Just to lend a different perspective...couldn't student performance reflect a need for a change in teaching style (not to mention the changing times that keep being highlighted). Just a thought...
>===== Original Message From "Teaching in the Psychological Sciences" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ===== >At 12:09 AM 10/23/2003 -0500, you wrote: >>It has been a couple of years since I've taught an undergraduate research >>methods class. I've just finished grading the first drafts of some >>proposals. Either I was blind before, or there has been a sea change in >>undergraduate writing. > >We've had threads before about 'students getting worse' and those >discussion have sometimes led me to question the accuracy of faculty >impressions of the academic readiness of students. However, annual 'report >cards' of our nation's schools have not been favorable for years and verify >our perceptions. In fact, a just-published report by the Manhattan >Institute (http://www.manhattan-institute.org/ewp_03.pdf) paints a pretty >grim picture of public high school education. For example, consider the >following statistic revealed by the Manhattan report: "Only 70% of all >students in public high schools graduate, and only 32% of all students >leave high school qualified to attend four-year colleges." I don't know >what the exact figures are, but I imagine that the 32% probably translates >to hundreds of thousands of students. One also wonders how much better >some private high schools really are. > >I am sure the internet contributes to the situation, but I strongly suspect >that the real problem lies with a general anti-intellectual attitude in our >society: We do not genuinely value learning, but we certainly value >financial success. The fact that so many colleges and universities promote >themselves primarily as providers of marketable skills reflects this value >system. What I don't understand is why students don't recognize that part >of the key to financial success is the acquisition of solid reading and >writing skills. I wonder whether one reason for this failure is that many >folks succeed in life without these basic skills. Can that be right? > >Miguel > > >___________________________________________________________________________ >Miguel Roig, Ph.D. >Associate Professor of Psychology >Notre Dame Division of St. John's College >St. John's University >300 Howard Avenue >Staten Island, New York 10301 >Voice: (718) 390-4513 >Fax: (718) 390-4347 >E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~roigm >--Visit my instructional resource on plagiarism and ethical writing: >http://facpub.stjohns.edu/~roigm/plagiarism/ >___________________________________________________________________________ > > >--- >You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
