Basket Weaving 101

To begin with, I'd like to apologize for the lack of functional links or references. College websites are surprisingly unfriendly to casual users unless you're registered with them. Otherwise, enjoy.



For the majority of my working life, I've been with corporations that will boast some form of tuition reimbursement program for employees wishing to continue their education. Every orientation for new employees will have a benefits seminar, with a speech about the available reimbursement program, that will emphasize that they only cover classes related to your immediate field of work - always using Basket Weaving (or, especially obnoxious speakers use “Underwater Basket Weaving”,) as an example of a class they will not cover.

I'm not sure if this is part of a generic curriculum distributed to every corporation in an attempt to sound clever, or if they're serious every time. So, off to the Internet I went in search of every accredited college that might teach Basket Weaving as a major, or even a class.

What I found, while not exactly Basket weaving per se, was amusing – by perusing several colleges, I found a handful of classes that are completely ridiculous, and mildly amusing. I instantly felt like I was in the top ten smartest people in the world for not taking college seriously, and feel I deserve a high-paying job for it. Er, right...moving on.

At Western Washington University, under the course for Interdisciplinary studies, I found a class called “walking”, no joke. If I were to take this class, would retail pay me more for being able to walk better than the average person? Does the course cover perfect technique, boosting your walking potential with perfect hip sway to attract a mate, fixing bow-legged-ness and pigeon toes, or walking flat-footed for balance. Or could it be making the most of each step, walking while chewing gum, or does it simply explain one foot goes in front of the other?



I got my hands on a course manual for Red Rocks Community College in Colorado – which I read through, until I hit "Reading" with several subclasses; Basic reading skills, foundations of reading, and college preparatory reading. I'm curious how "basic" we're talking here, and how much a college professor would make to teach the illiterate adults of the world their ABC's. I can do that, watch: A is for Apple, B is for Bonehead...

I will pick on RRCC a bit more, since I may end up there for some classes soon - where they have an extensive Hollistic Health program. If you're enrolled in this program, you could learn the "gift of self esteem." I don't know about anyone else, but I'd feel my self esteem draining, if I signed my name on the registration sheet for that class. Or, if you're feeling particularly unhealthy, the "digestive wellness" class will potentially teach your partially digested food to behave itself.

Back to Basket Weaving, which did not turn up a single serious article or class offering when searched for. Almost every related website I found basically stated that the art of basket weaving is a sport for morons. But, this woman disagrees. So, for anyone wishing to learn the art of basket weaving, it can be found in the state of Montana.

This is the part where I have to ask for your help. I was unsuccessful in my attempt to find an accredited college that teaches basket weaving, even as a simple course. I would like to hear courses that you've run across in any college-ing adventures! Anything that made you think "What could they possibly do here?" or "how is that a college class at all?" either at your school, or ones you've looked at. Leave comments, and I'll try to assemble a follow-up to this one if I get good ones!

Now, imagine me, only teaching “the long forgotten art of listening” at a college level.