Have you ever caught yourself thinking, “Ugh, I wish it weren’t for these LERs! They are worthless and are taking a lot of my time and money.” The truth is, you can complain all you want, but you will have to take them sooner or later. So why not actually make them enjoyable?

I managed to complete my Liberal Educational Requirements a semester before I graduate. Looking back now and analyzing my education, I think that most of the LERs I took were worth taking, pretty informative and definitely helped me to broaden my knowledge.

Here’s my list of the LERs worth taking.

Math Requirement

Modern Mathematics: I hate math, I don’t understand math, and I barely passed my fundamental math classes. I did, however, get an A in a class that is called Explorations of Modern Mathematics, which fulfils the math requirement.

The cool thing about this class is that students will actually be able to apply learned material to the real world experience. Students get to learn about the voting system, chances to win a lottery and how to figure out how many sentences can be made out of 10 random words. In my opinion, it is way easier and more useful than Modeling Algebra.

Humanities and Arts

Music as a World Phenomenon: This is the class to take. I was never into cultural music, but this class is not just about that. Students are given a chance to learn about different cultures’ customs and traditions based on the music they listen to. The class really opens your worldview and helps you understand why international students act “differently” on this campus.

Introduction to Human Communication: Did you know a majority of people suffer from speech anxiety? I was one of them. I mean, let’s face it, where in the real world will you not have to give presentations? Activities that students have to do in the class help to learn how to give speeches properly, to productively work in groups and to overcome speech anxiety. One day all of us will have to face public speaking, so why not learn how to not look like a fool in the business world?

Social Science

Issues in Law in Society: I can’t tell you the reason why many students don’t realize this class exists. The name of the class stands for exactly what you think it would be. The class gives you a chance to become aware of various social issues Americans face today and to understand the problems from different perspectives. For example, do you know the negative reasons of increasing a minimum wage requirement?

American Politics: I am sorry, but if you are going to graduate college and not know who makes federal laws and how many Supreme Court justices there are, you fail. In American Politics you learn about the governmental system your country was built on. I feel like every citizen is responsible for knowing it because only God knows where the lack of such knowledge will lead this country.

Geography: You should YouTube a video called “Dumb Blonde: Are you smarter than a fifth grader?” where the blond woman says that she thought Europe was a country. I hope after taking a geography class you will have a better understanding of the world’s countries, will be able to name the longest river, tallest mountain and all of the continents and oceans. We are talking third-grade level knowledge here, but only 24 percent of adult Americans can answer the aforementioned questions. You don’t want to be one of them.

Basic Science

Seven Ideas that Shook the Universe: Even though I did not get a high grade in the class, I think every person should be able to explain why people are able to walk and why we don’t fall down. Plus, if you are planning on traveling outside of the United States, understanding the Celsius temperature scale might be extremely helpful.

Higher education is not just about becoming a professional in your field of studies. It is about being a well-informed individual on various topics. As much as you might hate LER classes, they do help you become a better person who will look outside of the box and a legitimate college graduate — who will not embarrass Kent State on the national level.

Anastasia Spytsya is a senior Russian translation major and political science minor and columnist for the Daily Kent Stater.

Contact her at [email protected].