Gen 480 Past Present and Future

Week Four Indv.-Past, Present, and Future Paper

University Of Phoenix

Gen/480-Interdisciplinary Capstone Course

Dr. Arlene A. O'Leary

December 11, 2007

The role of learning is very important to your personal growth and development. Education does not necessarily ensure honesty. Theodore Roosevelt once declared, "A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education, he may steal the whole railroad" (ctd. in Allen, n.d, Great Quotes--Education). Let us not judge. Intelligence can be defined as the capacity for understanding, thinking, and reasoning. An education, specifically a college education, can help me to gain the skills to understand, think, and reason on a more intellectual level. The formal education process for a college degree was formed to develop such skills.

I have always believed that general education courses, which are a mandatory part of the acquisition of a bachelor's degree, are useless and unnecessary. These courses help to shape me into a professional person that I want to be by giving me a foundation in several subject areas and assisting me in determining an appropriate intellectual path throughout my long pursuit of a college degree. Courses in arts, social sciences, science and technology, English, and humanities allow me to learn about the world in which I live from different perspectives. Courses in the arts can help me to build a creative skill. The social sciences contain courses in psychology and sociology which deal with the study of the human mind and people, respectively. Science and technology courses can teach me about the world from a mathematical, scientific, and technological perspective. The one subject that I have had the hardest time with since 8th grade; English has helped me to develop the abilities in writing and reading comprehension. The humanities course I have not took as of yet I think they touch upon history and the people who lived in each epoch and teaches us about cultures throughout the world. By the end of this program I should leave school a very well-rounded perspective of the world around me and an in-depth understanding of degree focus.

The pursuit of a bachelor's degree enables individuals to gain a better understanding of specific subjects in order to enter the