RE: Trump Unveils Launch of Trump University

[Shearon, Tim]

Dave- I think you are 100% correct. But, of course, the Donald thinks thus. It is the belief of such people that they rose to the top with minimal "bookish" education or that, in the very best case, it did them no real good. But just look at his aesthetic sensibilities and sensitivity and it would be obvious that he is indeed as coarse and potentially dangerous to academia as you perceive him to be (c.f., his statements about rebuilding the Trade Center and the "ugly" proposed architecture as an ongoing issue in New York-I haven’t often read such narrow and uninformed aesthetic sensibilities).     But I don't think "the Donald" university will succeed for the very reasons that it is purely ego driven- at least not with the anti-intellectual fervor that he is currently spouting on the web-site (yes, I have looked at it carefully- horrid and I don't recommend it on a bad day!). I can't see that any accrediting agency is going to approve these programs and I don't see his ego as being bendable to the realities of the game he wants to play. I.e., this isn’t even a diploma mill- I’m far more disturbed by the University of Phoenixes of the world (and its bizarre unspoken implications about modern education). Trump only plays when he can set the rules. Unfortunately for him, fortunately for education, I think that will likely lead to his demise as there will be no benefit without reputation and accreditation. He will at least have to begin to play the game better. I can't imagine the parent of any student we recruit going along with this non-sense. Isn’t he offering, in fact, courses for $300.00 and up which accrue no credit whatsoever?   In some attempt to see this glass as half-full, it seems to me this is just more of the swing we've seen in the direction of such narrow and anti-intellectual sensibilities in the US. I choose to believe that with hard work this will swing back the other way as nothing of any depth can come of it. We'll just have to suffer the defeats such plebian popularity and anti-intellectual nonsense provide over the short run. As a friend of mine is fond of saying, “he’s grossly over trained and equally under educated”.  In the long haul, I believe we have the better team, as it were. Back to grading exams! Tim From: David Campbell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005 9:03 PM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences Subject: Re: Trump Unveils Launch of Trump University What I find most bothersome about "Trump University" is the anti-academic and anti-intellectual sentiment behind the idea.  And this coming from a highly influential celebrity.  I keep pushing the notion of "general education" to my students with the explicit assumption that given a good foundation in G.E. coursework (plus a major in some area), the employer can then add the nuts-and-bolts details of doing the job.  But Trump seems to think we need direct vocational training without all that college education stuff (like critical thinking and the like).  Essentially he's "dissing" much of what I fervently believe in.   --Dave --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: archive@jab.org To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]