Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2004/06/26

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Subject: [Leica] declining quality now why are these illiterates evenadmitted to college
From: ljkapner at cox.net (Leonard J Kapner)
Date: Sat Jun 26 16:44:19 2004

Sorry for the intrusion, but this whole issue makes me see red. 

When academic administrators are rewarded for managing to a set of numbers
rather than to the independently inspected quality of their product, we get
this kind of "felgerkarb" result. 

Higher education is the only industry in America (other than politics and
used car sales) that flourishes, despite the almost universal condemnation
of the quality of their contribution to the nation's economy. 

What is wrong with us??

Maybe I'm just wearing a red filter today...

Len

-- 

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+ljkapner=cox.net@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+ljkapner=cox.net@leica-users.org] On Behalf Of Don Dory
Sent: Saturday, June 26, 2004 4:07 PM
To: 'Leica Users Group'
Subject: RE: [Leica] declining quality now why are these illiterates
evenadmitted to college

Sorry for the rant, but if these 18 year olds are being admitted to
university; shouldn't they be able to string a few words together
coherently?

Perhaps it wouldn't be too much to require basic communication abilities
before admission.  My mother taught at the graduate level and every
semester flunked out a few who couldn't/wouldn't write the required
papers in the format provided the first session.  I can still hear her
on the phone to the Provost explaining that if a student could not
follow a basic style requirement at the graduate level she saw no reason
to provide a passing grade, and explaining it again, and again.

Don
dorysrus@mindspring.com

-----Original Message-----
From: lug-bounces+dorysrus=mindspring.com@leica-users.org
[mailto:lug-bounces+dorysrus=mindspring.com@leica-users.org] On Behalf
Of Adam Bridge
Sent: Saturday, June 26, 2004 3:17 PM
To: Leica Users Group
Subject: Re: [Leica] declining quality of writing

My engineering education dates from the early 1980s, but at UC Davis
at least writing reports, GOOD reports that people could understand
and which were literate, was a part of the general engineering
curriculum that all engineers were required to take.

The University also had entrance tests to discern who could actually
write an essay in English that someone might, should they read it,
have a shot at understanding. I used to carpool with one of the
specialists who taught that course and the amount of understanding she
brought to her course was well beyond what a vast majority of the
engineering faculty had at their disposal.

Teaching writing and composition is a specialized field, just like
teaching circuit design, chemistry or any other field. It seems
natural to me to let those who studied how to do it actually do the
job they studied for.

On the other hand the demand for well-written reports and essays in
the sciences and in engineering seems even more crucial now than it
ever has. But in an era where some elementary curricula are designed
around using Power Point (shuddering) I wonder how well we're going to
be doing a decade from now.

Adam

On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 14:32:08 -0500, Jeffery Smith <jls@runbox.com>
wrote:
> 
> I have tried to push "writing across the curriculum" at three
different
> colleges, and each attempt has invoked cries of "academic freedom"
being
> violated. The invention of the scantron hasn't helped our cause
either.
> 
> Jeffery Smith
> New Orleans, LA
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Replies: Reply from Frank.Dernie at btinternet.com (Frank Dernie) ([Leica] declining quality now why are these illiterates evenadmitted to college)
Reply from jls at runbox.com (Jeffery Smith) ([Leica] declining quality now why are these illiteratesevenadmitted to college)
In reply to: Message from dorysrus at mindspring.com (Don Dory) ([Leica] declining quality now why are these illiterates even admitted to college)