A friend whose daughter is interested in a career in journalism asked me recently what courses the young woman should concentrate on when she goes off to the University of Georgia this fall.
I had to think about that for a moment. There were some courses I was required to take that I’m not sure have been of much benefit to me over the years.
Certainly biology hasn’t meant much to be as a writer. I suppose if I’d ever gotten a job with National Geographic or Scientific America, a background in biology would be beneficial. But I didn’t.
I dissected both frogs and pigs in my academic career. In fact, the final in my college biology class was nicknamed the “Fatal Fetal Final,” because it took place in a large lab where more than a dozen dissected fetal pigs sat. Each dissected pig had straight pins stuck in various parts of the pig’s anatomy. We had to identify all of the pinned body parts.
I made an A. But such knowledge has never been needed while I was interviewing politicians and covering city council meetings.
Algebra and calculus didn’t help me much. I lost interest in math once they started using letters. I learned to add, subtract, multiply and divide, which is all I’ve ever really needed. I can balance my checkbook, and I can figure percentages, which is helpful on election night.
But I can’t recall the quadratic equation, which is fine by me, because no one has ever asked me to.
Ancient history never comes up, either. I can’t recall who the Punics were mad at, much less why they went to war. And I don’t care when Rome was sacked. Should have had a better offensive line.
Geography? Well, there’s a lot of sand in Africa. I learned that from what Humphrey Bogart in “Sahara.”
American history? When I interviewed for this job, no one asked me anything about James K. Polk.
Chemistry? I rarely keep hydrochloric acid around the house, so I don’t have to worry about accidentally mixing it with ammonia, which I also rarely keep around the house.
I did actually learn grammar and punctuation in school. You’d think that’d be a handy bit a knowledge for a journalist to know. But hey, that’s why God created editors.
If you’ve read this far, you know that I’m jesting. I had great teachers and I received a great education. I’m proud of that fact. But I’ve heard the 20somethings that have worked for me say those things, so I suspect kids still in school say them, too.
Apparently, we’ve forgotten why it’s important to have a well-rounded education, why it’s important to understand why the Roman Empire collapsed, why it’s important to understand what happened in America in the 1860s.
There’s a saying that those who forget about the past are destined to repeat it. I think about that saying a lot, especially when I hear people who want to erase any evidence of the Civil War.
So what I actually told my friend was that his daughter should have a strong mix of liberal arts classes – history, science, sociology, literature. And frankly, I’ll tell that to just about anyone headed off to college, regardless of their anticipated major.
You may not have needed to read “Moby Dick” to become a great engineer. But it certainly makes you a better, more informed, well-rounded individual.
Of course, I still don’t care what made the Punics go to war.
