Aside from the lofty goals described in the previous post, the real answer is because you have to.
You already know this. It's an exercise in raw power - sort of - by the state of Texas.
It's part of the core curriculum established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In order to graduate with a degree from a public institution in Texas you have to take a defined set of classes that will educate you broadly. It's part of an implicit deal you struck with the state when you decided to attend a public institution rather a private one. Places like Houston Baptist University, Rice, and Baylor don't require these classes. The state can't enforce this requirement because these institutions do not receive state funding. We do.
- The Texas General Education Core Web Center.
Since we are state agencies - just like Houston, A&M, Tech, and all the rest - we receive funding to subsidize the costs of your attendance. That means we have to play by the state's rules. And so do you. Not that you don't have options of course. You can always decide to attend a private institution, or not attend an higher of higher education at all.
That last part might seem extreme, but its true. You consented to take this class when you decided to attend ACC - which is a state agency. In addition, depending upon what you intend to study, you will be required to take additional classes focused on that area of study. If you wish to be a nurse, you have to take a curriculum created with the assistance of the leaders of the nursing profession, implemented and enforced by state agencies like ACC.
Personally, I'm glad you signed up. Welcome.
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I want to use this requirement - GOVT 2305 and / or GOVT 2306 - to introduce you to a variety of topics that we will cover in class. The irony here, is that we can use this very class as a subject of study - which is getting me confused and making my head hurt.
In the previous section I discussed how the framers of the US and Texas governments wanted an educated population in charge of the government. As we will cover later, this didn't originally mean that education was made available to everyone. Limits on participation were supplemented by limits on education. But for those who were demographically eligible for participation once they came of age, an governmental system was created that educated them properly.
I want to walk through it, as it still form the basis of the current education system.
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- Texas Declaration of Independence.
- Texas Constitution, Article 7.
- - Mentions of education in previous Texas Constitutions.
- - The original 1876 Texas Constitution, Article 7
- Gilmer Akin Laws.
- Texas Education Code.
- Texas Administrative Code, Title 19.
- Texas Fiscal Size-Up, Agencies of Education.
- Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.
- Texas School Finance: Doing the Math on the State’s Biggest Expenditure.
- A Brief History of Public Education in Texas.
- TSHA: Higher Education.
- Financing Public Higher Education in Texas.
- Junior College Movement.
- Alvin Community College.
- Public Universities.
- Texas Southern University.
- University of Houston.
- Texas Independent School Districts.
- Alvin Independent School District.
- Pearland Independent School District.
- Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board.
- Texas State Board of Education.
- Texas Education Agency.
