I believe a different question should be asked. Instead of: "Do universities fail to educate students on the underlying importance of the problems they are tra

I believe a different question should be asked. Instead of: "Do universities fail to educate students on the underlying importance of the problems they are training to solve?" We should question: "Is our system of education more than just a game?" My thesis is basically thus: While the issue presented in the article reflects accurately on many students, the root is not grounded in university education, but in our system of education as a whole. HNer adrianparsons notes (1) that many of his former classmates were excellent at being students, but their interest was not in their learning, but rather in passing the classes. Where, then, did this way of thinking originate? Not in universities, as the author suggests, but much earlier. Students are trained from a young age to participate in the game that is schooling; you are foisted into generic classes and made to take surface-level standardized tests (measuring nothing but the rote memorization seemly criticized by the author). Very rarely are you taught by a Professor in elementary, middle, or high school. Rather, "education professionals" prepare you for what is to come later. Just as often as not these teachers are uninterested in your learning (2), simply seeking a paycheck. Both teacher and pupil are playing the same game, one in which neither benefits from going above and beyond. Is it any small wonder that students enter college as excellent students, but poor learned citizens? The article is far too narrow; The problem, much more broad. It's not the universities failing students, but the institutions that placed them there. We're not going to college intellectually and socially curious, only to have that squashed out of us; We're going to college expecting more of the same. (1) http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2133712 http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2133712 (2) This is not to say that great primary education teachers do not exist. I was lucky to have been influenced by a number of excellent teachers at a young age, though in hindsight I find that they were far and few between. *Disclaimer: I am a first-year student at American University, and clearly hold a grudge to a system that, I believe, has wasted so much of my time.