Question: Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Refer to the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric under the Settings icon above for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.

Purpose of General Education

Prepare: As you prepare to write your answer to the discussion question, think about the general education courses that you have taken as a university student. To help you address the prompts, carefully read the Week One required resources that address the purpose of general education courses.

Reflect: After reviewing the required resources, and in light of what you discovered in preparing to write your answer to the discussion question, consider, analyze, and explain why general education courses should be a significant part of every student's education.

Write: For this discussion, address the following prompts:

Provide at least three reasons why every student should be required to take general education courses. Explain your rationale. Support your rationale with evidence from at least one scholarly source.

Describe what you have learned from at least three specific courses (e.g., philosophy, history, English, math, psychology, etc.) that has proved its usefulness in your daily life. For instance, what did you learn in history classes beyond just names, dates, and places? In literature courses, what did you learn about life, the university, and everything beyond the literary work itself?

Your initial post should be at least 250 words in length, which should include a thorough response to each prompt. You are required to provide in-text citations of applicable required reading materials and/or any other outside sources you use to support your claims. Provide full reference information of all sources cited at the end of your response. Please use correct APA format when writing in-text citations and references.

Respond to Peers: Review your classmates' posts, and respond to at least two of your peers by Day 7. Compare and contrast your reasons why general education courses are important with that of your peers' reasons and rationale. Each participation post should be a minimum of 75 words.