Much has been said these past months about the proposed revisions to Saint Anselm’s core curriculum requirements, but as yet it seems that a final decision is only now forthcoming.
Information about the proposed revisions is available to students who are proactive in asking, but for the large part attention on campus is directed elsewhere-especially when these reforms probably won’t even affect the majority of us.
However, it is the students currently on campus, the ones who have to balance their major courses with minors and the rigorous core and work and clubs and sports, who are the people the committee should be consulting.
I am a definite believer in the Humanities program, but even I think that core is, at times, overly intensive.
Many of us struggle to fulfill both our major and course requirements, and often the choice comes down to the class we want to take and the class we have to take.
I have a major and a minor in subjects that I love, but I wish I had the space in my schedule to take courses outside of English and Spanish that interest me.
I am almost done with the majority of the core curriculum, and though I enjoyed the philosophy and theology courses I took last year, I wish I did not have to take three of each.
Students are much more motivated to learn what they want to know rather than what they are told they should know.
The college does not have to drop all of its requirements, but scaling them back to something more reasonable is definitely a good idea.
I think that, if asked, a college wide student panel or survey on the matter would render excellent results, especially on what should be dropped and why, and that, if asked, most would be willing to at least give an opinion.