Why our curriculum requirements are stupid, Part N

For a few months I have been involved in some back and forth about whether I have completed the course requirements for my degree, specifically the "breadth" requirements. It was determined a year or two ago that my math courses did not count -- despite the importance of probability to my intellectual growth and my research, despite the fact that the courses were clearly out of my *department*, never mind my area of psychology, anything dealing with math is not a "content course" and therefore can't count for squat other than "methodology." OK then. So in order to fulfill my last "content course" requirement, I took a course that was well out of my area of expertise a few semesters ago -- in fact I think I was the student to whom the content was the *least* relevant professionally. Fun course, and I'm glad I took it, but I've had a devil of a time trying to get the relevant department staff to use this course to mark me off as done with my requirements.

Just now I got an email from one of our department's current People Who Makes Curriculum Decisions. This person didn't think that particular course should count as "core" enough for this breadth requirement... and decided, instead, to double count something else I took. That course? Cognitive Development.

Ladies and gentlemen, I do research on learning. Right now I am studying learning in infants. The course was taught by someone in my area group. If this material "adds breadth" to my degree, and three calculus-based courses in mathematics don't, I'll eat my #(*#@ probability text.

But, well, I shouldn't complain, because I'm done, right? Riiiight.

and while I'm being irritated

Here's something I don't get. There appears to be a vocal contingent of people who condemn mothers who bottle-feed their little ones. Recently, I heard rumors of a government campaign promoting breastfeeding and warning of the dangers of not doing it. (It's a stupid link, so if readers have a better one, please pass it on.) What gives?

Breastfeeding is good for a kid -- I buy that, I really do! I haven't done the research myself, but I think the reported findings of its benefits for health, nutrition, and parent-child bonding are totally plausible. But it's a long long way from this fact to using scare or shame tactics on mothers who don't do it -- because in my understanding, breastfeeding is not actually *possible* for everyone. Maybe you don't make enough milk! Maybe you are taking necessary medications that might find their way into your milk supply! Maybe you had a radical mastectomy! Maybe breastfeeding is so painful that doing it is debilitating! Maybe you're a single mom of twins and there just isn't time in the day to pay the bills and pump enough milk for everyone!

The whole thing seems like just another case of "let's prey on mothers' neurotic tendencies by shining a bright light on everything they do." I mean, not that there aren't bad parents out there; but I have an hypothesis that the only parents who pay attention to parenting campaigns like this are the ones you don't need to reach, who will only become more neurotic and annoying. And I really don't think that's necessary.