Archives for December 2013

Atlantic Monthly Article on Faculty Concerns About High Graduation Rates

Here is the link, followed by my comment. http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2013/12/we-are-creating-walmarts-of-higher-education/282619/ (The article is good – and shocking – especially the part about some state schools getting rid of history courses.  State schools?  Is this becoming a vicious circle?  Uneducated politicians (probably with degrees, though) deciding not to educate?  Whatever happened to Jefferson and his silly ideas […]

Is University of Missouri’s Calculus Easier Than AP Calculus?

I just talked to a student who told me that his friends told him that.  He asked me if it was true.  I said, “probably so”.  Of course, AP Calculus is not college calculus either.  See my posts under the category “AP Calculus”.

Costs Rising Quickly, Quality of Product Slumping – What Could This Mean?

I gave my view in a comment on this informative article ( http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304244904579276850992941142) in the Wall Street Journal today. “So, over a few decades, costs have been going up dramatically, while quality of education has been going down.That should be a warning. The view from the inside (I am a professor.) is simple. This is what […]

Op-Ed Piece in New York Times Disagrees with Obama’s Ratings Plan but….

Here is the link:  http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/opinion/the-wrong-college-ratings.html?ref=opinion#commentsContainer I wrote my view of what we need. “Today’s colleges and univesities want to act like businesses.  They use powerful marketing techniques that many times trump education.  They are well aware that their consumers are young and susceptible to sales techniques, from boosting their egos (by not teaching anything really […]

An Interesting Program For Community College Attendance, Then Top School

I read about the program in the New York Times.(http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/education/top-students-at-community-colleges-to-have-chance-to-raise-ambitions.html?ref=us&_r=0 ) I haven’t looked into it but it sounds interesting from the description in the article, so I am posting this link here. One thing that I find encouraging is this statement from the article: ““We won’t guarantee admission or transferring credits, but these students will be at a […]

New York Times Editorial Series on Education – They Don’t See the Elephant in the Classroom

(Go here to see the newest piece, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/opinion/sunday/in-math-and-science-the-best-fend-for-themselves.html?hp&rref=opinion ) I am concerned that even the Times doesn’t see the problem.  Maybe they just have trouble believing how bad the integrity problem is.  Anyway, I commented on their recommendations, and I made a general comment.  Here they are. On the Times recommendation for more government support As a […]

MOOC’s Setback? But Online Still Very Useful, I Believe

There is this in yesterday’s New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/11/us/after-setbacks-online-courses-are-rethought.html?hpw&rref=us but I believe that online access can be very informative when used the way I described. (Also, I just finished an excellent book on the role of the internet in education.  It is “Abelard to Apple: The Fate of American Colleges and Universities” by Richard A. DeMillo.) “Online […]

“U.S. Colleges Finding Ideals Tested Abroad” in Today’s New York Times Article

Here is the link http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/education/american-colleges-finding-ideals-are-tested-abroad.html?hp&target=comments#commentsContainer I made a comment that refers to a paper by Clark Kerr that I just read and will post a link to in my Reisman, Kerr, etc… page.   Here is the comment. “Though some academics are giving these subtle ethical problems some serious thought, the general public, when reading articles like […]

Insightful Commenter on New York Times Economix Blog

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/as-have-been-harvards-most-common-grade-for-20-years/#postComment is the link to the page where someone posted the following excellent description of how many students feel when they get into an elite school.  It gives an important insight which I commented on in my reply, which is below.  (It is especially important to note the final sentence of this person’s comment.) “Maybe the […]