See From ‘Hamlet’ to Hillary – NYTimes.com for Bruni’s article. My comment: “As a former professor – and observer of higher education – I think that in 2015 you would be hard put to find the type of courses that your examples took, not in 2015. I recently posted (on my blog inside-higher-ed) a syllabus from […]
Frank Bruni Thinks Learning LibArts Is Important? I Do Too, But Where Do You Go To Do That?
May 3, 2015 by
Measuring Benefits of Smaller Amounts in Same Container
March 16, 2015 by
Is your degree worth it?: It depends what you study, not where | The Economist. There is a fallacy in these statistics. I commented. Just as consumers can be fooled into believing that today’s can of “whatever” contains the same amount as yesterday’s, so can “consumers” of today’s degrees be fooled into thinking they contain […]
Paul Krugman Thinks a Degree is an Education?
February 23, 2015 by
Knowledge Isn’t Power – NYTimes.com. Unfortunately, Prof. Krugman writes that there isn’t that much of an education problem. Here is what I wrote. (Please ignore the terrible writing. I was in a big hurry and made too many changes, too fast. Embarrassing.) “I highly regard Prof. Krugman’s analysis of FACTS. So it is disturbing when […]
“Task Force Wants Simplified Oversight of U.S. Colleges” Of Course, It Does.
February 13, 2015 by
Task Force Wants Simplified Oversight of U.S. Colleges, Universities – WSJ. I think if you read my comment about the composition of the task force, you won’t need to read the article. “…The group, made up of 16 college presidents and higher education experts…” Fourteen of these “…higher education experts…” [For my readers I have […]
Excellent Essay on College Truth – Should Be Required Reading
February 8, 2015 by
This essay by Kevin Carey is excellent. How to Raise a University’s Profile: Pricing and Packaging – NYTimes.com. I commented, but just to add to the information in the essay. Thank you, Mr. Carey. This essay should be required reading for everyone – at least everyone who cares about our economy, our society, and the […]
America’s elite: An hereditary meritocracy | The Economist
January 27, 2015 by
America’s elite: An hereditary meritocracy | The Economist. I tried to explain my view. The most important fact about higher education is missing from this analysis. That fact explains much of what we see happening here on many fronts: socially, politically, economically. The eminent sociologist David Riesman observed (in 1980)how corrupt American universities were becoming; […]
William Deresiewicz’s Incisive Observation Taken to Its Logical Conclusion
How college sold its soul to the market Source: [Essay] | The Neoliberal Arts, by William Deresiewicz | Harper’s Magazine I commented. To truly change higher education, the critical observation that college is neoliberal, needs to be followed to its logical conclusion. What has damned higher education in America is the neoliberalist view of colleges […]