If you could add one required course for all students what would it be?

[Urban Ranger]

Critical thinking.

It doesn't matter how much you learn, but you should know how to think.

[Ned]

English

[Stefu]

Spanish.

Time you buggers learnt another language.

[Felch]

I agree Ned. I hate going to countries where the people talk in strange moon-man languages.

[Jon Miller]

physics

Jon Miller

[mactbone]

Philosophy - Get these people thinking in a critical manner. It would also help people realize there are two sides to everything.

[TCO]

practical shop: intro to auto mechanics, home wiring, etc.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by MacTBone
Philosophy - Get these people thinking in a critical manner. It would also help people realize there are two sides to everything.

a right side and a wrong side

Jon Miller

[Bosh]

Like Wraith said a good critical thinking/logic course would be good, especially one that drilled what logical fallacies are into kids heads would be good.

I'd also like to see a political theory course that was dedicated to presenting as many political ideologies as possible (from libertarianism, to anarchism, to Maoism) since a ridiculous number of people fail to ever think about options besides some kind of amorphous liberalism or conservatism.

[loinburger]

Intro to Ethics

[Goingonit]

All you people who want critical thinking and philosophy courses should read Starship Troopers and look at Heinlein's "moral philosophy" course.

You can lead a student to knowledge, but you can't make them think. If you try to make someone think independantly, they end up thinking like you.

I'd say I'd like every uni student to take public speaking and presentation.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Goingonit
All you people who want critical thinking and philosophy courses should read Starship Troopers and look at Heinlein's "moral philosophy" course.

And who made him king?

Looks like a bit of critical think would have helped here

[KrazyHorse]

Higher Algebra II.

[Goingonit]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
Looks like a bit of critical think would have helped here

But it's hard to teach critical thinking without sending the message "think like I think".

[Ned]

Originally posted by Seeker

HISTORY:
Nothing is more important for a student who is not planning on being a welder/plumber whatever for the rest of their lives.

Of course, it has to be GOOD history. It has to be critical, but patriotic at the younger level. It has to be a bit of political philosophy, a bit of art history, a bit of world religion, a bit of technical history, but I believe that, done properly, history is one of those few disciplines that can teach you how to think.

Philosophy and Logic could, but it is dominated by Marxists and crypto-Marxists.

Come to think of it, most history is ALSO dominated by Marxists...

History is TAUGHT primarily with an agenda. It transforms little muslims into "martyrs," Russians into communists or anti-communists depending on era, U.S. public school students into liberals, Germans into haters of their Nazi past, Japanese into defenders of their Imperialist agression, etc., etc., etc. History is important, but like religion, I think it should be banned from schools and taught privately.

Ned