The Suicide Of The Liberal Arts

[mjmaherjr]

I'm afraid that pragmatism is uppermost in the mind of most students nowadays and learning for its own sake is generally viewed as an extravagant waste of time and money rather than an opportunity to come to grips with questions such as the nature of man and why we're here on this planet.

A professor's job is more frustrating than ever because so few students come to college with any frame of reference and even those who do often fail to see any merit in pursuing these questions.

When I went to college I felt privileged to be there. I was thrilled to death being exposed to Homer and Dante and Shakespeare. Now most students seem resentful that they have to listen to such drivel. .

As a college admissions representative, I offer a few points from my observation and interaction with high school students and their parents:

1. Each year, more and more kids are ill prepared to do college level work as freshmen. The percentage of kids who are required to take remedial math and/or English classes before they are permitted to take credit bearing courses is astounding.

2. To a large extent, kids (and their parents) today see college strictly as a means to an end. For what they are paying to go to school, the focus is now more on learning what is necessary to get a good paying job rather than learning for the sake of learning. The fact that approximately 38% of students who earn bachelor degrees are able to do so in 4 years makes the approach of "fast food" learning more appealing, especially to those footing the bill.

3. With the high cost of college education, many people don't see the value in a liberal arts education (or majoring in areas that will not likely lead to employment upon graduation) because they are spending a large sum of money "only" to prepare to go to graduate school and accumulate more debt.

1.) Kids are ill prepared for college because for many of them it is the first time in their lives that they are allowed to experience failure. And when they do experience failure, they do not know how to react to it. They are used to being able to get by on very little work and effort because their parents and teachers are afraid of committing the ultimate crime of potentially hurting a child's feelings. When I was growing up, and I'm sure for most of the posters on here it was the same way, you were allowed to get cut from the team, you either won or lost, there were some birthday parties that you weren't invited to, and if you failed, you failed, no questions asked. That's not the way it works anymore. Now, everyone has to be included, kids get these stupid things called participation awards, and if I kid fails its somehow more the teachers fault than the students. We need to go back to a point where we can tell kids that sometimes they just aren't good enough, and eventually they will have to work for things.

here is a great article dealing with that sport participation trophy bullshit

my friends kids play in a soccer league and there is no winner in the game. what kind of nonsense is this. Hoy crap that stuff pisses me off. When you play a sport you either win or you lose. it's that simple. If you lose then work harder and enjoy it that much more when you finally win

http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/...on-rejects-sons-participation-trophies-081515

 

[lawmanfan]

One thing I also hate is how kids these days no longer have to walk four miles to school in a perpetual blizzard.

Uphill, both ways. Carrying the horse on their backs.

Totally agree.