tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post8948116726845325562..comments2024-03-19T07:48:54.021-06:00Comments on Gus Van Horn: When Outsourcing Isn'tGus Van Hornhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-8238017843009487732009-03-22T22:07:00.000-06:002009-03-22T22:07:00.000-06:00I am sure you are not alone there.Your type of neg...I am sure you are not alone there.<BR/><BR/>Your type of negative experience -- making good grades, but learning little -- along with the undue pressure some students seem to feel with having to make good grades, lends surface credibility to certain arguments I seem to recall being made by progressives against having standards at all.<BR/><BR/>The problem, of course, is not standards <I>per se</I>, but having poorly-formulated standards.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-90740189706675787002009-03-22T21:26:00.000-06:002009-03-22T21:26:00.000-06:00that us very true indeed. i think assignments and ...that us very true indeed. i think assignments and grades hinder the learning process to a significant extent. I remember back in the days of my Bachelor degree in chemistry getting an A in inorganic chemistry but coming empty handed out of it. you just go through the process and really don't have time to learn and experiment. on the other hand i went through a full year "special topics" paper and despite getting a B I learnt heaps and this has helped in getting several job offers.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-13154898148402204212009-03-22T07:59:00.000-06:002009-03-22T07:59:00.000-06:00As long as there are assignments and grades, you w...As long as there are assignments and grades, you will see that problem to varying degrees. Coming from poor students and poorly-taught ones, this is no surprise. It's when the attitude is predominant, and I think it is now, that it is an indication that something is seriously wrong.<BR/><BR/>Children are naturally curious, and our socialized education system, with its entrenched orthodoxies, is killing youthful curiosity.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-38648253111518897062009-03-22T00:06:00.000-06:002009-03-22T00:06:00.000-06:00This reminded me of what I observe in the attitude...This reminded me of what I observe in the attitudes' of my children towards their schoolwork. I've noticed that when a project is due, they look at it as something they have to "turn in", rather than something to learn. I believe many kids these days hand in reports that they wrote as they were reading on the subject, rather than reading first, then writing. Instead of looking at it as an opportunity to know something about "geysers", or "Greece", they look at it as a hurdle to get over and keep going. Its a shame and a real waste of kids' time.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-51693148030292083812009-03-21T07:48:00.000-06:002009-03-21T07:48:00.000-06:00Thanks, Jim.Also feeding into credentialism is the...Thanks, Jim.<BR/><BR/>Also feeding into credentialism is the fact that in our deficient educational system, college has become "the new high school." Just having a high school diploma -- which would be suficient for most work, if the high schools were doing their job -- is viewed as "not enough" whether it really is of really isn't. And that is because, as you pointed out, employers aren't testing anyone.<BR/><BR/>I am sure that "works" the other way around too: Lots of people with the right "papers" (but missing the necessary skills) get jobs.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-24135325399619991882009-03-21T01:43:00.000-06:002009-03-21T01:43:00.000-06:00Excellent piece.In the sense that a diploma is a u...Excellent piece.<BR/><BR/>In the sense that a diploma is a union card to get a job, it reminds me how reasonable recruitment practices, such as knowledge testing, have been undermined by past effort to fighting racial discrimination. It is time to re-examine removing outdated standards that "might" have been relevant 30 or 40 years ago.Jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03294929174237823914noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-11702929278026725872009-03-20T12:25:00.000-06:002009-03-20T12:25:00.000-06:00"There is a common attitude among students today....."<I>There is a common attitude among students today</I>..."<BR/><BR/>Too bad for them.<BR/><BR/>Can you pity and despise someone at the same time? I suspect so.Gus Van Hornhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05126749051688217781noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8839412.post-15643186402359417842009-03-20T10:06:00.000-06:002009-03-20T10:06:00.000-06:00There is a common attitude among students today th...There is a common attitude among students today that they are simply getting their card punched--obtaining paper credentials that will put them into a higher income bracket. They paid their money, and now they demand their certificate.Andrew Daltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11001665674703307354noreply@blogger.com