To be or not to be...ccc

We had a lively discussion about whether or not HIST 359 should be CCC (College Core Curriculum. However, a good deal of it was irrelevant! We took off on a tangent about size and unwilling participants. I take issue with many aspects of SUNY Fredonia and the SUNY system as a whole in how poorly some things are handled. However, I do tend to think that they can manage handling enrollment size without totally screwing up anyone’s life! As for uninterested students…why would I let their behavior limit my goals, my journey?
The real issue has to do with the purpose (mission), of the CCCs. Read the entire statement at http://www.fredonia.edu/department/gened/. Can you think of courses that you have been and/or will be forced to take that will not help you fulfill that mission? Can you think of the same for courses (HIST 359 included), that will, but are barely an afterthought?
Go to the following site, scroll down, and read the history:
http://www.suny.edu/sunypp/documents.cfm?doc_id=327&CFID=5408694&CFTOKEN=23465999&jsessionid=9e30540dd032099abcf07e5335734d332d73.
Do you think the standards reviews are keeping up with the changing times referred to in the mission statement? No, they are not! In fact, it’s pretty much already antiquated. That’s not to say that there are no options. Depending on when an individual entered school he/she may have some power of choice. However, you have to go through hell just to be given an audience. More importantly, most folks don’t even know they have that right.
I’m reminded of a discussion between a talk show host and a panel of other notable folks. The topic was faith and religion. Quite naturally level of one’s participation was thrown in the mix. The host stated, and I quote “attending a church isn’t going to make me anymore faithful and religious than standing in a garage is going to turn me into a car.”
With that, taking courses that no longer fit CCC, isn’t going to make me anymore of a well-rounded individual than donning sports outfits is going to turn me into an olympic champion.