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And the difficulty of that subject matter should reflect that expectation of superb academic excellence. Harvard has a duty to increase the relative difficulty

And the difficulty of that subject matter should reflect that expectation of superb academic excellence. Harvard has a duty to increase the relative difficulty of their coursework UNTIL a certain percentage fails. Otherwise it's just a rich persons Lions club for angsty 20-somethings.

ceejayoz 3y ago
> Harvard has a duty to increase the relative difficulty of their coursework UNTIL a certain percentage fails. Why? What benefit is there to the world to making students flunk out of a school when that same student would have passed with flying colors elsewhere? "Sorry, you've got a great grasp of engineering that any firm would benefit from, but you'll work at McDonalds now, because Bob got one more question right. Thanks for the $100k and four years of your life!" The goal of education is to educate, not to flunk a certain percentage of people.
- deleted 3y ago
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- zelon88 3y ago
  > The goal of education is to educate, not to flunk a certain percentage of people. No. The purpose of normal college is to educate. The purpose of Ivy league school is to separate the exquisite from the mediocre. If you aren't exquisite then why are you going to $100k college? Because your parents can afford it. There is some low income kid who actually is exquisite who should get that seat in the exquisite class. You don't deserve to pass just because you're not an idiot. If you are even a little bit of an idiot you should not be able to get a Harvard education. You should flunk out, lose your parents money, and try again in community College. You are not entitled to pass because you are average and your parents are rich. College is not risk free.
  - sverona 3y ago
    Right, because nothing shitty and unforeseeable ever happens to low-income kids in the middle of a semester, because kids who definitionally have fewer resources aren't held back in any way by their environment, and because the people setting the standard are unbiased angels. Dollars to donuts you've never actually taught a class.
  - ceejayoz 3y ago
    > You are not entitled to pass because you are average and your parents are rich. You should be entitled to pass if you can successfully demonstrate your understanding of the subject matter in question. Proposing to curve passing grades down "UNTIL a certain percentage fails" is just... nutty. > You are not entitled to pass because you are average and your parents are rich. Yes, which is why grades should be based on "did you learn?", not "do the grades look like a proper bell curve?" > There is some low income kid who actually is exquisite who should get that seat in the exquisite class. A low-income kid is the least likely to be able to take the risk of going to a college that's intentionally trying to flunk people out even if they're competent at the subject matter.

ceejayoz 3y ago

> Harvard has a duty to increase the relative difficulty of their coursework UNTIL a certain percentage fails. Why? What benefit is there to the world to making students flunk out of a school when that same student would have passed with flying colors elsewhere? "Sorry, you've got a great grasp of engineering that any firm would benefit from, but you'll work at McDonalds now, because Bob got one more question right. Thanks for the $100k and four years of your life!" The goal of education is to educate, not to flunk a certain percentage of people.

deleted 3y ago
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zelon88 3y ago
> The goal of education is to educate, not to flunk a certain percentage of people. No. The purpose of normal college is to educate. The purpose of Ivy league school is to separate the exquisite from the mediocre. If you aren't exquisite then why are you going to $100k college? Because your parents can afford it. There is some low income kid who actually is exquisite who should get that seat in the exquisite class. You don't deserve to pass just because you're not an idiot. If you are even a little bit of an idiot you should not be able to get a Harvard education. You should flunk out, lose your parents money, and try again in community College. You are not entitled to pass because you are average and your parents are rich. College is not risk free.
- sverona 3y ago
  Right, because nothing shitty and unforeseeable ever happens to low-income kids in the middle of a semester, because kids who definitionally have fewer resources aren't held back in any way by their environment, and because the people setting the standard are unbiased angels. Dollars to donuts you've never actually taught a class.
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  > You are not entitled to pass because you are average and your parents are rich. You should be entitled to pass if you can successfully demonstrate your understanding of the subject matter in question. Proposing to curve passing grades down "UNTIL a certain percentage fails" is just... nutty. > You are not entitled to pass because you are average and your parents are rich. Yes, which is why grades should be based on "did you learn?", not "do the grades look like a proper bell curve?" > There is some low income kid who actually is exquisite who should get that seat in the exquisite class. A low-income kid is the least likely to be able to take the risk of going to a college that's intentionally trying to flunk people out even if they're competent at the subject matter.