What's Wrong With the American University System

ideonexus writes "The Atlantic has an excellent interview with Andrew Hacker — co-author with Claudia Dreifus of a book titled Higher Education? — covering everything that's wrong with the American university system. The discussion ranges from entrenched tenured professors more concerned with publishing and parking spaces than quality teaching; to 22-year-old students with unrealistic expectations that some company will put them in a management position after graduating with six-figures of debt; to football teams siphoning money away from academic programs so that student tuitions must increase to compensate. It really lays out the farce of university culture and reminds me of everything I absolutely despised about my college life. Dreifus is active in the comments section of the article as well, lending to a fantastic discussion on the subject."

Comments

What's wrong with it?

[Wonko the Sane]

Besides being a front for collectivist indoctrination?

Re:What's wrong with it?

[clarkkent09]

Anything a person who dwells in civilization produces is the result of a partnership between that person and the society in which they live, without which their production (to some small or large degree) would be either impossible or less. Therefore, logically, the fruits of that production also logically belong in part to that person and in part to society.

Even though it sounds plausible before you actually spend a second thinking about it, what you said is actually pure nonsense. Can you make one concrete example to back up what you said? If I make a pair of shoes by paying to learn how to do it, then buying the materials and then putting in my time and labor to make them, and then sell them, how are you entitled to a share of that? If you mean something nebulous like I benefit from the combined knowledge of the human race then those people who made contributions that you are basing yours on already got paid for theirs. You are only getting paid for your contribution on top of theirs. Why would you need to share anything?

It's not about redistributing what's yours; it's about your partner in a venture getting their cut.

Nonsense can be put in seductive way but it doesn't make it any less nonsense. Ever thought about a job writing campaign slogans for a political party? "Partner in a venture getting their cut" ... what a clown you are.

Re:And yet-

[stewbacca]

It's actually pretty sad that somebody would demand a citation of something so patently obvious.