Arum and Roksa’s Important New Book “Aspiring Adults Adrift”

I just got my copy.  As I read it, I will post comments under the category “Comments on ‘Aspiring Adults Adrift’”. If you haven’t read their critically important first book “Academically Adrift”, I highly recommend it.  In previous posts, I have used some of the material from that book.  For now, I will repeat a couple of […]

Reminder and Notice

When I first posted A Tale Out of School, along with the highly revealing emails from administrators and others, it got a lot of hits. I’m posting this “reminder and notice” for new visitors who may not be aware of the article  and want to read it – or even read just the accompanying emails. I think […]

Notre Dame Is Rocked by Charges of Academic Cheating – Only the Tip of The Iceberg, and, Not Just Notre Dame

Notre Dame Is Rocked by Charges of Academic Cheating – NYTimes.com. I put my view in a comment:   Critics are only partly right when they “…contend that [college sports officials] are unable to run sports as a big business while maintaining academic integrity…” (from the article, 5th paragraph down) The reality is that colleges, […]

More on: The Trouble With Tenure – NYTimes.com

The Trouble With Tenure – NYTimes.com. In addition to a previous comment on this topic, I added this.   If we truly “revere” teachers, we will do something about COLLEGE education. Without a decent college education (something that most college degrees do not equate to), how can we expect our high school teachers to be […]

School Tenure – First, Cut Off the Problem at the Source

The Trouble With Tenure – NYTimes.com. I believe this is just another fix that misses the fundamental problem.  I tried to point that out in this comment. I am a former professor. I taught for 25 years, at both an elite school, Wash. U. in St. Louis, and, before that, at a regional state school. […]

Good Article – But, From Whence Commeth These Teachers?

Teaching Is Not a Business – NYTimes.com. This is a good article by someone who also understands universities.  But, (my comment on the NY Times site) Though I agree with Prof. Kirp, I would ask “from whence commeth these teachers?”. To get good teachers, we need good colleges. That second “good” means “not irresponsible or […]

Columbia Cancels High Visibility Concert – What Does This Really Mean?

Columbia Cancels Concert Amid Safety Concerns – NYTimes.com. I don’t know the answer to my own question.  But, given that the adminstrators and faculty at Columbia haven’t changed, I worry that this particular concert was cancelled simply because of its high visiblity (It got in the Times.), and not because of any serious change in […]

Is Princeton Proud of its Recommedation to Change Its Grading Policy?

I found this informative and quite humorous.  It’s by Angela Wang.  The complete article is here. “…The announcement [on Princeton’s new grading policy recommedation] came at a time when school is not in session and no press release was sent through the University’s usual channels announcing the report. A press release was sent later in the day […]

Princeton Grading Policy Change – Solving for the Winning Solution? And to What Problem?

There is a report in today’s New York Times.  It has links to the announcement by Princeton’s president, and to the faculty committee’s report. Princeton Is Proposing to End Limit on Giving A’s – NYTimes.com. The reason I ask if this is solving for the “winning solution” (See below for a definition) is that Princeton […]