The Lion's Pride Volume 9 (January 2018) | Page 15

information acquired in general education courses will never be used
and maintains that businesses “[want] you to be an expert in your field
so that you can (hopefully) have a successful career in doing what you
love to do.” At the end, he argues that people in the past “had to be
‘well-rounded’ and familiar with a lot of different subjects because work
was scarce, and anyone would do anything for paid work” (Becker).
However, as Doherty noted, employers actually do want well-rounded
individuals. It is a time to be well-rounded, not to stick to a single
profession. Becker seems to think that the important skills of critical
thinking and good communication, as well as the study of human nature
and society, can be obtained while focusing on a single area of expertise.
It is either that, or he may not see the importance of these skills. Finally,
Becker underestimates the competition for jobs in the globalized modern
world. Some students also believe that general education courses can
make it harder to get a job after graduating. Elise Martorano, a student
writing for The Massachusetts Daily Collegian, points out that potential
employers see the GPA from college, which is “50 percent contingent”
on success in general education courses that might be challenging for
students. However, if Martorano is correct that employers want to see a
student’s GPA in general education courses, it implies that those courses
are important to employers. Getting rid of the requirement, then, might
raise a student’s GPA but make that student unmarketable.