I think that the greatest change in the University system would be to drop the requirements for general education outside of your major and minor. These requirements just subsidize the classes that no one wants to take from professors who have majored in subjects that are not financially supported by anything other than recursive academic requirements.
If you drop the general ed requirements, and double up on the teachers who are teaching courses important to the degrees that people are actually seeking, students can get through college at a more rapid rate, taking few courses.
This is what should happen to the brick-and-mortar academic institutions at the same time that the MOOC's present a path for education online.
General education was included to make up for that which used to be taught in high school. Social activities and sports another wasteful example. Off the top of my head Phoenix seems to offer the answer.
If I had not been compelled to take courses such as sociology, psychology, and journalism, how would I have learned what a useless bunch the people who practice in those fields are?
I realize journalists should be useful contributors to the common welfare, but the way it was taught at Colorado State University, it was nothing but a course in learning how to twist facts to suit the liberal agenda :-(
The general ed classes were mostly worthwhile for me. I'm glad they had classes like history of science and history of biology that provide some context for engineering. I wish we could have taken them one class at a time, instead of all general ed at the beginning of undergrad and all engineering at the end.
Don't get me wrong, I like Governor Walker but he is not the best candidate. He could be if he starts to act with courage but since Act 10, which was his first action when he was elected I have been very disappointed in him. He shifted toward the center and has lacked courage and the boldness that it will take to put this country back on the correct course. Don't take my word for it. Look him up and hold his feet to the fire.
Have you made sure he sees what you wrote here? I just hope "they" talk about what they are going to do much more than what each other is not going to do. Hopefully someone like Walker will have great advisors that will speak the truth and not tell him what he might like to hear. He didn't seem like a politician at first, but more and more he seems to be acting like one, even in his hand gestures.
I guess this is what happens when the silent majority doesn't speak up enough. Candidates change and do not stick to their beliefs and their morals.
Personally I am not ready to promote any of the candidates yet. I was simply stating a my perspective of Scott Walker and since I live in WI I have watched him closely. Would I vote for him, absolutely. He could very well be my first choice too, if he steps up to the plate and leads live he did 4 years ago. Problem as I see it, he is listening to his handlers and not following his values. In other words, he's playing the political game and that does not work for me.
Though I am reminded often by my teenage daughters that I fully qualify to run ;), I wouldn't stand a chance in the political arena. I'm too ideological (with an emphasis on logical) to be a politician and I'm strictly honest. I just can't give those roundabout non-answers to questions that politicians live on nor could I put up with all the incompetence in government. If I got appointed to be a chief bureaucrat it would be a nightmare scenario for that agency, because I'd quite frankly gut the thing and re-structure it and then promptly get fired!
I'll vote for him over Hillary, because when it comes to President I have to take the "lesser of two weevils" (pardons to "Master and Commander") approach, but I would love to have a better option!
No, you don't. There is no lesser of two evils. You obviously see the problem with the GOP. If you continue to vote for them you might as well put a gun to the head of the Republic and pull the trigger. Every vote for the GOP and the Dems is a wasted vote.
As long as the country hasn't gone completely over to statism, there is always the chance for reform. I can either vote for a Democrat and hasten the decay and decline (and my own) or I can vote against them in hopes of getting another Reagan. If I do nothing, I allow others to determine the course of events. Until there is an actual Gulch to retreat to, this seems a defeatist attitude to me.
Voting for an independent with integrity is not 'doing nothing.' Its do what you can to oppose statists. In fact, the only peaceful chance that the Republic has is if all the GOP supporters finally recognize they have been conned for 50 years and vote for independents with integrity. There will never be another Reagan in the GOP. That is the opposite of what they want, and they will never allow it again. The GOP is the enemy of liberty.
I voted for Ross Perot like a lot of people and that got Bill Clinton elected and Hillary into national politics. Do I wish that the race had only been between Perot and Clinton? Absolutely, because Perot would likely have won. But history has shown that third parties have consistently done nothing but split votes away from the Republican candidate - allowing the uber-statist Democrats to gain power. It happened with Roosevelt's Bull Moose party and it continues to happen today.
What I'm hoping is that the entire Republican party collapses due to the Tea Party's pressure and a new political party rises to be the main contender to the Democrats/Progressives. Until that happens, however, it's a choice between a fast road or a slow road to enslavement.
And of course that is the lesson that the DemReps wanted you to learn. They attacked Perot's daughter because that was the chink in his armor, imo (speculation without support) he was later 'allowed' to return to the race because it served the one party's purpose, to convince you and others that no one would ever win except a DemRep. As long as GOP voters never un-learn that lesson, they and the country will be enslaved by your own votes and consent. There IS NO SLOW ROAD. The GOP has done MORE damage than the Democrats because when the GOP is in power there is no opposition to bigger government.
I'm with you on this Freedom! Slow death or fast death doesn't matter, still dead. When we vote lesser evil we give either party the political will to do what they want, even when it is wrong. I was an elected county board member for 4 years and saw it first hand.
Stop hiring "fresh" Ph.D's. Hire only people who have actually had a career doing something useful. At the college/university level there is no need for any full time faculty, though if someone is a retired mathematician (for example, e.g.such as Herman Cain) they could teach a "full load" on a class by class basis. Probably don't need a full time position in any institution of higher learning. Even at the k-12 level hire college educated people who have done something with their lives (e.g. retired military officers (or enlisted if they do have some formal education -- not including having attended a college of teachers). Tenure is a non-issue for people who have already provided for their retirement. First they are less likely to say the absurdly stupid things often said by tenured faculty and if they do and get fired they didn't need the job AND they believed what they said enough to risk their position.
K-12 teachers generally graduate from "teacher college" with very high GPA's, but have very low-average IQ's (ave. IQ of students = 100; average IQ of teaching college graduate = 85; average IQ of education administrator= 100).
Scott Walker WAS my to go guy until he said "taxpayers should pay for professional teams stadiums in their cities as it brings in many $$$." Hogwash on him now.
I would consider Scott Walker because of the following: 1. He successfully fought the state employee unions in an effort to fix some serious budget woes. The fact that several Democrat legislators ran and hid, during this period, indicates that what he did must have been worthwhile 2. He comfortably beat a costly recall election. If not Presidential material, I would gladly have him replace our current Governor in Washington (and I'm a state employee)!
The other candidate I would gladly vote for is Marco Rubio. I was blown away by his speech after Obama was elected, the first time. Maybe he's just a good speaker, but he gained my support from that moment on.
Tenure is teacher's job insurance. After passing varying degrees of esoteric nonsense they are rewarded with the assurance that they can never lose their jobs. In many cases, this creates poor, slovenly and outright useless instruction. It's about time someone stood up to this nepotic process and made teachers base their jobs strictly on performance. And by the way, while we're at it, let's get rid of terms such a professor and doctor. What do professors profess to? What are PhDs doctors of?Get rid also of honorary degrees and titles such as emeritus. Let's not only give up false employment, but false titles.
If the Repubs wouldn't eat their own during the debates and would come together during them highlighting each other's strengths I think that there might be a chance that we could reinvigorate conservatism in this country.
AUDACIOUS! I already liked Scott Walker, but I didn't dream he'd have the guts to try this!--He's the one I want to vote for. I am afraid that Ted Cruz and Mark Rubbio are too much in favor of im- posing religion by law.--Still, I wish that Walker were not so much in favor of limiting legal im- migration.Illegal is one thing; but legal foreigners should not be automatically excluded. But still, I don't think he could get too far with that, any- way. I have been impressed with him for a long time; look what he accomplished in Wisconsin; he showed he had guts and a spine.
I don't get it...why are some people SO afraid of the religious Right?
I'm not a Christian, but I'm even farther from being an Atheist. As far as I'm concerned, an Atheist is just as bad as pushy religious fanatics...just going in the opposite direction. As an Agnostic, I believe in "live and let live" and my Christian wife of 36 years has never had any complaints.
The Constitution mentions God in a good many places and I would have no problem with a President who took great pride in his religious beliefs. I think the country could stand to gain a little morality.
Ending teacher tenure in elementary and secondary schools is one thing. (Private school teachers do not have tenure as we understand it.) Ending it at the university level is something else. In this case the argument for eliminating it, is that those who have guarded the granting of tenure, have acted in bad faith and used such grants to stifle debate rather than protecting it.
And you only have to look at the Political Correctness dominating nearly all university campuses to know that that argument is completely true. Their administrators might as well be a Communist Party Central Committee.
Why are some people so afraid of the Religious Right?--Because it is very dangerous. Many of them want to have the government acknowledge a supernatural Being, and to set up faith, rather than reason, as the method by which government is to operate. I do not believe the government is properly an arbiter of ideas; ideas can be com- municated here, on earth, only by some physical medium (writing, sounds which operate on the eardrum, sign language, etc.)--and therefore, it is improper for government to refer to some realm which contradicts this medium;it is im- proper for government to be an arbiter of ideas; and government, as such, should not hold o- pinions about it, even to the extent of the exis- tence or nonexistence of such a realm. I remember well before the Supreme Court's outlawing of compulsory prayer in school, how I was treated in second grade in my (public,tax- supported) school; my second grade's teacher asking us how many of us had been to church that Sunday; asking my why I hadn't been; her threat to me that in the upper grades I would be graded on whether I went or not (which was de- nied by another adult, who told me that was only in Bible class, but still she had no right to threat- en my that way); don't tell me that the Religious Right would not like to return us to the status quo ante. However, as I believe in freedom of thought, I do not approve of the leftist indoctrination taking place now; I simply favor the abolition of the public schools; as it serves no function of protecting man against force and violence, and also teaches through processes, I definitely do not want the government in charge of that, a it can, and will, and does, and must, lead to government thought control.
My thoughts on the greatest changes to Universities would be to pull state funding all together and get them out of the entertainment business (i.e. sports). Push education into the private sector where it has purpose. Most state university boondoggles are nothing more than a good'ole boy network of cronies siphoning money into their own pockets from the taxpayer funded research grants into bogus research projects (not to mention "God Particles"!) If companies had to educate their employees it would be difficult for them to let other companies raid their brain trust and would probably think twice about laying off an investment. As one very susccessful man put it "Take care of your employees, They will take care of your company."
If you drop the general ed requirements, and double up on the teachers who are teaching courses important to the degrees that people are actually seeking, students can get through college at a more rapid rate, taking few courses.
This is what should happen to the brick-and-mortar academic institutions at the same time that the MOOC's present a path for education online.
Jan
I realize journalists should be useful contributors to the common welfare, but the way it was taught at Colorado State University, it was nothing but a course in learning how to twist facts to suit the liberal agenda :-(
I am an ingener (strikethourgh)
I am an enginer (strikethourgh)
I am an engener (strikethourgh)
I'm good at math
Jan
I guess this is what happens when the silent majority doesn't speak up enough. Candidates change and do not stick to their beliefs and their morals.
Much better than Scott Walker, and any other candidate that runs in the DemRep Party.
Don't waste your vote on Walker!
You obviously see the problem with the GOP.
If you continue to vote for them you might as well put a gun to the head of the Republic and pull the trigger. Every vote for the GOP and the Dems is a wasted vote.
Don't vote for a statist GOPpleganger(tm).
What I'm hoping is that the entire Republican party collapses due to the Tea Party's pressure and a new political party rises to be the main contender to the Democrats/Progressives. Until that happens, however, it's a choice between a fast road or a slow road to enslavement.
There IS NO SLOW ROAD. The GOP has done MORE damage than the Democrats because when the GOP is in power there is no opposition to bigger government.
Hogwash on him now.
1. He successfully fought the state employee unions in an effort to fix some serious budget woes. The fact that several Democrat legislators ran and hid, during this period, indicates that what he did must have been worthwhile
2. He comfortably beat a costly recall election.
If not Presidential material, I would gladly have him replace our current Governor in Washington (and I'm a state employee)!
The other candidate I would gladly vote for is Marco Rubio. I was blown away by his speech after Obama was elected, the first time. Maybe he's just a good speaker, but he gained my support from that moment on.
However, I know better how this will go...
didn't dream he'd have the guts to try this!--He's
the one I want to vote for. I am afraid that Ted
Cruz and Mark Rubbio are too much in favor of im-
posing religion by law.--Still, I wish that Walker were not so much in favor of limiting legal im-
migration.Illegal is one thing; but legal foreigners
should not be automatically excluded. But still,
I don't think he could get too far with that, any-
way. I have been impressed with him for a long
time; look what he accomplished in Wisconsin;
he showed he had guts and a spine.
I'm not a Christian, but I'm even farther from being an Atheist. As far as I'm concerned, an Atheist is just as bad as pushy religious fanatics...just going in the opposite direction. As an Agnostic, I believe in "live and let live" and my Christian wife of 36 years has never had any complaints.
The Constitution mentions God in a good many places and I would have no problem with a President who took great pride in his religious beliefs. I think the country could stand to gain a little morality.
Right?--Because it is very dangerous. Many of them want to have the government acknowledge a
supernatural Being, and to set up faith, rather than
reason, as the method by which government is to operate. I do not believe the government is
properly an arbiter of ideas; ideas can be com-
municated here, on earth, only by some physical
medium (writing, sounds which operate on the
eardrum, sign language, etc.)--and therefore, it
is improper for government to refer to some
realm which contradicts this medium;it is im-
proper for government to be an arbiter of ideas;
and government, as such, should not hold o-
pinions about it, even to the extent of the exis-
tence or nonexistence of such a realm.
I remember well before the Supreme Court's
outlawing of compulsory prayer in school, how I
was treated in second grade in my (public,tax-
supported) school; my second grade's teacher
asking us how many of us had been to church
that Sunday; asking my why I hadn't been; her
threat to me that in the upper grades I would be
graded on whether I went or not (which was de-
nied by another adult, who told me that was only
in Bible class, but still she had no right to threat-
en my that way); don't tell me that the Religious
Right would not like to return us to the status
quo ante.
However, as I believe in freedom of thought,
I do not approve of the leftist indoctrination
taking place now; I simply favor the abolition of
the public schools; as it serves no function of
protecting man against force and violence, and
also teaches through processes, I definitely do
not want the government in charge of that, a
it can, and will, and does, and must, lead to
government thought control.
I highly recommend it.