Slashdot Mirror
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."
Most of the time its a HR drone who thinks that PHP is some kind of street name for a drug
PHP is a gateway language, it's easy to start with but before you know it you're hooked on Python, C, Java, and even worse. I get the shakes now if I don't use Perl every few hours. PHP ruined my life man.
"Never let your sense of morals prevent you from doing what is right" - Salvor Hardin
Yes, because that wasn't a mistake. It was an indication that I went through 12 years of primary and secondary education, 4 years of undergraduate work, and 6 years on a Masters and a Ph.D. and was never once told the difference between "Your" and "You're." Until you came along and enlightened me just now, I was ignorant and lost. A lot of people would have just assumed that it was a mistake--but not you. You, and only you, realized that I needed the grammatical guidance of a kind scholar like yourself. You stepped forward, ignoring the citics who would dismiss you as a smug grammar Nazi, and said "No, I will not allow him to remain ignorant!"
Thank you, sir! Thank you!
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Guess "YOU'RE" college didn't require Freshman English.
Go easy on him. He was probably a football player.
"I don't care about the Constitution!" --Bill O'Reilly, November 17, 2009
Sir, I defer to your greater experience in this matter.
Lol, could you say that again please? I love how you pronounce "moot."
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
petty politics, sucking up to superiors, back stabbing and arguing over parking spots
I'm pretty sure fluffers have to deal with that to.
Especially the sucking up to superiors.
Ah, but the difference between traveling to other countries and traveling to the US is that you have to go through American airport security. You have to really want to enter the country to voluntarily do that.
GAAH! MY PRINTER IS ON FIRE!!! PUT IT OUT! PUT IT OUT!
Damn you and your logic. I'll just pretend I didn't hear that the US has ~25% of the world's best universities by turning-up Rachel Maddow extra loud.
Ahhh.
Better. Yes, yes Rachel the US is the most background nation in the world. And the colleges suck. You preach it girl!
"I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." - historian Evelyn Beatrice Hall
I see your snark and raise a Preview button.
I know. It's "could of". Moron.
In Soviet U.S., airport security enters you!
I drank what? -- Socrates
The punchline is that Canadians pronouce "moot" the same as Americans pronouce "whoosh".
Say it out loud 9 or 10 times for your coworkers. Trust me, they'll laugh.
The fascinating thing is that the result of the American system, where apparently one is taught to hug trees (according to you) is that Americans are impermeable to the reality of global warming, whereas in the rest of the world, everyone is pretty much convinced...
From which we must conclude that the system is so disastrous it can't even indoctrinate properly.
Right on man, screw english and art! what good ever came from studying either of those subjects?
But then there's typically a good 30-40 year delay between actual achievement and Nobel prize.
This is true, though sometimes it takes even longer. In a recent case, it took Barack Obama 48 years to win a prize for being born.
Funtime Candy Wow! - my plan for eventually conquering Japan.