Essentials’ Course Built for Real-World Fluency

This spring, LCM introduced “The Essentials,” a first-of-its-kind course that blends five disciplines—artificial intelligence, communication, American government, economics, and personal finance—into a single, required experience designed to prepare students for life beyond the classroom.

The course emerged after the school disseminated  a comprehensive survey of students, alumni, faculty, and stakeholders, asking them what they believed students needed most from a college education. The answer was strikingly consistent: practical knowledge and real-world skills.

“This came out of a very broad consensus,” said Dean Henry Abramson. “Everybody thinks that if you have a degree from Lander, you should know these things, regardless of your major.”

The result is a three-credit course that combines lectures and small-group workshops, exposing students to multiple disciplines while giving them hands-on experience in communication.

“It’s a way to consolidate essential knowledge,” said Prof. Tom Rozinski, who serves as course coordinator. “Students don’t always have room in their schedules for everything, so this ensures they at least gain a foundational understanding.”

The World They’ll Enter

Each component of The Essentials tackles a different dimension of modern life.

In his American government module, Prof. Rozinski focuses not on abstract theory, but on what students are seeing unfold in real time, including the structure of government, the shifting balance of power among its branches, and the deeper historical and cultural forces shaping political divisions.

“We want them to understand what’s actually happening today,” he said. “So when they read the news, they can understand where it’s coming from and how it might be resolved.”

Similarly, Prof. Kenneth Bigel’s economics sessions aim to decode the systems students interact with every day but may not fully understand.

“These are things that every educated person needs to know,” he said, pointing to concepts like supply and demand, interest rates, and the role of the Federal Reserve. “From why concert tickets are priced in certain ways to how inflation affects daily life, the goal is to make economics tangible and indispensable.”

Skills That Stick

While the course delivers foundational knowledge, its skills-based components may leave the deepest imprint.

Mrs. Jodi Smolen, LCM’s Director of Career Services, leads a six-week communication seminar focused on public speaking, listening, and interviewing.

“It’s not a traditional class,” she said. “We introduce a concept, and then everyone practices it. Every student gets to speak.”

Students record themselves speaking, evaluate their own performances, and participate in exercises ranging from mock interviews to real-time feedback sessions.

“After this class, any student should be able to walk into a job interview with a strong foundation,” she said.

Preparation for Life, Not Test Prep

That philosophy carries into Rabbi Eliezer Feder’s module on personal finance, which tackles everything from budgeting and credit to major life decisions like buying a home.

“These are things no one teaches you,” Rabbi Feder said. “You learn them through experience—or sometimes the hard way.”

At the conclusion of his portion of The Essentials, Rabbi Feder will ask students to reflect on how they would apply what they learn, reinforcing the course’s focus on personalization and practical use.

Taking the Future Head-On

If there is a unifying thread running through The Essentials, it is readiness for a world that is changing quickly and unpredictably.

Nowhere is that more apparent than in Dean Abramson’s unit on artificial intelligence.

“I see AI as this as a tsunami that threatens to overwhelm us if we don’t understand how to get ahead of it and even ride the wave,” he said. “We better get our act together and teach students how to use these tools before that happens.”

Dean Abramson’s lectures explore AI’s historical context, its risks and possibilities, and its growing impact on the workforce.

“Maybe you won’t lose your job to AI,” he added. “But you could lose it to someone who knows how to use AI better than you do.”

Shared Experiences

Beyond the skills being taught, The Essentials is designed to create a sense of shared academic experience.

“In most cases during the year, students are all taking different classes,” Prof. Rozinski said. “This brings them together in a way that doesn’t usually happen.”

That cohesion, paired with a curriculum grounded in relevance, goes beyond academics and fulfilling requirements; it’s about focusing on what truly matters.

Or, you know, The Essentials.