Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Is college a bust?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #31
    Re: Is college a bust?

    Nice post, AbsolutChaos


    I bounced the whole student-loan/tuition-increase thing off my California/teacher friend, and he agreed:

    1) student loans are automatically given without regard for academic achievement or potential (much like the notorious No-Income No-Asset NINA loans born from the subprime mortgage debacle)

    2) colleges get paid up front, regardless of whether the student graduates or is competitive in the job market

    So basically anyone who can sign their name on a paper (maybe with a little help) is a cash cow which the colleges can milk. The University of Phoenix is a for-profit institution which has benefited from this new...opportunity. The new goal is to get more people through the system and make more $$$. Also, colleges are motivated to spend a lot of money on things which make them more attractive to potential students, which may have nothing to do with giving them a better education.

    Of course there are other causes for tuition hikes. Economic troubles mean college endowments are less able to subsidize education costs. Weakened local economies means less tax money for public school budgets.


    Originally posted by matapule View Post
    How about the option of working full time and taking a full academic load; no loan needed. Yes, it is a lot of work but it is possible. Most students today, in my opinion, are lazy.
    It definitely would be refreshing to see, instead of the buy-now-pay-later(never?) attitude the credit card companies have taught us. Or maybe even work first, save up the money, and then go to school. I imagine that would produce a very motivated student.

    You think you've seen them?! I've seen them in spades! Matapule had no problem with doing a student a favor in giving them a wake up call by "flunking them."
    People need tough love, and it takes more strength to dispense it.

    Matapule is a little embarrassed to tell you that he was kicked out of one college class (geography) for the day for being "disruptive."
    People constantly make mistakes. What they do to better themselves is the way to judge their character.

    Here we go again, back to the job market! If that's all you are interested in, then higher education is probably not for you (using "you" in the general sense).
    Universities do confuse the matter, because they contain both vocational (med, law, engineering, etc.) and humanity colleges.

    Joe, did you go the school with the philosophy that your mind was just a bucket to be filled with "knowledge you were forced to learn?"
    I was pretty mindless. I just went because it was the "next thing to do", and I didn't have anything better in mind. I chose my major because I liked math. I entered school when the job market was horrible, and it was just luck that I graduated during the dot.com bubble.

    I was annoyed with being forced to take classes not related to my major, but with age I can see (some of) their value...though I bet universities liked the extra credit hours they could charge.

    Did anything you learned in school light your fire - turn you on?
    Sadly, the classes which lit my fire were all 4th year classes, which I found to be a shame. If I was exposed to them in the beginning, I would have been much more motivated.

    Anyways, the things that lit my fire are rarely found in the working world. In hindsight, I should have gotten my PhD and pursed theoretical research...maybe.

    I went back to higher education 10 years after my first degree, when I was better able to put 10 years of real life experience into following my passion.
    Older students make for better students, because they want to be there and they know why they're there.


    Originally posted by Ron Whitfield View Post
    being a big brained academic can leave you vulnerabe to the many dangers outside the classroom.
    True true. There are many different types of "intelligence". You can be a genius in one area, and be a total idiot in another.


    Originally posted by acousticlady View Post
    Sad, but true. I too, paid my own way and came out debt free. Got a full ride to grad school too. And for the record, I also worked AND raised a family while doing it. But we are of a different mind set (or generation maybe?)
    /applaud

    A stronger work ethic is more common in older generations; you all work hard for the sake of working hard. My generation seems to feel: "I'll work hard if you give me a good reason to."

    You don't have to flunk them all the time. I find a "C" does amazing things. Again, it goes back to the individual. I, too, have pulled the "flunk" card on more than one occasion.
    Heh heh. I bet you could motivate pre-med students with a B+
    "By concealing your desires, you may trick people into being cruel about the wrong thing." --Steven Aylett, Fain the Sorcerer
    "You gotta get me to the tall corn." --David Mamet, Spartan
    "
    Amateurs talk technology, professionals talk conditions." --(unknown)

    Comment


    • #32
      Re: Is college a bust?

      Originally posted by matapule View Post
      I hate math
      You should check this article out:
      http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com...to-teach-math/

      I'm gonna try teaching part the JUMP Math program to adults this summer; it'll be my first class room experience.

      They've made a lot of their material free for download (you just need to create an account):
      http://jumpmath1.org/publications
      "By concealing your desires, you may trick people into being cruel about the wrong thing." --Steven Aylett, Fain the Sorcerer
      "You gotta get me to the tall corn." --David Mamet, Spartan
      "
      Amateurs talk technology, professionals talk conditions." --(unknown)

      Comment


      • #33
        Re: Is college a bust?

        Originally posted by MyopicJoe View Post
        You should check this article out:
        http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com...to-teach-math/

        I'm gonna try teaching part the JUMP Math program to adults this summer; it'll be my first class room experience.

        They've made a lot of their material free for download (you just need to create an account):
        http://jumpmath1.org/publications
        Very interesting. I have signed up for more info. I can easily see this working on my "nonscience" students.

        Comment


        • #34
          Re: Is college a bust?

          Originally posted by acousticlady View Post
          Very interesting. I have signed up for more info. I can easily see this working on my "nonscience" students.
          Cool! If you decide to give it a try, let me know how it goes. I hope I do a good job with my students. At least they're adults who want to be there, and there will only be 3-4 of them. Building their self-confidence will be my biggest challenge (in addition to learning the material myself).
          "By concealing your desires, you may trick people into being cruel about the wrong thing." --Steven Aylett, Fain the Sorcerer
          "You gotta get me to the tall corn." --David Mamet, Spartan
          "
          Amateurs talk technology, professionals talk conditions." --(unknown)

          Comment

          Working...
          X