Msg. #0709 Blue about the Crimson Plan for General Education
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| Audience/Grade: | College Freshman-Graduate |
| Discipline(s): |
All Science and Engineering Engineering Education Research General Engineering, Engineering Science |
| Special Topic(s): |
Teaching and Learning Research Center |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Teaching - Curriculum |
| Author(s): |
Richard Reis |
| Description: | "The Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences is poised to approve an embarrassing retreat in general education. The committee charged with reforming the current Core Curriculum has instead abandoned the whole idea. In its place, the committee recommends only a minimum distribution requirement for undergraduates-three courses in each of three fields. Since undergraduates will major in one of these fields, this means a distribution requirement of six courses chosen from hundreds offered by faculty in their various disciplines." The posting below looks at Harvard University's current efforts to revise its undergraduate general education program. It is by Thomas Ehrlich is a senior scholar the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and former president of Indiana University. It is #23 in the monthly series called Carnegie Foundation Perspectives. |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | general education requirements |
| Usage Tip | |
| Use of Resource: |
Excerpt from the article "As a Harvard undergraduate, I learned from general-education courses that were shaped by another Harvard faculty curriculum committee, which crafted "Education in a Free Society" (The Red Book), and I am still learning from those courses as I prepare to return for my 50th Harvard reunion. Harvard was then a leader in undergraduate education for the country. James Conant, then president of Harvard, established that committee and was concerned when it did not call for a separate faculty to teach general education courses because he feared that no one on the faculty would take responsibility for general education. His fears are realized. Harvard undergraduates will always do well because Harvard takes only the pick of the litter. What a shame that Harvard could not do more for such able students to further their general education. My face is crimson. ...................... Thomas Ehrlich is a senior scholar at Carnegie where his work focuses on enhancing moral and civic responsibility among undergraduates. From 1987 to 1994, Ehrlich was president of Indiana University. After retiring from Indiana, he joined San Francisco State University as distinguished university scholar, and held that position until 2000. In addition, he was provost at the University of Pennsylvania from 1981 to 1987 and dean of the Stanford University Law School in the 1970s. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and was a law clerk for Judge Learned Hand." |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | May 2006 |
| Platform/Format: |
WWW |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://ctl.stanford.edu/Tomprof/postings/709.html |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
Tomorrow's Professor
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