Sunday, July 30, 2006

50 cents and a bachelors' degree...

In an attempt to ignore current events and politics for my own sanity, I ran across this:
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/19/D8F7UO204.html

Education in this country has become a farce. I don't know that it was ever anything but. Too many times have I found myself looking around at the people in my courses and realizing that these people have no inclination to learning whatsoever. They pay exorbitant fees and tuition to attend a university and don't even show up for class. Or if they do, they spend the time texting their significant others or doodling, or just plain drooling. Now, I've been known to skip a few classes from time to time, but I will at least read the covered material and grab notes from someone else if possible. But these mindless drones that keep popping out of the woodwork on my and others' campuses won't even do that. They expect to be spoonfed the material exactly as it will appear on the exam, do not want to discuss the material, and then want to regurgitate the same drivel unprocessed on the exam. This is no way to learn!
Back in my 8th grade English course, I was taught that learning occurs at multiple levels. I don't remember what they all were, but I do know that memorization, which the mindless automatons practice, is the LOWEST possible form of learning. Back then, even in the 8th grade, I was being asked to perform at all 7 levels of learning! Is it really too much to ask that someone who claims to be ready for a university education actually take some initiative to learn? How can you possibly understand what is going on in a masterpiece of literature if you cannot interpret and analyze incoming information? I'd be willing to bet that there are English majors out there who think that Moby Dick is nothing more than a story about a man and a whale (if you don't know, its really about man's quest for the divine and search for meaning).
What's worse is the fact that most of these mindless sheep have dropped out of some department (math, philosophy, etc) that actually requires learning and have become 'education' majors because the curriculum is easy and they can pass without actually being required to put forth more than a basic level of effort. Which, leads us to a worsening of the situation because now, our children are being taught by these idiots and are not being forced to actually learn how to learn. Each generation it seems to get progressively worse. I, for one, am sick of it.

2 Comments:

At 6:24 AM, Blogger John's World said...

College must be the same now as it was thirteen years ago when I attended college. I received a economics degree and now I am in sales.

Since college, I have learned it is that the some of the information that is learned in college you will never use.

I use what I've learned in high school more. I have to use algebra to calctulate the correct size if hydraulic cylinders and calculate the correct Wattage for customers to size a generator for their application.

I myself had to work very hard to get through college and I earned my degree, but what is more important to potential employers in the business world is that having a college degree is more more of a factor than the information you learned in college.

There are many very wealthy people who didn't finish college. College may be a factor in success but not the only factor.

John's Perspective (blog)

 
At 1:12 AM, Blogger Kyle Vernon said...

John,

Thanks for your input. I guess what each generation finds as new is usually just a repeat of the old. Thanks for coming by!

Kyle

 

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