[aiethics] Tell kids to go to college?

[LilBwana]

Alicebot AI Ethics Committee - http://www.alicebot.org


        The "Idea" of College is to expand on the knowledge that one has
acquired, yet in today's society it has become the mission of most =
colleges
to "re-program" it's students, so much now that they try to justify what
they are doing by implementing theories in earlier schools like High =
School,
middle school, and even elementary, where they feel that teaching tiny =
kids
evolution they are thereby changing society.  We have reached a point =
where
it no longer matters what the parents of the child thinks, or believes, =
it
is what the public schools can program into the minds of the young, to =
get
them into a more "sociological" balance.  Thereby the children lose =
respect
in their parents, and have more faith in a so called society, or =
government.
What happened to teaching our kids the basics of life, the mathematics, =
the
reading, writing, why is it most students can tell you whatever you need =
to
know about evolution, and the so-called problems with the environment, =
yet
they cannot write a grammatically complete sentence, and they have a =
problem
with simple mathematics.  Why are we not the top educated country in the
world?  Why are our kids being passed when they cannot even understand =
their
report card.
        As Dr. Wallace mentioned also a problem with college is the fact =
of
paying off student loans, he was saying that you can learn more, and get
farther in the job market if you know how to teach yourself, and learn =
from
independent sources.  Get the Education system back to the basics, and I
will say that it is worth a shot.

Justin


----- Original Message -----
From: "Heath Borders-Wing" <hborders@mail.win.org>
To: "Alicebot AI Ethics Committee" <aiethics@listbot.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 11, 2001 11:11 PM
Subject: Re: [aiethics] Tell kids to go to college?


> Alicebot AI Ethics Committee - http://www.alicebot.org
>
>
> Hi.  I'm a new member, so I don't want to come off as unfriendly or
> anything, but I have to disagree with all the college-education =
bashing.
> I'm not sure what colleges you guys had experience with, but at mine, =
the
> university of missouri-columbia, which is an ordinary state school =
with a
> slightly better than average engineering program, where I am majoring =
in
> computer science, computer engineering, and math.
>
> Anyways, at my program, as with many others, student learn a =
foundation of
> theory on the subjects.  The college focuses on studies and research, =
not
> training people for jobs.  As of late, my college has started turning =
more
> towards a job training degree program rather than a program for those =
that
> wish to learn about the topic, regardless of whether they wish to work =
in
> the field.  While I do feel that I am not learning as much as a could =
be
at
> college, I do feel that it has given me a great foundation on which to
> build.  Furthermore, because of general education requirements, I have
> learned about areas that previously did not interest me.  This has =
made me
> more worldly and a more informed citizen.  While someone may become =
MCSE
> certified and get a high-paying job, any good student of computer =
sciences
> can do the same.  The advantage of being college educated lies in the
> broader range of topics the college student will have studied.  This =
will
> allow me to possibly take a job in any range of areas while someone =
who is
> MCSE certified is restricted to a specific area.  Further, they do not
have
> the more learned background in the sciences and the arts that the =
college
> student has, which brings new perspectives and solutions into my work,
> increasing its quality.
>
> There is no denying that helping on an open-source project, or =
becoming
MCSE
> certified will impart signifigant knowledge onto a prospective =
student.
But
> it is most important that students be well-rounded in their education =
and
> establish a foundation in multiple areas to make them more valuable to
> companies and the world in general.
>
> -Heath
>
>
>