Having Life the Easy Way

Observations as a full-time faculty member for more than seven years:

* Nearly 90% of students in my classes cannot do basic arithmetic.

* Students' writing skills are abominable.

* Except for a handful of students, the overwhelming majority just don't appear to care about learning.

* Putting in hard work is an alien concept. Students would rather work and make minimum wage, or just hang out, rather than spend the time studying.

College life is easy, students are not challenged often.

I gave two exams this week, and the average in each one was around 65%, and even this was achieved after generous grading. Only 2 out of 21 students in one class could do simple problems (example: if Boeing makes a $40 million profit on one plane, how many planes does it need to sell to recoup the upfront investment of $10 Billion in R&D?- answers ranged from 13 to 2000).

College the Easy Way

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/05/opinion/05herbert.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

Intellectual effort and academic rigor, in the minds of many of the nation’s college students, is becoming increasingly less important. According to the authors, Professors Richard Arum of New York University and Josipa Roksa of the University of Virginia: “Many students come to college not only poorly prepared by prior schooling for highly demanding academic tasks that ideally lie in front of them, but — more troubling still — they enter college with attitudes, norms, values, and behaviors that are often at odds with academic commitment.”

Students are hitting the books less and partying more. Easier courses and easier majors have become more and more popular. Perhaps more now than ever, the point of the college experience is to have a good time and walk away with a valuable credential after putting in the least effort possible.

Ms. Diane Ravitch, author of the book The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education was on the Daily Show discussing education/

http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/thu-march-3-2011-diane-ravitch