I only skimmed the article, which seems to argue for a level of well-roundedness in computer science programs (coming from an author who dropped out of their CS program in favor of philosophy in the 90s).
I’d sympathize more with this if college was not so expensive. If you have the means, by all means spend the credit hours on whatever you like. But covering tuition is difficult for many students, and graduating even one semester early is a significant cost savings, and more so if you can start working and making money.
Instead of “random humanities” requirements, maybe actually prepare me for a job. Provide industry relevant courses, or apprenticeship / internship opportunities. Or leave me time to do school and a job concurrently to help cover tuition.
Let me be done with school, and afterward I’ll learn a language or philosophy or whatever I like in my free time.
Instead of “random humanities” requirements, maybe actually prepare me for a job
I can’t access the article, so I don’t know what the author is advocating. But there’s a strong case to be made that a well rounded education is the best job preparation you can get. Particularly so when you consider that skills age quickly and you’ll need to adapt and retool many times over the course of a career.
Of course, you need to master the fundamentals of whatever field you’re going into, but it’s very useful - economically - to have some fluency in other areas.
Comments
I only skimmed the article, which seems to argue for a level of well-roundedness in computer science programs (coming from an author who dropped out of their CS program in favor of philosophy in the 90s).
I’d sympathize more with this if college was not so expensive. If you have the means, by all means spend the credit hours on whatever you like. But covering tuition is difficult for many students, and graduating even one semester early is a significant cost savings, and more so if you can start working and making money.
Instead of “random humanities” requirements, maybe actually prepare me for a job. Provide industry relevant courses, or apprenticeship / internship opportunities. Or leave me time to do school and a job concurrently to help cover tuition.
Let me be done with school, and afterward I’ll learn a language or philosophy or whatever I like in my free time.
I can’t access the article, so I don’t know what the author is advocating. But there’s a strong case to be made that a well rounded education is the best job preparation you can get. Particularly so when you consider that skills age quickly and you’ll need to adapt and retool many times over the course of a career.
Of course, you need to master the fundamentals of whatever field you’re going into, but it’s very useful - economically - to have some fluency in other areas.