Like every other student, I have been required to take a number of required courses that are not a part of my major’s requirements — primarily, those that comprise the Carolina Core.
As I understand it, the idea of the Carolina Core is to expose students to a wider variety of academic subjects than those within their major — criminal justice in my case — and to ensure that South Carolina graduates leave with a well-rounded education. I was a transfer student, so for me, those classes have primarily consisted of two lab sciences and foreign language through the 122 level. On paper, the Carolina Core makes perfect sense. I have no doubt that the decision to utilize it was made by very intelligent people with nothing but the best of intentions.
However, I find it somewhat lacking.
I’ve recently started a business administration minor, and because of that, I’ve had to take classes that I would have normally never been exposed to, in a building that I never would have set foot in otherwise. That new exposure makes me think that instead of retaking high school biology, a lot of students would be better served by a personal finance class. We’ve got a great business school, so why not put it to good use?
One of the Carolina Core requirements for me to graduate was foreign language, so I took two semesters of Italian. It’s a lovely language, albeit one that I still can’t conjugate properly. Despite Professor Biondi’s best efforts, the vast majority of my Italian vocabulary is a conglomeration of “The Godfather” dialogue and the Olive Garden pasta menu.
In much the same way, my second lab science was a landform geography course, from which I learned close to nothing. Not to demean for a moment the good work of the geology department or the people in it, but the simple fact of the matter is that substrata and plate tectonics, while fascinating, have very little bearing on my future career.
By comparison, a personal finance class might teach students immediately relevant and useful information. It turns out that, if properly managed, the money I spend on 2 a.m. Waffle House and Cookout trays could instead be used to put my kids through college, or put a down payment on a home.
The principles of finance and economics are a sort of foreign language as well. The problem is, most of us never learn to speak it. I appreciate the value of history and science for my education. But I don’t think basic chemistry skills or a working knowledge of early Western civilization is particularly useful to graduates who don’t know the first thing about interest rates or anything about debt beyond the fact that they have it.
I realize that, on the surface, my argument seems like another version of the classic “But when will I use this in real life?” argument that was so often attempted with our high school math teachers. The thing is though, I didn’t have student loans in high school, and so that question, while cliche and perhaps even a bit naive, is justified.
Ideally, a personal finance class would be added to the Carolina Core without sacrificing the established curriculum, but nobody really wants any more required courses. So if it came down to a decision between that second lab science and a class that could help me secure a better financial future for myself, It would be an easy choice for me to make.