Frankly, the problem I have with the liberal arts courses is that I can usually ask pesky little questions fairly quickly that make the professors teaching really, really flustered. Either that, or prone to saying "well, you don't need to know that."
I think I may have misinterpreted you, though, because I'm not being graded on formatting or anything like that anymore. That's expected. It's just that the "intellectualism" in which we engage is kind of... lackluster. In my opinion, anyway... we spend so much time making sure everyone "gets it" that we don't actually discuss anything, when anyone can see that "getting it" is really only dependent on a. how much time one spends paying attention to the logical relationships within the text and b. how well-read one is.
Frankly, for the amount of homework given for a 4-unit course, they have more than enough time to read an extra relevant text or two every week, with notes and diagrams and everything.
6 hours per week on languages is not a waste, by the way. I'm almost certain that all of my math ability comes from the hours I spent crunching through languages when I was younger. I usually spent at least 30 hours per week on language, and another 10-15 on literature.
It's necessary to teach the whole person, not just those cute little areas in which he or she feels safe or happy. Everything is art, and everything is science. Understanding that concept is absolutely crucial--and once you understand that, you'll understand why I'm obsessed with attaining a well-rounded background.
Vis-a-vis honors program: in mathematics, it basically involves getting a master's before leaving the university. Grad courses, GPA, a thesis, and so on. My GPA currently sucks due to some idiocy with a linear algebra course in my first semester of serious mathematics, but this semester should really pick it up (and I'm also going to retake the lalgebra, because I am not allowing that grade to remain on my report card).
I'm considering starting a school. If I wind up doing it, I'll let you guys know about tuition fees around when you're getting married and popping out babies.