Here is the linke to “A Solution for Bad Teaching” http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/06/opinion/a-solution-for-bad-teaching.html?ref=opinion Here is what I have already written about the study now being called “landmark”: Northwestern President Publishes Study About Northwestern And the National Bureau of Economic Research Publishes It? and Is The Atlantic Right to Report on a Report the Way it Did? Here […]
Time’s Op-Ed Relies on Flawed “Landmark Study”(?), and “Comprehensive Analysis”?
February 6, 2014 by
On David Kirp’s New York Times Op-Ed, Do Advisors Help?
January 9, 2014 by
David Kirp has spent worked on higher education issues for a long time and can be outspoken. I was a little surprised at this op-ed http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/09/opinion/how-to-help-college-students-graduate.html?ref=opinion&_r=0. Here is why. “Professor Kirp must realize that the programs that he advocates would be instituted in universities where “”the pursuit of money…has become a virtue” and where “Nowhere […]
Op-Ed Piece in New York Times Disagrees with Obama’s Ratings Plan but….
December 18, 2013 by
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 […]
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 […]
Just Interesting: Teachers Cheating, Students Cheating, Chic Smelling College Brands
Here are the articles I’m referring to: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/how-i-helped-teachers-cheat.html?ref=opinion http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304200804579163983479119364?KEYWORDS=perfume+college A quote from this article: “At LSU,… he says there is a benefit to having the school’s brand associated with a chic product.” There is an earlier post (http://www.inside-higher-ed.com/another-wsj-article-illustrating-university-focus-and-insight-of-great-thinkers/ )linking to another WSJ article that quotes a consultant saying, “…Prospective freshmen and their families…increasingly view themselves […]