Ed Weick wrote:
[snip]
> Grade creep or deflation may indeed be occurring. But IMHO the big
> challenge in a world as dynamic and chaotic as ours is how to keep education
> relevant so that we stand a chance of solving at least some of our problems.
[snip]
I think this is getting to the core of the matter.
Even The United States of America cannot afford everything.
Can we afford the huge waste of human potential --> the
huge loss of potential assets for coping with
+ The new global terrorism
+ Global pollution and impending eco-catastrophe
+ Global hyperpopulation (not enough water for
drinking and irrigation, etc.)
+ Widespread lowering of living standards leading to diminished
support for the status quo due to The New Global Economy
+ More...
...which comes from indulging ourselves in the
luxury of preventing many from contributing to solving
the problems because we get off on seeing them fail
some examinations?
As Alice Miller has pointed out, those persons
who "paid their dues" and finally are in a position of
power generally vent their frustrations by
making the next generation pay their dues. For
those who "survived" their examinations to forego
being the examiners of the next generation is a HUGE sacrifice
to ask of them,
but maybe they can cope with their loss by consoling
themselves with their tenure and Faculty Club
privileges and getting some counselling to help them
convert their resentment into mourning?
As whatever-his-name-was-who-blew-up-the-Federal-
building-in-Oklahoma said:
It's payback time.
One no longer has to be an apocalyptic Christian
to expect The Last Judgment in the near future -- even
if Aguirre/Ahab was not at the helm of The USS Ship of
State, but surely he is "helping" matters.
\brad mccormick
--
Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16)
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21)
<![%THINK;[SGML+APL]]> Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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