Students not knowing what they want to do by the time they hit 18 is, in my opinion, an inevitable consequence of state education.
I was educated by the state and had very clear views on my direction. My children go to a private school with a fine record of getting people to the very best universities and its clear that that many 16-18 year olds there are a bit vague.
They are children, the reason we don't let them make all their decisions is that they are not competent to do so.
I didn't and with all due respect I would bet serious money you weren't either.
In this system, no one is given a choice.
That's not true in any country of which I am aware including Iran, China, as well as Europe and the US
Their choices are constrained, sometimes for good reasons, sometimes for bad, but there are options.
No one studies a subject because they have genuine interest in it.
That's bollocks.
Students are forced to learn what state bureaucracies decide they should
I wish they were.
That would mean less university places for dumb subjects like media studies and the bible.
Learning goes from being self-directed as a young child to being controlled and managed by bureaucrats.
America could do with more bureaucracy.
Look at the astonishingly poor choices parents make when you give them that ability.
Ask any high schooler in NYC; most don't enjoy school and view learning as a chore, so we shouldn't be surprised many students have no clue what they want do in life.
I wonder, have you been to Earth ?
You might be aware that NYC is on it ?
Trust me that is the pattern pretty much everywhere on our planet, what is it like on yours ?
As above my kids aren't in the state system at all, enjoying amongst the finest facilities available to any kids anywhere on the planet, better than (say) 99.9% of them. But do I see joy in the faces of teenagers as they go in ?
No I do not.
Lets also not ignore the fact that the main reason colleges today even require these classes is because, well, that's simply what the law is.
We agree on this. A reason why US undergrad degrees are regarded as amongst the weakest in the world is the bollocks Americans choose to add to real degrees. But that is a choice made by Americans with no obvious movement to reach the point (say) France reached a century ago.
That being said, the - building a well rounded student - excuse to me is just a post ex facto rationalization. If given a choice, how many colleges would still require music, literature, and "cultural studies" in an engineering program?
Most of them.
You fail to exhibit an understanding of economics here, in particular agency theory.
A vast % of the jobs in academia are funded by this shit, they will fight like wolves to protect it.
The media and political establishments are almost wholly arts graduates and thus sympathetic, so expect them to win.
If given a choice, how many people would still choose a college with a seemingly infinite amount of filler courses rather then those whose courses are very relevant to their interest?
You seem to think they are people, they are not, they are children.
They aren't even well informed children because the educational establishment lies to them and obfuscates intensely.
That doesn't stop at age 18, look at the brochures for MFE programs, sold to people who are adults by any definition, yet they contain packs of half truths, lies and fail to give any detail. An MFE costs more than a decent car, yet if they promoted cars you would not even be able to determine the number of wheels
If you want to learn these things to become a "well rounded student", you do so as a child in school (oh wait, paragraph one shows why this isn't possible), or on your own time, but not in a college environment where one must spend thousands of dollars and forgo four years of earnings.