[aiethics] Tell kids to go to college?

[Richard Wallace]

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


LB is correct that the reality has fallen from the ideal.  I don't know
about other countries, but this is particularly true in the U.S.  The =
tenure
system rewards "approved" professors with lifetime employment.  Believe =
me,
there aren't many other lifetime employment guarantees in the U.S.: =
maybe
postal workers and Federal judges are the only other exceptions.  The =
rest
of us live in the harsh reality of "at will" firings and layoffs.  That
factor alone places professors on an ethereal plane of existence that =
most
people can't even imagine.

The "well rounded person" principle is a great ideal, but is it worth
$50,000?  Surely in today's world of diverse information sources, from =
the
Arts Channel to the Internet, there are less expensive ways to become =
"well
rounded."  The fact is that most students in engineering schools are not
there to become well rounded, but to learn skills that promise financial
rewards.  Conversely, the universities sell their service as an =
experience
that will provide those skills.  If they fail to teach real world =
skills, no
amount of well rounding will make the student more employable.


Rich

>
>         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
> >
> >
> > =
> >
>
>
>