I like how all of your recommendations are practical, Trent.

One I would add that you didn’t include is a Tax Accounting class. While tax laws are constantly changing, 99% of the principles I learned from that individual income tax class have remained the same, and they save me a significant amount of money every year. Ignorance is expensive!

Count me in as another supporter of everyone who mentioned Math. It is one of those subjects that is very under-appreciated. Math/Science develops analytical thinking and problem solving abilities. *That* is the major benefit of those classes. It’s not about knowing how to do calculus. When I hire people, I have noticed a definite “slowness” of reasoning ability with folks who do not have a math background. Analytical and problem solving abilities are something you use in every facet of life.

I especially like the foreign language suggestion in the article. Language exercises a different part of the brain. I am not so sure about just American history. I think World history ranks up there also in seeing how the world has evolved. It helps students understand how their country has influenced the direction of humanity.

These classes may seem like they don’t apply to real life. But they do….a good history class can show you how government really operates (with propaganda and misinformation haha) so you are aware and can make informed decisions about who to vote for. Anyone seen “Duck and Cover”????

Also I don’t know how many times I’ve read an email (business) and wondered how the person got a degree, because their grammer and punctuation sucked. Knowing how to use a comma matters a lot to some people, even if it doesn’t matter to you.

I studied English so I got plenty of writing/comp in and had to take a public communications class.

“Everyone doesn’t need caluclus. . . . In my opinion, basic English composition and American history ought to be learned in high school.”

Yup. But apparently they’re not!

Also, Trent mentioned the usefulness of an American history course (for American citizens). The Greco-Roman tradition reverberates through a much larger percentage of the world than just America. In the college that I attended, I discovered that history majors could safely skip all ancient civilizations (which were covered by the Classics Department rather than the History Department). I don’t know how it’s possible to understand the progression of European history (and by extension, North American, South American, and Australian history) without a grounding in Greco-Roman culture.

Also, allow me to second the people who brought up calculus and economics. Calculus is heavily leveraged in financial fields as well as in the sciences. Those of us who do quantitative work in business absolutely believe it is part of our job to make it understandable, but it would be a whole lot easier if we didn’t have to dumb it down so much.

I also tend to agree that either an abstract math course or some sort of logic course from the philosophy department would serve most people well. To the gentleman who thought mathematics was the best way to sharpen critical thinking skills, mathematics was one of my majors, and I would say it ties with philosophy (analytical philosophy, not Continental).

Programming? My other major was in computer science, but I’m not convinced it’s all that useful. The problem with it is that the most useful such course would probably be a high-level theoretical overview of the subject, but there’s a very good reason why most places start off with a course which teaches the basics of a particular language first and then you’re bound to get bogged down in syntax, which has nothing to do with programming in general.

Huh. I think that a truly educated person is knowledgeable about history and literature. An educated person is familiar with Homer and Jane Austen, knows about the Reformation and the Peasants’ Revolt. Some universities offer “Great Books” programs which sound perfect to me.

Math as a whole is underappreciated by the general public. It’s not just for science/engineering people– it’s for people who want to critically think and solve problems quicker and better than the average person in their field.

Am I generalizing? Yes. Am I biased? Probably. But I am 100% positive that I am more adaptable to any field out there having majored in math than I would be had I majored in anything else. I even think my WRITING is better having been a math major (with some programming classes sprinkled in). Critical thinking is the #1 priority in a great many fields and I think Math is the best way to sharpen those skills. DO NOT go to college and think about math as something you have to get through and get over with. It is an opportunity to become a better thinker.

As for Trent’s list, I only took 1 of the 5 in college (english comp). I feel like I’m missing nothing having skipped public speaking, foreign language (which I tested out of), and technical writing. If I had it to do again, I would still have majored in math but pursued minors in history and perhaps economics.

However, since something like 70% of English words are derived from Latin, two semesters will give you a great boost in vocabulary, plus it makes learning the Romance languages much easier, since they too are derived from it.

So I certainly wouldn’t cross Latin off your list, especially since law schools and med school have come out and said that they like to see applicants with Latin.

I agree the comp and public speaking were some of the most valuable classes. Another one I really loved was a basic auto mechanics class. I can do all manner of basic and advanced car repair in my driveway now, and I’ve lessened my chances of getting ripped off at the shop. I don’t look like the type of person who’d know anything about cars, but I’ve overhauled an exhaust system in my driveway and can diagnose car problems with about 80% accuracy, which has saved me and my friends a ton of money. Plus, it’s a fun and useful skill, I’m no longer afraid of being stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire, and I actually understand how a car works. I think it should be required before anyone can get a license, honestly.

Everyone doesn’t need caluclus. No way. Don’t get me wrong, I love math, but I just don’t think that the average person needs anything beyond algebra/geometry to get by in life.
My most useful classes? My major classes. Outside of that… an abstract math elective (probably not useful to all, but those in science), an economics class…. public speaking…

Regarding languages, I think students should consider Chinese. Seriously.

1) Trent mentioned writing skills. Being able to write coherently, concisely, without grammatical or spelling mistakes is very important.

2) Trent mentioned public speaking — I would say being comfortable speaking in front of a group. Many jobs will require you to give presentations or training. What I do is more teaching than public speaking.

3) Leadership/management/supervisory skills. This will give you an advantage in the job market.

4) Where I live it is important to be bilingual (English and French).

5) The ability to get along with different kinds of people.

You do not necessarily have to pay money to obtain the above skills. You can slowly gain them in various ways. For example, you could start toward gaining confidence in speaking in public by reading Scripture in church (an easy thing to begin with as you are simply reading exactly what is written). Another example: to become more fluent in your second language, get together with someone speaking that language who wants to improve in English. Another example: if you can get a management job yet, try chairing a committee for an organization you’re involved it, or maybe you could do some volunteer work.

I really believe that an undergraduate university education should not be about preparing students for the job market. I’m with Newman (The Idea of a University) on the value of a liberal education. A liberal education is much harder to come by on one’s own, but you can certainly learn public speaking or English composition elsewhere (e.g. Toastmasters, adult ed courses), although I’m not sure how students get admitted to university without basic English grammar and composition skills!

In my opinion, everyone should take calculus, because that’s also a very useful way of thinking- that an infinite number of infinitesimal objects can add up to a finite number.

In my opinion, basic English composition and American history ought to be learned in high school. I also had a good amount of public speaking in elementary and middle school, which served me very well. I remember wasting a lot of time in elementary and middle school, and the earlier material gets taught, the more likely it is to stick.