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College Professors Chatboard

College: Investment or Vacation?

by GL

Nov 18, 2009

assing a college course no more indicates a human capital gain than just going to a gym indicates an improvement in physical fitness.

To get through college, many students don’t have to become better at reading, at writing, at math, at logic. Sadly, the key consideration at many colleges is not educational excellence or even modest progress, but simply enrolling and collecting tuition from as many students as possible. Therefore, course content has been watered down and expectations lowered so that even the weakest and most disengaged students can pass. As Steve Balch, founder of the National Association of Scholars says, “We don’t so much have higher education these days, as longer education.”

L. Swilley On 11/18/09, GL wrote: > Passing a college course no more indicates a human capital > gain than just going to a gym indicates an improvement in > physical fitness. > > To get through college, many students don’t have to become > better at reading, at writing, at math, at logic. Sadly, the > key consideration at many colleges ...See MoreOn 11/18/09, GL wrote: > Passing a college course no more indicates a human capital > gain than just going to a gym indicates an improvement in > physical fitness. > > To get through college, many students don’t have to become > better at reading, at writing, at math, at logic. Sadly, the > key consideration at many colleges is not educational > excellence or even modest progress, but simply enrolling and > collecting tuition from as many students as possible. > Therefore, course content has been watered down and > expectations lowered so that even the weakest and most > disengaged students can pass. As Steve Balch, founder of the > National Association of Scholars says, “We don’t so much > have higher education these days, as longer education.”

=========================================================

At their best these days, many colleges are designed to produce workers rather than human beings. The idea of a liberal education (the refinement of human being) has been lost in the rush to train our youth for professional work. We cannot blame young people who seek work-training, but we can blame our universities for failing to make clear to them the distinction between practical, utilitarian purposes and knowledge-for-its-own-sake ones.

Too, so much of what we now expect of even our better colleges should have been accomplished in high schools. In earlier centuries, "Reading, writing, logic and math" would have been the stuff of training of children and adolescents. Now our lower schools have become distorted with concern for self-esteem and self-expression - and with "certification" given too many of those "teachers" who have little or no knowledge or even interest in the subjects they presume to teach.

We need also to awaken to the fact that, in earlier centuries, liberal arts training (to refine human being) was limited to those few who were wealthy, those "gentlemen" who did not need to work, those persons who accepted the standard of noblesse oblige. We should notice that we have a comparable element in our society now - our retired senior citizens, who are free from the need to work, and who are hungry for knowledge of Philosophy, Art, Literature, History, etc., all those subjects that constitute a liberal education.

L. Swilley

Nov 24, 2009

Heart's Content Amen!

On 11/24/09, L. Swilley wrote: > On 11/18/09, GL wrote: >> Passing a college course no more indicates a human capital >> gain than just going to a gym indicates an improvement in >> physical fitness. >> >> To get through college, many students don’t have to become >> better at reading, at writ...See MoreAmen!

On 11/24/09, L. Swilley wrote: > On 11/18/09, GL wrote: >> Passing a college course no more indicates a human capital >> gain than just going to a gym indicates an improvement in >> physical fitness. >> >> To get through college, many students don’t have to become >> better at reading, at writing, at math, at logic. Sadly, the >> key consideration at many colleges is not educational >> excellence or even modest progress, but simply enrolling and >> collecting tuition from as many students as possible. >> Therefore, course content has been watered down and >> expectations lowered so that even the weakest and most >> disengaged students can pass. As Steve Balch, founder of the >> National Association of Scholars says, “We don’t so much >> have higher education these days, as longer education.” > > ========================================================= > > At their best these days, many colleges are designed to > produce workers rather than human beings. The idea of a > liberal education (the refinement of human being) has been > lost in the rush to train our youth for professional work. > We cannot blame young people who seek work-training, but we > can blame our universities for failing to make clear to them > the distinction between practical, utilitarian purposes and > knowledge-for-its-own-sake ones. > > Too, so much of what we now expect of even our better > colleges should have been accomplished in high schools. In > earlier centuries, "Reading, writing, logic and math" would > have been the stuff of training of children and adolescents. > Now our lower schools have become distorted with concern for > self-esteem and self-expression - and with "certification" > given too many of those "teachers" who have little or no > knowledge or even interest in the subjects they presume to > teach. > > We need also to awaken to the fact that, in earlier > centuries, liberal arts training (to refine human being) was > limited to those few who were wealthy, those "gentlemen" who > did not need to work, those persons who accepted the standard > of noblesse oblige. We should notice that we have a > comparable element in our society now - our retired senior > citizens, who are free from the need to work, and who are > hungry for knowledge of Philosophy, Art, Literature, History, > etc., all those subjects that constitute a liberal education. > > L. Swilley

Nov 30, 2009

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