An article in the NYT today about the census says that
On the census, people are supposed to report where they
lived on April 1 of the census year. So, for instance,
college students living in dormitories are supposed
to be tallied at the dorm address, not their parents'
homes.Surely there can't be too many bigger examples of how facts are not objective but rather are determined by our "forms of perception and categories of understanding" (Kant's phrases).
Surely, if one counts America's parent-supported student population based on the above criteria, then we can probably determine fairly certainly that the town of Littleville (whatever) has 3000 and not either 5000 or 50 inhabitants. If we count based on where people have their permanent residence (where they go when they get thrown out of where they happen to be), then Littleville has 800, and not either 50 or 3000 inhabitants.
We can increases the precision, and even the accuracy -- of conformity to our measuring metric *du jour*.
What lesson do I draw from this? Obviously, that (e.g.) students need to be more engaged in the process of deciding whether they should be graded or whether they should be judged according to other criteria (or not be judged at all, etc.), than they should be engaged in the process of being measured by a grading system that is taken for granted as if it was objectively real and not a human choice.
And, you know, students just might decide they ought to be graded, just like the musical establishment decided that they should not make life easier for themselves by using Mr. Paul von Jacko's piano (see yesterday's NYT). Maybe, no matter how hard one tries to shove the issue of how social life should be characterized under people's noses, they will not smell anything except the roses.
\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] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/
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