Today’s Anxious Freshmen Declare Majors Far Faster Than Their Elders – WSJ. But they need advice. I wrote. I am a former professor who taught at Washington University in St. Louis. With honest advice these earnest students will do well. Unfortunately, they cannot count on college officials to always give them that honest advice. In the words of David Riesman […]
Good News: Today’s Anxious Freshmen Declare Majors Far Faster Than Their Elders – WSJ
March 20, 2015 by
Math’s Enigma’s? Great, But Some People Want to Keep Them a Secret.
March 14, 2015 by
On Pi Day, Celebrate Math’s Enigmas – NYTimes.com. I had to comment. True, oh so true: “…it’s only when we try to stretch our minds around mathematics’ enigmas that true understanding can set in.” (The Op-Ed’s last line.) But, far too true, too: “…stretch[ing] our minds around mathematics…” is what so many unscrupulous college administrators […]
UNC Chancellor Resigns Over Numerous Scandals – Then Immediately Swept Up by Washington U. as “Chief Academic Officer”
March 12, 2015 by
Book Review: ‘Cheated’ by Jay M. Smith and Mary Willingham – WSJ. I just read this review and will soon get the book. I will only quote one line from the review: “The best-case analysis of Mr. Thorp is that he was hopelessly incompetent; explanations go downhill from there.” Where are the faculty at Washington […]
Kevin Carey’s Good Idea (MOOC’s) Needs Help
March 10, 2015 by
College for a New Age – NYTimes.com is a good editorial about Kevin Carey’s new book. He has good ideas about MOOC’s, but he needs help, as I pointed out. “I’m a former professor. I now write a blog on higher education’ inside-higher-ed . I have read several of Mr. Carey’s essays. He understands higher education, […]
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 […]
Penn Professor Tells It Like It Is
February 18, 2015 by
I highly recommend reading this. College, Poetry and Purpose – NYTimes.com. Though I made a comment, it is so similar to others, that, for regular readers, I just recommend the NY Times piece. Here is my comment. Prof. Hall is correct about students as “customers”; though the problem is not with them. It is with […]
Colleges’ Use of Adjunct Instructors Comes Under Pressure – WSJ
Colleges’ Use of Adjunct Instructors Comes Under Pressure – WSJ. I commented. “What matters is not whether a university uses adjuncts; what matters is how a university sees its students and what goals the administrators have for themselves. If the university sees students as naïve consumers; and the administrators’ goals are self-aggrandizement (from rankings and money), then the university will fit David Riesman’s description, […]