What Every Student Should Know: Essay on American Education
What Every Student Should Know: Essay on American Education
Sample Essay
Words 2,188
There is a paradigm shift is taking grasp in American advanced education. The New York Times Article by McGrath (2006) shows how Harvard University President Summers has initiated a report which recommends some fundamental changes in the current curriculum for students in such a way that they are able to cope with the changing political and cultural trends at a time when more and more students opt for degrees that are vocationallike business or health professions. This is because a degree in humanities or liberal arts does not lead to a more financially secure career. And although colleges do encourage liberal arts, there is emphasis in a large number of colleges, for all students to take some core courses. The idea of president Summers was similar; he wanted students to have a well-rounded education.
The debate at Harvard though much discussed is not new, historically this debate has been going on for over a century and the courses and the instruction modes have changed and evolved with time and shifts in policies. (McGrath, 2006) the debate is always there as with cultural changes and a shrinking global village the students have to be prepared to deal with it.
The new proposal deconstructs the Core Curriculum followed by Harvard, which is a narrow combination of courses that students have to take. In its place the committee suggests all students have the freedom to take certain number of courses from three diciplines, Art and Humanities, Social Sciences and Science and technology.