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RE: The classes you dont want to take... - 9/8/2015 3:15:02 PM

Wayward5oul

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quote:

ORIGINAL: DerangedUnit
To go after a maths major i have to take womens studies, religious studies, black history, lbqt studies, plus art and art history classes(and of course have to be able to speak spanish to transfer to 4 year when im finished)

When I was in college some 20+ years ago, I had to take several 'foreign culture" electives, and languages were one of many options that could apply. So I went that route, and ended up enjoying it so much that I focused my graduate work in that direction. Everything I did that applied to my undergrad major and minor ended up being almost entirely useless.

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RE: The classes you dont want to take... - 9/8/2015 3:19:46 PM

Kana

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I had to take a whole bunch of humanities electives. Took a few American Folk/Pop Culture classes.
Thought it would be a waste-instead it was fascinating.
I ended up taking most of my electives in history and philosophy. Wound up with over 30 undergrad credits in each, enough to have minors in both. That's not a bad route to choose. Fill your needs and pick up a tertiary degree along the way.

Had to take the stupid waste of time political brainwashing "minorities' classes. Actually had the same prof for Civil War and African American history. He was a good dude. Open minded. Tried hard. Knew his stuff. Smart as a whip. But nobody was willing to have a serious discussion about racial stuff. It was just too hands off for anything more than parroting.

Stupidest classes.
OMFG-I had to take a careers class at age freaking 32, about how to write resumes and use job search engines and such.
Total waste of time (Except the Victoria's Secret model that sat next to me...that I dated. Made the whole class worthwhile. Govt paid pussy. Beautiful)

The worst though, the absolute worst, was that I had to take gym.
Like seriously? I was 33 that year, had a Body Mass Index of around 9% fat, hiked 30 plus miles a week, wore pants one size larger than when I graduated high school, and I had to pay cash to take gym.
Not just that, but I actually ended up having to stay an extra semester to do it. (Better yet-I graduated one semester AFTER the financial crisis hit. If I don't have to take gym, I get a job upon graduation. As is I spent four years looking. Thanks stupid gym class). Topping even that, I had a prepaid vacation in mid semester-a week skiing and a week scuba diving. Effing prof was going to fail me for missing too many classes. I was like, my man, WTH do you think I'm doing on vacation? Skiing and diving are exercise, especially since I was doing heli-skiing the bleeping Tetons that year which is much more strenuous than lifting a few weights. That shit was so stupid.

Personal opinion-I think people learn very very little truly applicable knowledge in college (And I say this as a guy with 4+ degrees) but that piece of paper tells a potential employer that you are willing enough and disciplined enough to do stupid shit and put up with the BS and stick to the course to get where you need to go.
That's what they care about.
Because oh man, is there a lot of shit to eat and rampant idiocy in the business world.

< Message edited by Kana -- 9/8/2015 3:36:06 PM >

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RE: The classes you dont want to take... - 9/8/2015 3:23:19 PM

Wayward5oul

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quote:

ORIGINAL: peppermint

When I was an elementary education major I was shocked to find out I needed to take calculus. Yet, I was only required to take one class in public speaking. It struck me as odd that the skills I would need to teach every day could be found in one lowly freshman level speech class and that a first grade teacher would need to be proficient in calculus.

Education majors at my college were encouraged to take acting classes. I thought it was a brilliant idea.

I had to have calculus and statistics as part of my major, even though all the calculations in my field were pretty much left up to computers by that time. I was able to reason with my dean and got him to grant a waiver.

I never did well in math in an educational setting. I had to learn it on the job before it ever made sense to me.

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RE: The classes you dont want to take... - 9/8/2015 3:32:51 PM

bounty44

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as it touches on some of the comments above, I think this is worth sharing and I hope its thought provoking; one of my teachers shared this with us, which in turn I share with my students.

"the only thing your bachelor's degree shows is that you are educable."

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RE: The classes you dont want to take... - 9/8/2015 3:35:27 PM

Wayward5oul

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Kana
Had to take the stupid waste of time political brainwashing "minorities' classes. Actually had the same prof for Civil War and African American history. He was a good dude. Open minded. Tried hard. Knew his stuff. Smart as a whip. But nobody was willing to have a serious discussion about racial stuff. It was just too hands off for anything more than parroting.

I'll raise you an African American history class during the Rodney King trial and accompanying riots, also with a professor who did not know how to facilitate discussion.

There were several people that dropped that course at that time. It was one of the most emotionally exhaustive experiences I have ever had.

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RE: The classes you dont want to take... - 9/8/2015 3:37:23 PM

Wayward5oul

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quote:

ORIGINAL: bounty44

as it touches on some of the comments above, I think this is worth sharing and I hope its thought provoking; one of my teachers shared this with us, which in turn I share with my students.

"the only thing your bachelor's degree shows is that you are educable."

There is more than a little truth in that.

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RE: The classes you dont want to take... - 9/8/2015 3:40:34 PM

Kana

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Wayward5oul

quote:

ORIGINAL: Kana
Had to take the stupid waste of time political brainwashing "minorities' classes. Actually had the same prof for Civil War and African American history. He was a good dude. Open minded. Tried hard. Knew his stuff. Smart as a whip. But nobody was willing to have a serious discussion about racial stuff. It was just too hands off for anything more than parroting.

I'll raise you an African American history class during the Rodney King trial and accompanying riots, also with a professor who did not know how to facilitate discussion.

There were several people that dropped that course at that time. It was one of the most emotionally exhaustive experiences I have ever had.

Funny thing is that I love classes with lots of discussion and conflict (I know. You all are shocked.)
I wish the class had been good. I wish people could have had real discourse. For sure, the Prof would have liked it-he was a good friend-we had many discussions between the two of us.
Heck-I took a philosophy class at 8 AM one year. Teacher was a Vietnam Vet, ex green beret, one time Catholic Priest turned Buddhist Monk. That shit was fascinating.
We'd all roll in at 8 bleary eyed and clutching our coffees.
By 8:15 we were gathered in argumentative corners, yelling at each other over various philosophical perspectives.
It was awesome.
Woke you up with a bang.

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RE: The classes you dont want to take... - 9/15/2015 11:34:47 AM

thompsonx

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quote:

ORIGINAL: peppermint

quote:

ORIGINAL: thompsonx

There are nuerous ways for a non math major to fullfill those sorts of requirements.

This was nearly 45 years ago. Nearly every class was a required class. The school left me enough electives to take a minor (which was required) and I had 2 classes during the entire 4 years that I could take just because I wanted to take them. From what you are saying things are different now which is good.

I was speaking of fifty years ago.
My way around it was to go to shcool for a long time.

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RE: The classes you dont want to take... - 9/16/2015 10:03:13 PM

DerangedUnit

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Wayward5oul

quote:

ORIGINAL: DerangedUnit
To go after a maths major i have to take womens studies, religious studies, black history, lbqt studies, plus art and art history classes(and of course have to be able to speak spanish to transfer to 4 year when im finished)

When I was in college some 20+ years ago, I had to take several 'foreign culture" electives, and languages were one of many options that could apply. So I went that route, and ended up enjoying it so much that I focused my graduate work in that direction. Everything I did that applied to my undergrad major and minor ended up being almost entirely useless.

This is actually why im starting with math, I expect I'll switch at some point and I want the classes I have taken to still count. There is this thing called "an associates for transfer" you only have a choice of around 6 different majors at this school, if you complete one of those you are automatically transferred for your final two years to state uni.... the downside is that there is very little wiggle room in the classes you have to take. Of the options the math one is the only one where all your credits are applicable after the transfer(half of the computer science required courses dont have equivalent uni courses... meaning no credit) as someone who was royally screwed transferring a lot in secondary school, making sure I follow what can/cant transfer is a priority.

Kinesthetic course options... kickboxing or stress management.... hmmmm

Im trying to take mostly classes I want first, because after 12 credits they start accepting "credit by exam" only one class a semester though... I'll save the ones I really want to avoid for that.

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RE: The classes you dont want to take... - 9/16/2015 11:10:32 PM

cloverodella

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On those requirements, there are a lot of classes that fit multiple requirements. Women's Studies and LGBT+ classes are usually interdisciplinary, so a lit class focusing on Black poets would count for an english + Black history class.

Some "unrelated" classes are horrible. I found Chemistry insanely stressful as a Spanish major, and ultimately useless. But as for the classes that surprized me, sociology 101 took me by storm. I went into college thinking I was a Republican and that feminists were man-hating dykes (grew up with a lot of Rush Limbaugh and G. Gordon Liddy) and came out with a degree in Women's Studies (surprize!). A lot of people go in thinking they're going to major in one thing, and due to life changes, or that odd class you had to take, makes you want/take a different life path.

If you intend to go through with transferring to get a 4-year Degree somewhere else, I highly recommend getting the basic requirements out of the way. Assuming you're starting at a community college, those credits will be cheaper than at a university. You'll kick yourself for waiting and ending up taking some stupid 101 class you hate for way more money. Plus, basic 101 gen ed credits usually transfer well. More specific stuff doesn't always get you the kinds of credits you think it will. If you know where you'll want to transfer to, I'd pay attention to the new place's grad requirements when you choose classes. Also, it sucks to be a senior in a class with a bunch of stupid freshman because you put off "Rocks for Jocks" or whatever.
___

And whoever it was up-thread who said college isn't a place to learn to make money... I agree. A 4-year degree is rarely a vocational ticket -- usually if that's the kind of degree you want, it takes Grad school unless you're literally at a vocational school. Even for a Business major, for example, to make money from it as more than a basic degree, you need an MBA. But generally speaking, the more you know, the more you know, and the more you learn, the better you get at thinking through things.

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