Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/18/opinion/the-wrong-college-ratings.html?ref=opinion#commentsContainer I wrote my view of what we need. “Today’s colleges and univesities want to act like businesses. They use powerful marketing techniques that many times trump education. They are well aware that their consumers are young and susceptible to sales techniques, from boosting their egos (by not teaching anything really […]
New York Times Editorial Series on Education – They Don’t See the Elephant in the Classroom
December 15, 2013 by
(Go here to see the newest piece, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/15/opinion/sunday/in-math-and-science-the-best-fend-for-themselves.html?hp&rref=opinion ) I am concerned that even the Times doesn’t see the problem. Maybe they just have trouble believing how bad the integrity problem is. Anyway, I commented on their recommendations, and I made a general comment. Here they are. On the Times recommendation for more government support As a […]
MOOC’s Setback? But Online Still Very Useful, I Believe
December 12, 2013 by
There is this in yesterday’s New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/11/us/after-setbacks-online-courses-are-rethought.html?hpw&rref=us but I believe that online access can be very informative when used the way I described. (Also, I just finished an excellent book on the role of the internet in education. It is “Abelard to Apple: The Fate of American Colleges and Universities” by Richard A. DeMillo.) “Online […]
“U.S. Colleges Finding Ideals Tested Abroad” in Today’s New York Times Article
December 12, 2013 by
Here is the link http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/education/american-colleges-finding-ideals-are-tested-abroad.html?hp&target=comments#commentsContainer I made a comment that refers to a paper by Clark Kerr that I just read and will post a link to in my Reisman, Kerr, etc… page. Here is the comment. “Though some academics are giving these subtle ethical problems some serious thought, the general public, when reading articles like […]
Insightful Commenter on New York Times Economix Blog
December 12, 2013 by
http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/as-have-been-harvards-most-common-grade-for-20-years/#postComment is the link to the page where someone posted the following excellent description of how many students feel when they get into an elite school. It gives an important insight which I commented on in my reply, which is below. (It is especially important to note the final sentence of this person’s comment.) “Maybe the […]
New York Times Behind the Times. Grade Inflation is Sooo 20th Century.
December 10, 2013 by
Here is a link to the Times article about the average grade at Harvard. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/as-have-been-harvards-most-common-grade-for-20-years/ I tried to comment in a light vein. “I am a former math professor at an “elite” university and I’m writing to let you know that grade inflation is not the problem it used to be. We have been in a […]
Added Comment to Joe Nocera’s Opinion in NY Timse
December 10, 2013 by
Here it is. “The author writes that “…The real issue is: how do you make college affordable again?..”. If that is all we do, “…make college affordable…” we will continue to get the system we have: institutions marketing and catering to uneducated consumers (in the past, quaintly known as students), a trillion dollars of student […]
On “The Berkeley Model” by Joe Nocera at the New York Times
December 10, 2013 by
Mr. Nocera writes that Fred Wiseman’s documentary is a “big wet kiss” to Berkely. He expresses concern about the cost of education (which he should) and writes that “The real issue is: how do you make college more affordable today.” I am worried that many people like Joe Nocera and Jon Meacham (See Why Do […]
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