I added this comment. Good article – but the title should be: “Getting into a college that CLAIMS that it is good – maybe even “elite” – is not as hard as you think. Finding a college that IS good is much harder than you think.” As David Riesman warned, “…the “wants” of students to […]
Archives for November 2014
For Accomplished Students, Reaching a “Great” College Isn’t as Hard as It Seems
November 30, 2014 by
For Accomplished Students, Reaching a Good College Isn’t as Hard as It Seems – NYTimes.com. Note that I changed “Good” to “Great” since there are fewer “Good Colleges” than you think. Here is what I wrote. This article motivated me to look at MIT’s admissions statistics. Here is a back of the envelope calculation based […]
Teaching Effectiveness is NEGATIVELY Associated With Student Evaluations
November 28, 2014 by
That is a partial quote from an important new paper by Philip B. Stark and Richard Freishtat. Here is a more complete version of the quote. These experiments found that teaching effectiveness, as measured by subsequent performance and career success, is negatively associated with [student evaluations]. (from page 12) This paper is important – especially for parents […]
More on: Promiscuous College Come-Ons
November 24, 2014 by
Promiscuous College Come-Ons – NYTimes.com. This was the most recommended comment made on the article. My agreement and reply is posted below it. gemli is a trusted commenter Boston Yesterday I guess it’s just me, but I think we need to educate as many people as possible. We’re electing idiots to Congress, we’re embracing fundamentalism, […]
University President Gives Away the Game with a Word
November 23, 2014 by
I commented on this article. Promiscuous College Come-Ons – NYTimes.com. Here is the comment, but be aware that I was on some serious pain medication when I wrote it last night. It may not be so clear. (I had surgery Thursday and will be off the medication, today.) “…Kathleen McCartney, the president of Smith College, […]
Thoughtful Op-Ed From Law Prof on Rape – But a Big IF
November 16, 2014 by
Mishandling Rape – NYTimes.com. I commented. “”…if schools are genuinely interested in preventing sexual assault…” That is when I stopped reading this thoughtful, but moot, article. Until the genuine interest of colleges is no longer self-aggrandizement – whether that be through football, through endowment, or through attracting students with inflated grades and parties – and, […]
Alexander Grothendieck Dies
November 16, 2014 by
Alexander Grothendieck, Math Enigma, Dies at 86 – NYTimes.com. Here is an excerpt from his letter to the Swedish Royal Academy rejecting the 1988 $250,000 Crafoord Prize. “…the ethical standards of the sciences ( certainly in mathematics) have been degraded to such an extent that the most bare-faced plagiarism between colleagues ( often at the […]
An Example of College Benefitting From the Dumbing Down of High School
Remedial Courses in College Stir Questions Over Cost, Effectiveness – WSJ. Here is what I wrote. “From decades of observation – as a math professor – I can shed light on a fair amount of the problem. Poor high school education starts in college, not high school. In a nutshell, here is what happens. (Actual cases, […]