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Making higher education free would be a great start, but that's probably not happening anytime soon

by jeron 9y ago

lsc 9y ago
My argument is that not valuing education (as evinced by an unwillingness to spend public money on it) is an even bigger problem than the actual lack of money for education, though that is also certainly a problem.
- rdiddly 9y ago
  Where there's no will, there's no way...
newbear 9y ago
I can get a better education from Moocs than I did from my tenured mathematics professor who didn’t know the applications of linear algebra in the real world.
- lsc 9y ago
  Would you ask your Literature professor what the real world applications of reading Joseph Conrad are? I think asking for a 'real world application' of something you are learning in the course of a liberal education is missing the point. Trade schools are a different sort of thing.
  - tdb7893 9y ago
    For an engineering discipline getting a college degree is almost always a requirement for getting a real job. This means that practically for a lot of people college is largely intended to be training for their job, so it makes sense why they get frustrated when it doesn't actually train them for it. To pull my personal experience in college was frustrating because I didn't feel like I had much control over what I wanted to learn because college had their idea of a "liberal education" (which didn't match up with mine) and in a modern job market I had little choice but to attend.
    - lsc 9y ago
      If you mean like a licenced engineer, a PE or something, then sure, a degree is required. But if you mean someone in the computer industry, as the word is usually used in these parts? A degree is a substitute for a few years of experience, If you can learn the Material in question.
smashingfiasco 9y ago
Higher education is turning more and more into over-priced crap. I’m not sure that this is the solution.
redspectre 9y ago
There's no free lunch. You're paying for it.
- lsc 9y ago
  I personally place public education up there with an army and cops as things I really want my society to have. Yeah, all those things cost money... but not nearly as much as not having those things will cost you in the long run.

Making higher education free would be a great start, but that's probably not happening anytime soon

by jeron 9y ago

Making higher education free would be a great start, but that's probably not happening anytime soon

lsc 9y ago

My argument is that not valuing education (as evinced by an unwillingness to spend public money on it) is an even bigger problem than the actual lack of money for education, though that is also certainly a problem.

rdiddly 9y ago
Where there's no will, there's no way...

newbear 9y ago

I can get a better education from Moocs than I did from my tenured mathematics professor who didn’t know the applications of linear algebra in the real world.

lsc 9y ago
Would you ask your Literature professor what the real world applications of reading Joseph Conrad are? I think asking for a 'real world application' of something you are learning in the course of a liberal education is missing the point. Trade schools are a different sort of thing.
- tdb7893 9y ago
  For an engineering discipline getting a college degree is almost always a requirement for getting a real job. This means that practically for a lot of people college is largely intended to be training for their job, so it makes sense why they get frustrated when it doesn't actually train them for it. To pull my personal experience in college was frustrating because I didn't feel like I had much control over what I wanted to learn because college had their idea of a "liberal education" (which didn't match up with mine) and in a modern job market I had little choice but to attend.
  - lsc 9y ago
    If you mean like a licenced engineer, a PE or something, then sure, a degree is required. But if you mean someone in the computer industry, as the word is usually used in these parts? A degree is a substitute for a few years of experience, If you can learn the Material in question.

smashingfiasco 9y ago

Higher education is turning more and more into over-priced crap. I’m not sure that this is the solution.

redspectre 9y ago

There's no free lunch. You're paying for it.

lsc 9y ago
I personally place public education up there with an army and cops as things I really want my society to have. Yeah, all those things cost money... but not nearly as much as not having those things will cost you in the long run.