ASU general catalogue, students are intended to "be broadly educated and develop the general intellectual skills they need to continue learning throughout their lives."
Following the goals of "investigating the traditional branches of knowledge" and "developing a broader perspective," students then step into the course load of lower division, introductory classes that fill most beginning schedules.
Some courses work excellently to accomplish these goals.
I still, for example, talk excitedly of my experiences in Psychology 101 and Philosophy 101. Due to their all-encompassing design, I was exposed to those disciplines' broad ranges of activity and specialties such that I am confident in my grasp of them when conversations come up.
However, other courses seem to go against these principles. Take English 101 and 102 for example, which do not give a survey of the English field and its uses, but concentrate on a couple subsets of writing.
With such a limited focus, these courses seem counterproductive to fostering well-rounded students and introducing them to the English discipline.
The effect is an obscuring of students' awareness. Their ability to take an informed academic direction is obfuscated, leading to misguided choices and a stymied education.
I can speak from experience since, being an English major, I was not shown the subject's reach into composition, rhetoric, literature, writing and theory until my fourth year. More frustrating is had I known what I know now, I would have taken different turns in my academic path.
The general education requirements are not just intended to produce a well-rounded student, but also to teach specific skills useful in life.
The general catalogue also read that required courses are meant to develop "proficiency in the use of language, mathematics and quantitative methods as tools for acquiring, renewing, creating and communicating knowledge."
But in reality, courses taken for this reason often do not pursue this end.
In mathematics and the sciences, for example, these courses are not made to sift through the utilities of their fields and give what is useful to individuals. Instead, these courses are the first building blocks for advanced study.
Those working on their general education end up sitting in a room of committed majors, covering the basic material that will lead to higher-level classes, rather than learning selective, generally useful skills.
The result is a wasted effort on skills that will be left behind when students continue with their chosen majors.
As I followed the requirements of my general education at ASU, I was able to do the exploring and gain the experiences and abilities that it aims to impart.
For that, I am appreciative of what the University offers, and consider myself fortunate. But at times, it took a forceful effort to ensure that my courses fulfilled these aims and often involved unavoidable, misspent time and energy in courses that worked against a true understanding of the fields.
As the University continues to develop, I hope that inappropriately broad courses are reworked and new ones created that are designed to better provide for a general education.
In the mean time, I will continue to trust in aspiring students to take their education into their hands and shape their experience into one that will leave them accomplished in the engaging range of disciplines and their uses.
Matthew Bowman is an English literature senior, and can be reached at: matthew.bowman@asu.edu.
