Bachelor of Arts without art?

In the middle of a gut-wrenching learning crisis where students fail to meet basic competencies like reading, and where the current K-12 system is not producing work-ready graduates as initially intended, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian somehow thinks that it is a good time to shorten college education. He is proposing to cut general education from degree programs to keep it to no more than three academic years, saying that general education is unnecessary and that students are better off focusing on their concentration. The senator further says the general education in college is redundant with classes offered in senior high and that these can all be completed within senior high itself.

The mere fact that the senator completely dismisses the value of general education at the tertiary level tells me he is no educator and has no appreciation for education. He sees education merely as the training and accumulation of skills. With such a narrow view, what is the relevance of art, literature, ethics, and physical education (PE) when all we want is a compliant, submissive workforce willing to clock in to a 9-to-5 job?

What the senator fails to comprehend is that the aim of a bachelor’s education is to develop not just professionals but consummate scholars, with an inquisitive mind with an appetite for learning and knowledge. Our time at the university is a crucial developmental period during which we are exposed to a much wider world. We get to encounter and explore various ideas and viewpoints. Our worldviews get challenged and we learn to reflect and grow ourselves in the process. This is why activism and advocacies are natural by-products of university education, because students get to see interconnected realities for the first time and figure out what principles and values are worth fighting for.

University is also a time for exploration. How many students shift majors upon realizing, through a general education subject, that they are much more interested in something else? There is a concerning trend in our education system that forecloses young students from choosing their career track as early as senior high. Already, we are faced with challenges at the college admission level when students in the humanities and social science track in senior high realize they want to go to a science program instead and vice versa. College students are likewise still exploring what kind of careers they want to take. General education and elective courses allow them to fully explore without adverse consequences. In some US universities, they don’t even force their students to choose a major until their second year. And yet we’re forcing our students to commit to a specialization in Grade 11.

Even when we are committed to a particular profession, exposure to other disciplines is still vital to holistic education. This is called breadth of learning. This is what differentiates an intellectual from a technician. A significant aspect of my learning experience in university was through general education. At the time, we were required to take 42 units, much more than what is required today. I was able to take in the viewpoints of other social sciences like sociology, political science, and geography which broadened my psychological lens to more macro systems. I took in various literature subjects, exposing me to Filipino novels and short stories that helped me empathize with the struggles and dilemmas of the time, honing my contextual reasoning skills so crucial in understanding my clients. I even took oceanography and marine science subjects that broadened my view further in terms of the interconnectedness of nature and effect and the impact of humans on our world.

Even my physical education was no joke. I was able to take a wrestling class as a PE from a national team coach. I took a street dance class that was sometimes taught by the Maneuvers. I was able to learn modern dance from a member of the Powerdance crew. I heard that Hidilyn Diaz has recently claimed to consider teaching at the college of human kinetics. PE in college, at least in the University of the Philippines Diliman, offers so much more than those taught in K-12. It allows us to explore a variety of interests in dance, exercise, and sport. Personally, my interest in dance led me to an early exploration in dance and movement therapy. My exposure to athlete teachers also helped me better inform my work with athlete clients as well. There is absolutely no way that this kind of education can be replicated in K-12, where the trend seems to be the watering down of disciplines into unrecognizable Frankensteinian subjects.

For a senator concerned with time and tuition, there is a solution that doesn’t compromise the university experience. Instead of stripping down college, why not facilitate the growth of trade and professional schools? Leave the bachelor’s programs alone, and encourage associate degrees, diploma programs, and certification programs. This allows students to choose the right tertiary path for them. Because ultimately, how can we call it a Bachelor of the Arts if there is no art?

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aatuazon@up.edu.ph