Exclusive Test Data: Many Colleges Fail to Improve Critical-Thinking Skills

[Dashinka 25,856]

Just now, IAMX said:

Lucky! I bought a charcoal grill (because they taste and smell way better than the others, to me) and within two hours I had bylaws officers fining me. Can't imagine experimenting with chemistry.. would probably send 5 fire trucks too.

I used to do that to before I moved.  Been to quite a few kitchen 🔥 

[IAMX 3,055]

2 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

I used to do that to before I moved.  Been to quite a few kitchen 🔥 

 

 

 

[OriZ 3,165]

Took me 3 pages to comment because I was busy picking my jaw up off the floor. 

 

 

Wait, no I wasn't. Anyways this isn't surprising in an age where 1/3 of college students think safe spaces are "absolutely necessary".

 

P.S. You folks really need to stop running out of +1's, you're giving away way too many of them. I have yet to ever run out. I don't know if I even go over 10 a day. Stingy, I know.

[bcking 3,157]

2 hours ago, Bill & Katya said:

I am not sure when you were in college, but I was there in the late eighties (undergrad), and I saw the same thing.  There were students that were passionate about learning (I like to think I was one of those), and those that were just there because.  Things were much different in grad school as most of the students in the programs I was in were there for actual advancement, and not just there to kill four years after high school.

Ya I think Grad School here is much more similar to what my wife describes as University in the UK. People are going in with a real focus, they know what they want and are generally there because they want to be.

 

I don't keep in touch with many of them, but there are a decent number of people I know who graduated from the same 4 year University and aren't using anything close to their degree. "Art Majors" who don't work in Art, "English Majors" who ended up going back and getting some other useful degree to get a job. Or people who are literally Baristas. This is now around 12 years out of University. My University was Private, and cost ~35-40,000 per year. Some had parents paying for it, others likely still have the debt and are probably no better off other than being able to claim they have a "liberal arts degree".

 

Even for me, despite loving the "liberal arts" education aspect and being able to study things other than medicine, realize it probably would have been better if I had just gone straight to medical school like they do in the UK. It would have to be a little bit longer, but honestly the first year of medical school was basically a "review" of what I picked up in college anyway and looking back I probably could have taken it all in during that 1 year the first time around, instead of spending 4 years. I don't think I would be worse off, except I would be slightly less "well rounded" but I'd like to think I would still be a decent human being and would still be able to "relate to my patients". That is another argument people often give for doctors going to a 4 year university before medical school. Honestly I find it silly. The people who I know who can't relate (pathologists, radiologists etc...) weren't helped by University. They will still weird going to medical school 4 years later. Don't think they would have been less weird if they skipped Uni.

[yuna628 9,873]

1 hour ago, IAMX said:

Having worked for companies like Google, having went to CC for my first two years made no difference whatsoever. I don't doubt there are companies who might be overly particular about stuff like this, but the real question is would you want to work for that company in the first place?

I think the problem is it all depends on the state you live in. Tech jobs here either want you to have certifications (they won't budge on that), tech government jobs he can't qualify for, or an associates only (meaning they won't even consider you if you have a higher degree because they think they will need to pay you more). The job market is so limited here, you can't afford to be too picky when you need a job pretty badly. The tech department at one of the major east coast hospitals is so bad with their hiring policies (in favor of under-qualified kids hired for cheap while pushing out the older experienced folks) it's a joke.

 

A friend of mine is sending her daughter to CC and looking at a career in ASL or speech pathology. I don't think there may be many places around these parts that will hire her without her then doing a 4 year degree later on.

[TBoneTX 47,505]

8 hours ago, Bill & Katya said:

There were students that were passionate about learning (I like to think I was one of those), and those that were just there because.

The Best and Worst Comments Received, allegedly taken from MIT's Course-evaluation Guide, Fall 1991:

"Text is useless.  I use it to kill roaches in my room."
"He teaches like Speedy Gonzalez on a caffeine high."
"In class, the syllabus is more important than you are."
"Help!  I've fallen asleep and I can't wake up!"
"Text makes a satisfying 'thud' when dropped on the floor."
"The class is worthwhile because I need it for the degree."
"His blackboard technique puts Rembrandt to shame"
"Textbook is confusing... someone with a knowledge of English should proofread it."
"Have you ever fallen asleep in class and awoken in another?  That's the way I felt all term."
"This class was a religious experience for me...I had to take it all on faith."

"The recitation instructor would make a good parking-lot attendant.  Tries to tell you where to go, but you can never understand him."

"Recitation was great.  It was so confusing that I forgot who I was, where I was, and what I was doing... it's a great stress-reliever."

"I would sit in class and stare out the window at the squirrels. They've got a cool nest in the tree."
"The absolute value of the TA was less than epsilon."
"T.A. steadily improved throughout the course... I think he started drinking and it really loosened him up."
"Information was presented like a ruptured fire-hose, spraying in all directions -- no way to stop it."
"I never bought the text.  My $60 was better spent on the Led Zeppelin tapes that I used while doing the problem sets."
"What's the quality of the text?  'Text is printed on high-quality paper.'"
"The course was very thorough. What wasn't covered in class was covered on the final exam."
"Problems sets are a decoy to lure you away from potential Exam material."

"He is one of the best teachers I have had... He is well-organized, presents good lectures, and creates interest in the subject.  I hope my comments don't hurt his chances of getting tenure."