By Jessica Berget, Editor-in-Chief
This semester I am taking a Geography class that I need to finish my electives. I am a fan of Geography; I took Earth Sciences previously and was fascinated with the content. I learned about plate tectonics, volcanoes, earthquakes, rocks, sediments, etc. I really dug it and liked learning about the earth and environment around me. I was excited to be taking another Geography class until I realized the professor that I originally signed up to take the class with was replaced… and this class would now be taught within a social science frame.
I really don’t mind having the class changed to a focus on social matters—changes and alterations happen all the time. But, couldn’t have this been communicated to students signing up for the class beforehand? As someone who is taking transfer courses to go into the teaching program, I have taken my fair of social classes such as History of Canada, History of BC, and numerous Anthropology classes. And honestly? I’m starting to get tired of them.
Not to say that they don’t have their place in schools, but do we have to look at everything in a social context? Can’t we just have some science classes that focus on the science? I personally think social classes are oversaturated in post-secondary institutions and we should keep science classes strictly scientific. The balance of different types of classes should be maintained.
I have also talked to a few of my classmates about this, and I have found that I am not the only one who thinks this way. I mentioned I was considering switching to a different Geography course in order to learn some physically scientific content, but to my disappointment I was told by a classmate that the other classes had essentially the same curriculum. If all classes are being taught in a social context, where are people supposed to learn the hard science?
What is also frustrating about this is that I pay for my tuition and I feel like I am wasting my hard-earned money on a class which I am already familiar with most of the content—it’s just redundant to me at this point. When I take a class, I am always excited to learn something new, but with this class I feel that I am not really learning anything I haven’t already learned about in previous classes.
Whether it be a decision from the school or personally from the professor, I disagree with the idea of making physical science classes into social classes. If it is going to be advertised as a physical science class it should stay a science class, otherwise some students will accidently take courses they don’t want, need, or already know the content for—and will waste their precious money and time.
