Excellent Article That Hits the Nail on the Head

What Role Does Technology Play in Record Levels of Income Inequality? | MIT Technology Review.

I highly recommend this article.  The last few paragraphs put the focus on educantional instituations.

Here is how I commented.

Grusky argues..we must…reform educational institutions…” Absolutely. The problem started before 1980. Here is David Riesman in 1980.

“…the “wants”of students to which competing institutions..cater are quite different from the“needs” of students…advantage can be taken of [students] by unscrupulous instructors and institutions…”

I have seen this happening as I have taught, first at a state regional school; then at Washington U. in St. Louis. Though I have a blog (www.inside-higher-ed.com), I will summarize some of what I have seen.

Math professors with “national need” grants graduating phd’s who had trouble with challenging calculus problems.

A professor at the state school, told me that, after teaching finite math for five years, he could tell when the homework was wrong, but not always what was wrong. He was not alone. Future teachers who went to this school had little chance to learn the math they needed to teach high school well.

At Wash. U. I taught an MIT-type differential equations course. My Chair told me to change it to a “cookbook” course. An engineering dean responded to a letter from me – a letter that noted that the students who cheated on homework did poorly on the exam – by writing me not to “discourage” students. He said “retention” was important.