alt.education

On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:41:44 -0500, Bob LeChevalier
wrote:

>J. Z. Al-Huriyeh wrote:
>>On Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:12:19 GMT, Rowley
>>wrote:
>>
>>>> I recently read that colleges report up to 65 percent of their
>>>> students were not prepared for college. That means that we are failing
>>>> students. This is not because teachers aren't teaching, but because of
>>>> the pressure of good grades, everything has been dumbed down. We need
>>>> to wake up because this dumbing-down will eventually catch up with us.
>>
>>Only a fraction of our students have the intellect AND the work ethic
>>to succeed in college. However we have lots of kids (and parents) who
>>fail to accept that BOTH are just as important to that success.
>
>No. Most of the parents and the kids know that the purpose of college
>is to get a piece of paper and a line on your resume so you can MAKE
>MONEY FASTER.
>
>"Success" to them has relatively little to do with what educators
>think of as "education".

I concede this point but it's still true that you must have BOTH
intellect AND work ethic just to finish all the coursework it takes to
earn a degree.

I have felt for a very long time that if the grades didn't have this
defacto cash value, schools could grade more fairly and the college
selection process would not be as class-based as it is now.

>>It's also a function of the excessive social premium placed on
>>college. Many people who would be happier in a skilled profession
>>wind up wasting time in university getting a degree they don't really
>>want or need to do what they love.
>
>They need the piece of paper in order to get into the skilled
>profession.

Too many job tracks that used to offer OJT now require some sort of
credential. It seems this is becoming more a means of screening out
the drug addicts than an effort to find academically talented people.
(At least, this is what my husband always said. He worked on large
construction/ infrastructure projects where some positions that
required degrees used to require only a diploma. )

JZAH
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"But you don't look like a Pakistanian!"

"First they ignore you, then they laugh at you,
then they fight you, then you win."
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