It seems to me that the focus of many university’s priorities is highlighted in just the first half page of this article. In 1980 the famous sociologist David Reisman (co-author of The Lonely Crowd) published On Higher Education: The Academic Enterprise in an Era of Rising Student Consumerism. So, really, this isn’t news. Note that the […]
Archives for December 2012
It Starts in the18th Grade
December 12, 2012 by
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/11/education/us-students-still-lag-globally-in-math-and-science-tests-show.html?ref=us is a link to an article in the NYTimes. Of course, it is not news that US students perfom poorly in math and science. What is probably not understood is how US graduate education impacts this in a big way. How does this happen? Here are my conclusions. The Short Summary: For a variety of reasons, […]
How does your course compare?
December 10, 2012 by
Let’s say you are taking a course in Calculus (or Differential Equations, or whatever) and you want to know if it is up to snuff. I suggest that students go to the MIT OCW (OpenCourseWare) site (http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm) and look up the same course there. You can find the course description, homework problems, old exams and a list of […]
Open a Windows Folder – Get College Credit
December 10, 2012 by
It’s part of this Op-Ed, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/10/opinion/who-will-hold-colleges-accountable.html?ref=opinion I think the most important point that the author makes is that there is no accountability in higher education. How do you know what you are getting? (See my next post on “How does your course compare?” if you want one suggestion I give students who want to make sure they are getting […]
AP Calculus Courses Discussion on NPR
December 4, 2012 by
I commented on the “Talk of the Nation” show: “Op-Ed: AP Classes Are One of America’s ‘Great Frauds’”. It is based on a piece by Mr. Tierney that appeared in the Atlantic. My comments are about 6 minutes into the show. Here is a link to the NPR program: http://www.npr.org/2012/12/03/166414595/op-ed-ap-classes-are-a-scam
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