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Topic Summary

Posted by: pmp6nl
« on: January 03, 2010, 04:43:58 PM »

That is true, I hadnt considered it that way.  So how do you change that view of 2yr schools?  I for one went to a community college for a year and a half and you do kinda get that vibe from people.  But that simply wasnt the case.  I wasnt sure what exactly I wanted to do and I wanted to continue my education and it was local so I took that route.  Plus it was way cheaper.

Hummmm
Posted by: Sal Atticum
« on: January 03, 2010, 08:41:48 AM »

Great article!!

It is sad. Often people are just going to school to get a degree to make more money.  They are not very interested in the learning process... especially those areas outside their major.

It was said well in the article:

Quote
“The truth is,” she says, “students think too much about majors. But the major isn’t nearly as important as the toolbox of skills you come out with and the experiences you have.”

Students need to expand out beyond their major.  Take arts, social sciences, philosophy, etc. classes, they will only help you.

Equally important, get involved outside of class.  Join organizations, get involved in this or that, or even Campus Dakota! :)

I dont think it can be changed very easily (the way people think about college and the degree), but I think some of the methods mentioned may be a start.

Sal, you didnt post the second part of that quote:

Quote
We need to stop funding universities primarily as 'trade' schools (whether for biotech or community services) and create a parallel system that allows students to track themselves early into careers that prepare them for specific jobs. They can go back to school later if thinking becomes more attractive. This happens in Europe all the time.....

What do you, or anyone else, think about that method?

Personally I think that it shouldnt be a common thing that you will go to college.  A fact of life is that some people just arent the college type... for any number of reasons.  Why should they be practically forced to go?

Part of me thinks it has to do a lot with the "prestige" of a four-year college.  There are more people going to school now than ever before, many of whom are the first in their family, and they want the big time, not some two-year school that will teach them technical/trade skills.  There is an association between two-year schools and being poor, but that need not be true.  I'm all for more people going to schools that will give them specific training as long as a) they want to go there rather than being forced to go there and b) this doesn't open up a bigger price/class gap between some schools and others (granted that business, law, and medical schools can also be considered "trade" schools, but they've successfully marketed themselves out of that role by requiring an undergraduate degree before you can apply).
Posted by: pmp6nl
« on: January 02, 2010, 10:18:20 PM »

Quote
“We believe that we do our best for students when we give them tools to be analytical, to be able to gather information and to determine the validity of that information themselves, particularly in this world where people don’t filter for you anymore,” Dr. Coleman says. “We want to teach them how to make an argument, how to defend an argument, to make a choice.”

So many people miss that and never develop those skills.
Posted by: pmp6nl
« on: January 02, 2010, 10:16:31 PM »

Great article!!

It is sad. Often people are just going to school to get a degree to make more money.  They are not very interested in the learning process... especially those areas outside their major.

It was said well in the article:

Quote
“The truth is,” she says, “students think too much about majors. But the major isn’t nearly as important as the toolbox of skills you come out with and the experiences you have.”

Students need to expand out beyond their major.  Take arts, social sciences, philosophy, etc. classes, they will only help you.

Equally important, get involved outside of class.  Join organizations, get involved in this or that, or even Campus Dakota! :)

I dont think it can be changed very easily (the way people think about college and the degree), but I think some of the methods mentioned may be a start.

Sal, you didnt post the second part of that quote:

Quote
We need to stop funding universities primarily as 'trade' schools (whether for biotech or community services) and create a parallel system that allows students to track themselves early into careers that prepare them for specific jobs. They can go back to school later if thinking becomes more attractive. This happens in Europe all the time.....

What do you, or anyone else, think about that method?

Personally I think that it shouldnt be a common thing that you will go to college.  A fact of life is that some people just arent the college type... for any number of reasons.  Why should they be practically forced to go?
Posted by: Sal Atticum
« on: January 02, 2010, 06:04:47 PM »

Quote
Al McGuire, the coach of Marquette, used to say that 'the world is run by C students' and I agree. The trouble is that C students aren't what they used to be, what with grade inflation and 75% of high school students today going on to college.
link

Amen.
Posted by: Sal Atticum
« on: January 02, 2010, 01:19:28 PM »

No idea what to call this topic.

This is a good article.  It scares me, but it nails down the whole "seeing a diploma as something you buy to get you a job" mentality.


Ha!
Quote
There’s evidence, though, that employers also don’t want students specializing too soon. The Association of American Colleges and Universities recently asked employers who hire at least 25 percent of their workforce from two- or four-year colleges what they want institutions to teach. The answers did not suggest a narrow focus. Instead, 89 percent said they wanted more emphasis on “the ability to effectively communicate orally and in writing,” 81 percent asked for better “critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills” and 70 percent were looking for “the ability to innovate and be creative.”
anything
realistic