Deck 38: GEN EDS: Sucker U

Question 1

Consider the Jane example. Imagine that her friend, John, is an English major at her same university. How do you think that Brennan and Magness' argument would affect students like John, if it affects them at all? How should universities weigh their obligations to both students?

Answer 1

Consider the ramifications of Brennan and Magness' argument for students of the humanities.
Include a thesis that's focused and appropriate given the assignment.
Clearly and succinctly state the main argument for the thesis.
Correctly identify and defend the argument's controversial premises using sound reasoning, well-chosen examples, insightful analogies, etc.

Question 2

Assume that Brennan and Magness are absolutely right about gen-eds. What should students at your school do in response?

Answer 2

Formulate plans of action for students' at the author's college or university.
Exhibit an understanding of the implication of Brennan and Magness' argument for current students at colleges or universities.

Question 3

One response to Brennan and Magness is to say that even if they're right about gen-eds, the value that students get from a college education outweighs the wrongness of academic rent seeking. In your essay, try to develop this claim. Then, consider how Brennan and Magness would respond.

Answer 3

Offer a defense of the value of college education that makes a serious attempt to respond to Brennan and Magness' concerns about the way that it is being compromised.
Accurately summarize, and then apply, Brennan and Magness' ideas to the defense just offered. Specifically, the essay should discuss why Brennan and Magness think that academic rent seeking is so harmful.

Question 4

Which of the following best explains The Human Capital Theory of why gen-eds exist and persist?

A) General education requirements ensure that students have the opportunity to network with other students who are not in their area of study
B) General education requirements protect instructors of the most popular majors from having a disproportionately high workload at their university
C) General education requirements ensure that students have writing and math skills, as well as broad knowledge in disciplines that will help them to grow as people
D) General education requirements help to teach students about the harsh realities of life, including the ways in which society will exact dues from them
E) General education requirements are meant to help certain departments get the money and faculty lines they want

Question 5

Which of the following best explains The Rent Seeking Theory of why gen-eds exist and persist?

A) General education requirements ensure that students have the opportunity to network with other students who are not in their area of study
B) General education requirements protect instructors of the most popular majors from having a disproportionately high workload at their university
C) General education requirements ensure that students have writing and math skills, as well as broad knowledge in disciplines that will help them to grow as people
D) General education requirements help to teach students about the harsh realities of life, including the ways in which society will exact dues from them
E) General education requirements are meant to help certain departments get the money and faculty lines they want

Question 6

Brennan and Magness say that we would expect to see what type of behavior if The Rent Seeking Theory is true?

A) We'd expect faculty to exhibit a distinct interest in the connections that students are making with peers from other departments
B) We'd expect to see that faculty fight to force students to take their classes without regard to the actual value of those classes
C) We'd expect students to learn skills that they will be able to apply in the real world, especially in areas that are difficult to navigate
D) We would expect admins and faculty to scrupulously investigate new teaching methods the way medical doctors research new treatments
E) We'd expect that faculty from the most popular majors fight to force students to take less popular classes whether they want to or not

Question 7

Which of the following is an example of a "bad armchair argument" for justifying gen-ed requirements?

A) Undergrad students will not use their social skills to encounter people outside of their discipline, so they won't make meaningful interdisciplinary connections unless we force them to take classes together
B) Undergrad students will flock to the most popular majors, so we won't be able to offer classes for all of them unless we fill unpopular faculties' schedules with gen-ed classes
C) Undergrad students are not prepared for the harsh realities of life, so they won't know how to pay their dues unless we force them to take useless classes
D) Undergrad students have limited experience with most academic fields before college, so they don't have the knowledge to pick the right major unless we force them to take a wide range of courses
E) Undergrad students don't appreciate the academic expertise of faculty in underrepresented areas of study, so they won't bother learning from these experts unless we force them to take classes in these areas

Question 8

Brennan and Magness state a number of empirical claims about the effectiveness of gen-eds. Which of the following is one of their claims?

A) In other areas such as mathematics, most students actually see their skills decline after taking mandatory gen-ed classes
B) There isn't meaningful evidence of student improvement in critical thinking, complex reasoning, or writing in the first two years of college
C) Most students are unable to apply the meager skills that they do acquire to novel cases
D) Fewer than 2.5% of adults claim that they can speak a foreign language "very well" or "well" as a result of instruction at school
E) Brennan and Magness make all of the above claims

Question 9

Which of the following is an example of "transfer of learning?"

A) If you are able to thrive in one work environment even if you transferred from another
B) If you are able to successfully teach a concept from your business class to a classmate
C) If you apply your basic math skills to harder math problems when taking a more complicated math class
D) If you apply your philosophy essay-writing skills to writing better business memos at work
E) If you can learn complicated business ethics concepts one day and remember dates from art history the next

Question 10

Brennan and Magness affirm that, as the job market, student demand, and funding opportunities for certain academic fields worsen, the number of classes universities require students to take in those fields ________:

A) Expands
B) May slowly increase
C) Stays the same
D) Shrinks
E) Disappears

Question 11

Which of the following is Brennan and Magness' moral claim that explains why academic rent seeking is wrongful?

A) Universities have a legal obligation to not engage in wrongful advertising
B) Universities have a fiduciary obligation to not waste students' time or money
C) Universities have a moral obligation to produce upstanding citizens
D) Universities have strong moral reason to keep their students' interests at heart
E) Universities have an obligation to engage in paternalistic practices that protect students

Question 12

What example do Brennan and Magness offer in response to the claim, "Many faculty mistakenly believe that gen-eds work."

A) The describe a situation where a parent mistakenly gives her child the wrong medicine
B) They recommend that students protest the existence of tenure within universities
C) They encourage students to imagine what they would do if they were these faculty members' bosses
D) They ask us to imagine a pharmaceutical company selling a drug called "Collegra"
E) They describe an imagined philosophy professor who teaches from an outdated textbook

Question 13

Which departments have the highest stake in being represented in gen-ed requirements, according to Brennan and Magness?

A) Over-staffed departments
B) Financially needy departments
C) Departments with the most popular majors
D) Over-funded departments
E) The university's newest departments