Good Essay on Universities Being an Illusion – But It’s Not Because They Don’t Exert Influence Over Teaching. It’s Because They DO!

Source: The Fundamental Way That Universities Are an Illusion – The New York Times I commented. “…When it comes to exerting influence over teaching and learning, [colleges are] Easter eggs. They barely exist…” They do exert an influence. It’s negative. I know. I’m a former math professor. Here is just one example of a college […]

Harvard Admissions Needs ‘Moneyball for Life’ – The New York Times

The university should start filtering for self-importance, and future big donors. Source: Harvard Admissions Needs ‘Moneyball for Life’ – The New York Times

The Watchdogs of College Education Rarely Bite – WSJ

Accreditors keep hundreds of colleges with low graduation rates or high loan defaults alive. Source: The Watchdogs of College Education Rarely Bite – WSJ It’s worse than graduation rates.  I wrote. The fish stinks from the head.  I know, I have taught at the head and the tail. The real stink comes more from not educating […]

Example of How First Graders Are Learning to Think Mathematically

a strategy for first graders learning addition. If you want to remember what 8+5 is, you recall that 8 needs two more to be 10; take those two away from the 5 and give them to the 8, leaving you with 10+3 = 13 Source: Meet the New Common Core – The New York Times […]

A Mathematician Sees the Problem; Hopefully He Will See the Cause Too

But don’t get too excited. It’s the same as the old one…My kid has had teachers who liked and understood the math they taught. But not everyone’s so fortunate Source: Meet the New Common Core I added, Prof. Ellenberg, I too am a mathematician, but, unlike you, I have been fortunate enough to have taught […]

So Are the Ramifications of Not Getting What You Paid For

The ramifications of defaulting and remaining in debt deliberately are usually real and lasting. Source: Taking On Student Debt, and Refusing to Pay – NYTimes.com I commented. You write that “…the ramifications of defaulting and remaining in debt deliberately are usually real and lasting…” True, but there is something much worse: the ramifications of colleges […]

“Student Loans and Defaults: The Facts – NYTimes.com” My View: Anyway you Slice it, or Dice it, It’s Too Commonly a Shakedown

“…Graduate students borrow a lot more than undergraduates…” Source: Student Loans and Defaults: The Facts – NYTimes.com I commented. A more descriptive statement than “…borrowing is highest among the minority of college students who go on for graduate study..” is:Borrowing is highest among two groups of students: those who realize that they were scammed and […]

Who Can We Trust to Have Control?

Gov. Walker and leaders in Wisconsin’s Republican-held Legislature are pushing the University of Wisconsin system to give a board largely picked by the governor far more control over firings and even curriculum. Source: Unions Subdued, Scott Walker Turns to Tenure at Wisconsin Colleges – NYTimes.com My view? Here is what I wrote. “We can’t afford […]

Evidence That Schools That Educate Graduate Students Who Are in Big Demand

Uber…put up a billboard outside Carnegie Mellon’s computer-sciences building that said: “We are looking for the best software engineers in Pittsburgh.” Graduate students are being approached to work at the company. Source: Carnegie Mellon Reels After Uber Lures Away Researchers – WSJ This is a story about one of the top schools in computer science […]