Last week, a group of Dartmouth administration and faculty members met to discuss distributives and potential modifications to current course requirements. With the onset of other policy changes, such as the College's recent decision to no longer accept AP credits, it appears that Dartmouth is undergoing a process of evolution. Because it is ultimately our education at stake, students should have the opportunity to weigh in on the redesign of the distributive system and perhaps offer alternatives that they feel would best suit their needs to attain a comprehensive and meaningful education.
It is undeniable that a multi-disciplinary course load is essential to establishing a thorough academic experience. However, breadth should not serve as a substitute for depth. If we seek to truly diversify our education, it is worth looking toward expanding the scope of our knowledge within a single subject and examining the same field from a variety of lenses, rather than taking a cursory look at several different subjects.
For me, the most meaningful classes have been those that taught me how to think, instead of simply presenting information that, invariably, I will forget after an extended lack of application. But those classes that have truly developed my learning style and have shaped the way in which I absorb and interpret knowledge have proved invaluable because of their continued relevance. They have made my universe bigger. There is a marked difference between knowing more and becoming more knowledgeable; while both are important, the long-term value provided by the latter seems to be what Dartmouth should emphasize.
In order to achieve this sense of mental development, we must expand our perspectives, not just our horizons. One possible solution might be to orient the distributive system more vertically than horizontally that is to say, create more differentiation within a single department. If we capitalize on classes in every department that satisfy a multitude of various disciplines instead of focusing on a single approach, perhaps we will have achieved a more organically-broadened education. For example, fields that normally seem based on quantitative analysis might encourage courses driven by discussion rather than lecture, examining the historical origins and importance of the subject rather than its present application.
Conversely, for the arts and humanities, perhaps we might integrate a scientific approach, as exemplified by the engineering course, "Science and Engineering in Music" that examines the physics behind instrumentation and the mechanics involved in sound perception and production. Philosophy can quickly encroach upon math and computer science and, by combining two seemingly disparate concentrations, true expansion occurs. Unfortunately, there are many subjects for which such an approach would be considerably more difficult than for others. Nonetheless, the creative process behind designing courses that integrate various methods of thought might be rewarding in and of itself.
Another problem that impedes the current distributive system lies in the inherent importance of grades. Especially within distributives, it often does not seem "worth it" to take a class that could potentially lower one's GPA. This may discourage students from taking courses that they would otherwise be interested in, if it were not for fear of poor performance. A potential, though controversial, remedy may be to institute a pass/fail policy for distributive courses. This way, students would no longer be dissuaded from taking a course out of fear for their numerical marketability. If the possibility of damaging grades were mitigated, students might be encouraged to take classes that are truly interesting, rather than those perceived as being easy. Of course, the problem with this system is its capacity to perpetuate a culture of mediocrity, in which the bare minimum of effort is placed into courses that, because of their inherently lax structure, become less important than classes that "matter."
Now is the time for discourse about the distributive system. As students, we know the system better than anyone else and, in order for us to benefit most completely from the College, we must make the effort to make ourselves heard. Regardless of what the solution is, it should be one that is supported not only by faculty and the administration, but by the student body as well.
