Maureen Dowd comments about the testimony yesterday of Gen. David H. Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker about current conditions in Iraq...
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Where Dullards Rule
I just got off the telephone with a university in the northeast trying to propose a new course of study for their consideration.
Start at the top, right? So I originally wrote the president's office and was bounced, unexpectedly, to two other administrators... one in the graduate school and the other in their undergraduate department. No problem.
Trying to make contact with these two gentlemen proved to be a challenge (I was told that a shift in the date for their annual homecoming celebrations was the main cause), but eventually I called and called and was connected with both in turn.
The undergraduate fellow was extremely personable, and indicated that the subject matter for the proposed course was timely. This institution had a reputation in the discipline, but it had slipped in recent years, due to a focus on other matters. He urged me to speak with the graduate fellow, and indicated that he, himself, would follow up with him.
Chasing down the graduate fellow was a bit more challenging, but I finally secured a few precious moments with him on the telephone.
Ever get the the impression that you are a skunk at an outdoor garden party? This graduate administrator barely tolerated my call, and left me with the very strong impression that his mind was completely closed, and nothing I could do would possibly change it. This was later confirmed to me, in part, by the undergraduate administrator. I even offered that a foundation I had contact with expressed some interest in supporting the idea. No dice. Both administrators, after conferring amongst themselves, didn't want to "lead me on" or waste MY time" (Whose time?)
Why share this episode with you?
Just this...
When educational institutions are closed minded, we are ALL in a heap of trouble!
I've always thought of higher education as being an OPEN marketplace where all ideas are welcome and evaluated squarely on their own merits.
But that isn't necessarily true these days. We've become a nation where educational bureaucrats rule the roost, and conformity is the watchword of the day. So-called "accrediting agencies" enforce broad, across-the-board mediocrity standards, all in the name of stamping out a few bad apples in higher education, which exist, in the first place, because some states have exceptionally low licensing requirements.
Billions and billions are spent annually on higher education, and it just might be time for everyone to look beyond the ivy facades and glossy brochures and ask penetrating questions about what, exactly, we are getting for our money and how, exactly, our youth is being prepared for a tough, globally competitive life in the 21st Century. Are students getting a sound, useful, quality education, or merely paper "credentials" necessary to hoodwink a future employer's personnel department?
Such questions will rarely, if ever, be asked at that university I had the telephone discussions with today.
But if you care about your kids... and the direction of our country... you might start asking tough questions to those educators who really should know better.
It's time to think about change.
I just got off the telephone with a university in the northeast trying to propose a new course of study for their consideration.
Start at the top, right? So I originally wrote the president's office and was bounced, unexpectedly, to two other administrators... one in the graduate school and the other in their undergraduate department. No problem.
Trying to make contact with these two gentlemen proved to be a challenge (I was told that a shift in the date for their annual homecoming celebrations was the main cause), but eventually I called and called and was connected with both in turn.
The undergraduate fellow was extremely personable, and indicated that the subject matter for the proposed course was timely. This institution had a reputation in the discipline, but it had slipped in recent years, due to a focus on other matters. He urged me to speak with the graduate fellow, and indicated that he, himself, would follow up with him.
Chasing down the graduate fellow was a bit more challenging, but I finally secured a few precious moments with him on the telephone.
Ever get the the impression that you are a skunk at an outdoor garden party? This graduate administrator barely tolerated my call, and left me with the very strong impression that his mind was completely closed, and nothing I could do would possibly change it. This was later confirmed to me, in part, by the undergraduate administrator. I even offered that a foundation I had contact with expressed some interest in supporting the idea. No dice. Both administrators, after conferring amongst themselves, didn't want to "lead me on" or waste MY time" (Whose time?)
Why share this episode with you?
Just this...
When educational institutions are closed minded, we are ALL in a heap of trouble!
I've always thought of higher education as being an OPEN marketplace where all ideas are welcome and evaluated squarely on their own merits.
But that isn't necessarily true these days. We've become a nation where educational bureaucrats rule the roost, and conformity is the watchword of the day. So-called "accrediting agencies" enforce broad, across-the-board mediocrity standards, all in the name of stamping out a few bad apples in higher education, which exist, in the first place, because some states have exceptionally low licensing requirements.
Billions and billions are spent annually on higher education, and it just might be time for everyone to look beyond the ivy facades and glossy brochures and ask penetrating questions about what, exactly, we are getting for our money and how, exactly, our youth is being prepared for a tough, globally competitive life in the 21st Century. Are students getting a sound, useful, quality education, or merely paper "credentials" necessary to hoodwink a future employer's personnel department?
Such questions will rarely, if ever, be asked at that university I had the telephone discussions with today.
But if you care about your kids... and the direction of our country... you might start asking tough questions to those educators who really should know better.
It's time to think about change.
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