Posted on by Californiacontrarian

Practical Value

The other day someone that I know pretty well told me that one of her elective college courses this year was “Geology.” She added that it was boring. I felt like saying, “What did you expect? It’s about rocks and dirt!” It suppose that it could actually be interesting, but of any practical value? . . . not likely!  As everyone knows, college is not cheap. Why waste a semester on something that has little, if any, potential to be of any practical value?

Yesterday I read a column entitled, “College courses that can set you up for success.” No, Geology was not listed! The author contacted “seasoned professionals from diverse backgrounds to learn what they thought every college student should take.” The answers were quite varied as listed below:
– “My creative writing class was an important way of forcing myself to be self-aware.”
– “Classes where you have to read, write, and think critically would serve students
     well.”
– “College students need to hone the basic three paragraph essay; learn to
     communicate your ideas in 300 words or less.”
– “Every college student should take an introduction to psychology course.”
– Many suggested a course in public speaking or improvisation to help you
    to “think on your feet.”
– Almost everyone said that a basic understanding of accounting was imperative.
As I read this column the second time, it dawned on me that most of these suggestions could be fulfilled by my blog! Most of these blogs are around 500 words – the perfect example  of communicating your ideas in a shortened form.
I can hear you snickering again!! I reviewed the last 35 blogs and found erudite discussions of topics of history (the 26th Amendment and the Federal Debt), economics (Pension deficits and Housing affordability), politics (Security clearances and Foreign aid), social issues (marijuana and veganism in the workforce), and even topics of interest to environmentalists (a three part series on water and multiple essays on the California wildfires). I would bet that if you reviewed the various topics in the almost 200 of my blogs written thus far, many more varied and interesting topics would be apparent.
I can envision this as a 3 credit course with classes on MWF. Each class would provide a forum to discuss the blog written on the prior day, with emphasis on public speaking, improv, and critical thinking. I realize that you are shaking your heads, but compare this to Geology in terms of practical value when it comes to “college courses that can set you up for success!”

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