Volcanoes: Do We Really Need to Learn About Them?

        Here is an article about why geology is important: http://www.brighthub.com/environment/science-environmental/articles/67764.aspx

        A student commented on the inefficiency of school making us cover every subject by exemplifying her needlessly knowing about volcanoes. At first I dismissed this as anti-intellectualism, but maybe she was scratching at something deeper. Maybe we are too generalized in our education. What good does the concept of plate tectonics do for a painter and what does the cinematic rule of three do for a chef? This brought back my grade-school worry of, "Will me have more history classes when there's more history? Will they devote more class time to the extra history, or will less relevant history be pushed out by more relevant history?" These thoughts lead to a sense of existential nihilism. As time and history goes on, our current time's historical importance will approach zero. Tectonic plates will still shift, volcanoes will still erupt, and film students will have the rule of three put in their heads. The teacher says you have to know your history, and I agree. For future students it is irrelevant, but it is very important to us. Our history will tell us our past which tells us our present. History is just as relevant as geology in this view.

        If you still have qualms about being taught any of these subjects, maybe you are anti-intellectual. But wait! Another student says that being taught generally is good because it can open us up to interests we might not have considered otherwise. Freedom. Freedom in the land of the free, that is America, to pursue whatever our goals may be. Has freedom given us apathy towards "unnecessary" subjects? We certainty wouldn't be doubting the importance of volcanoes if we were all determined from an early age to be geologists and only study relevant fields.

        Even if we decide to only teach relevant subjects, where do we draw the line? What subjects are worth spending tax payer money to make sure everyone in our society knows? Who's to say this already hasn't been discussed, decided, and implemented so that volcanoes are part of that curriculum?