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It's a pretty different environment going from high school to college. There's a dynamic change that's pretty sudden where your parents are no long really in t
by cogman10 2mo ago
It's a pretty different environment going from high school to college. There's a dynamic change that's pretty sudden where your parents are no long really in the picture for support.
What they are trying to do is keep the kids that would otherwise do well but might freak out in the first semester. Seems pretty fine to me especially since those are grades that if we are being honest really don't matter anyways.
- cm2187 2mo agoI wonder how kids have managed to deal with that for two centuries…
- wolttam 2mo agoLive in an overall less uncertain environment?
- naasking 2mo agoWhat's less certain about modern environments compared to past ones?
- Uncle_Brumpus 2mo agoI definitely didn't have to wonder if my career choice would be invalidated by AI by the time I graduate.
- t-3 2mo agoNo, you would have to worry about your job being sent/lost to Mexico, Japan, China, etc. Now those jobs are already lost and we have a different vulnerability. Same story, different clothes.
- freejazz 2mo ago[flagged]
- giantg2 2mo agoThe possible end result isn't that much different than the threat of wars or the financial crises - no job, possible death, etc.
- naasking 2mo agoNo, in the past you just had the possibility of childhood illness and death, the death of siblings, war, famine, drought, none of which are real problems for university students these days.
- UltraSane 2mo agoImagine being a typesetter when the transition to digital printing presses was occurring.
- IncreasePosts 2mo agoWhen I was in a CS program in the US in 2005 I heard from dozens of people as well as media pundits that it's a bad choice because all the tech jobs would be outsourced to india.
- rayiner 2mo agoYou mean the less uncertainty during World War I, World War II, or the Cold War?
- DangitBobby 2mo agoYes, we should aim for the level of stress and fear associated with the threat of conscription looming over one's head.
- mg794613 2mo agoOn all fronts we are having a easier time than before. Healthcare, safety, life expectancy, disease, mental health (yes, you disagree, but it not being existant in the past kinda sets tue bar). So what do you mean with "uncertain environment"?
- anself 2mo agoIt’s not actually less certain now than it was then. It’s just the media has gotten louder. Cuban missilie crisis, civil rights, world wars, nuclear weapons, it has all been happening for a while.
- halls-940 2mo agoWhen you look at real wages vs cost of living and the trend line is down and showing no signs of ever going back up, the question will I be able to afford the resources to survive and have a family, will my kids be able to afford a home, that's the growing uncertainty.
- colpabar 2mo agoDid you worry about any of those things as a freshman?
- brendoelfrendo 2mo agoYes? When I started college 16-ish years ago the '08 financial crisis was still fresh in my mind. Many of my peers were deeply concerned about the kinds of jobs and wages they could expect to find after graduation.
- dghlsakjg 2mo agoAnd did that worry manifest? As someone that graduated when you started and was much closer to 08, it turned out to be a non-issue for everyone I know that went to college with me.
- brendoelfrendo 2mo agoIt did not, at least not for me. But that wasn't the question: the question was whether or not it was something I thought about as a freshman. It was, though I obviously can't prove one way or another if my concern for the future made a difference in my earnings out of school. I can only provide my own anecdata on the matter.
- UltraSane 2mo agoLife in the 1800s seems a lot MORE uncertain than now.
- SiempreViernes 2mo agoHe just said: they freaked out, dropped out and did some less qualified work. Meanwhile inept kids from money who were taught that form them effort is not required went on to get lucrative jobs without merit, and now Trump is president.
- red-iron-pine 2mo agoalcohol and sleeping in
- cogman10 2mo agoYou've never heard of college dropouts? Kids have "managed" this by dropping out of college.
- hirvi74 2mo agoA lot of money helped then, and it sure helps now too.
- naasking 2mo agoThe coddling is a big problem these days, and this focus on mental health is itself unhealthy. The assessment that "they would otherwise do well" is speculative, at best.
- jasonlotito 2mo ago> this focus on mental health is itself unhealthy. Yes. We should ignore things like school shootings, which have long been described as the result of mental health issues. Ignore PTSD. Soldiers can just pull themselves up by their bootstraps. By all means, ignore the mental health of a rape victim or a child abuse victim. They can just tough it out. Clearly, that's the better strategy. Oh, and you've been working in this field for how long?
- iugtmkbdfil834 2mo agoI was not going to engage, but I decided to point out something. Strawmanning on HN won't get you far. There. Hope it helps.
- jasonlotito 2mo agoDo you think igaf? I called out your BS POV. > I was not going to engage Then don't.
- naasking 2mo agoYou need to do some reading: "Is raising mental health awareness causing more harm than good?", https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/analyst-comment/is-raising-mental-health-awareness-causing-more-harm-than-good/ https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/analyst-comment/is-raisi... "Are We Overdoing Mental Health Awareness?", https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/silicon-psyche/202502/are-we-overdoing-mental-health-awareness https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/silicon-psyche/20250...
- jasonlotito 2mo agoThat doesn't say what you think it says. Good try though.
- nobodyandproud 2mo agoU of M. is doing no favors to its students. While it's a different environment, that's part of growing up. Once you're on your own nobody coddles you and it can be brutal.
- cogman10 2mo agoWhat harm exactly do you think giving a single semester reprieve is going to cause these students?
- colpabar 2mo agoWon't they need a reprieve next semester since they'll have to go through the same thing?
- cogman10 2mo agoThat's the slippery slope fallacy. That's not what's being proposed and not what's going to happen. So again I ask. What's the harm?
- ungreased0675 2mo agoEmployers thinking a UofM degree is a joke. Hiring practices expanding to include multiple take-home exercises to prove competency. Students not fully learning foundational knowledge they’ll need later because the class is an easy pass.
- cogman10 2mo ago> Employers thinking a UofM degree is a joke. I've never cared about where the degree of someone comes from. You really think and employer is going to look at UofM and say "Oh, they gave their students a 1 semester reprieve, obviously they are of lower quality"? > Hiring practices expanding to include multiple take-home exercises to prove competency. Why would the policy of UofM change the hiring practices of companies that are not UofM? Where's the connection? > Students not fully learning foundational knowledge they’ll need later because the class is an easy pass. This may be a real harm, but ultimately they'll have to learn the foundational knowledge to continue going to UofM. Plenty of students fail to learn foundational knowledge outside of UofM, I know because I had to tutor them.
- iugtmkbdfil834 2mo agoYes.. and that friction, too, served a purpose. There it a reason it tends to be referred to as a filter, because by first year you find out whether you have what it takes to survive that environment or not. The good news for everyone is that now we get to find out in 2nd year, where our sunk cost is much greater. Hurray for winning.
- cogman10 2mo agoFirst semester, not first year. And I suspect that the filter will still be in play for students because they'll still have coursework to complete. They simply don't get the grade feedback reducing the stress of perfecting that semester while they are still learning the ropes.
- iugtmkbdfil834 2mo agoWe all know how it goes. Minimal adjustment is made to accommodate someone in some way only crazies like me would object to and soon the entire school is pass/fail depending on whether you show up with your own pencil; just to ensure we do not induce stress. Naturally, then stress will be first experienced in first real job, but lets have private ( non-school ) sector worry about that. Maybe they can institute their own stress-free policy. And so it will go on.
- cogman10 2mo agoAs I said to another commenter > That's the slippery slope fallacy. That's not what's being proposed and not what's going to happen. They have proposed 1 semester, if they propose extending it then I'll be right along side you saying that's ridiculous. However, it's just as likely that they'll say "Actually, 1 semester was too long, we'll just do it for 1/2 a semester".
- iugtmkbdfil834 2mo agoIt is genuinely hard to argue slippery slope fallacy when we have years upon years of examples like social promotion, resulting grade inflation and such. Own your argument man. If you are ok with end result, say so.
- account42 2mo agoSeems to me it would be fairer to kids to filter those not fit out quickly rather than to string them along.
- cogman10 2mo agoYou assume these kids are doomed to failure and not capable of adapting. Sure, some of them are, but not everyone. It's just 1 semester and also gives students time to switch majors if they determine it's not for them (which is also common).