[John] We can't take on "the academy" in isolation without also addressing K-12, and in fact, that's where I see a great deal of the solution coming - from the bottom up. How? The voucher system. Allow parents and students to choose freely from a variety of education systems...
[Arlo] There are a lot of open posts in this thread, so just a heads up that if I miss something its unintentional. At present, parents have that ability to send their children (and adult students can make their own decisions) about which University or college to attend. Given this, I don't see your point about how if parents had the same "choice" at the K-12 level, the problems you mention would be solved. For example, if its "religious integration", there are many, many religious colleges and universities you could send your kids to. Do you feel these institutions are more "flexible" or open to evolving ideas than non-religious universities? [John] ... and I think a sort of evolution would occur that is being stifled by the interference of big govt/big business which are focused on training up drones for the giant's hives. More vocational schools, more art schools... [Arlo] Setting K-12 aside for the moment, there are plenty of art schools, vocational schools, all kinds of alternatives out there to the university. Do you think we need more? What you seem to be suggesting, in fact, is separating out vocational and art schools from the Academy. I've long argued the reverse is true (leaving aside Crawford's- and Pirsig's- notion that the problem IS the divorce of vocation from art), that students entering these fields should be given the same broad exposure to knowledge that the University provides. There is no reason why our future carpenters should be denied courses in literature, history, poetry, astronomy, philosophy, etc. [John] Then I believe the university system is flexible enough to meet the higher needs of such a self-empowered base of students. [Arlo] How is the University NOT meeting their needs, because it is certainly bending over backwards to meet their demands. And students have more power now than ever in the Academy. [John] And there [tuition costs], I think we need a top-down solution - but by "top", I don't mean the university, I mean the society. In this case, the academy needs to see that, acknowledge it and work toward revolutinary change. [Arlo] What change would you suggest? Free tuition such as the "commie" European model? Tuition forgiveness for entering certain fields? Scaling tuition to be a certain percentage of income? [John] Ok, it's getting near Christmas. Can I start huming Kum-bay-yah now? [Arlo] There are many traditions for celebrating the Solstice, John, if you want to start humming a song, by all means, please do so. Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org/md/archives.html
