4 ms·

Are we trying to make University trustees rich or have a well-educated and civil society? I don't think 4 years of college are required to teach someone to thin

by kaa2102 17y ago

Are we trying to make University trustees rich or have a well-educated and civil society? I don't think 4 years of college are required to teach someone to think critically, be rational, and right/speak well.

gloob 17y ago
I don't want my open heart surgery to be performed by a dropout, no matter how passionate and relentlessly resourceful they might be.
- jerf 17y ago
  That's a total strawman. It's not even worth expanding on this reply further.
  - gloob 17y ago
    That's a total strawman. Not really. It's probably not a terribly popular sentiment on a site for web-based hacker startups, but there are plenty of jobs that actually require some sort of meaningful education. Most of the medical system is composed of such jobs, as are large chunks of the legal system. Government bureaucracy (while the benefits of having a degree in such a job may be questionable) commonly requires them, at least in Canada. The government is not a small employer. 50% may well be excessive, but there are a huge number of jobs out there that demand a degree.
    - mynameishere 17y ago
      Yes, really. You're responding to something that wasn't said.
    - jerf 17y ago
      Who said "Hey, let's do away with higher education entirely, such that doctors won't have an education?" Total strawman. Thinking there's too many people going to college is not the same as thinking nobody should go to college, and you're not helping anybody with anything by conflating the two.
fhars 17y ago
That might not work out for the universty trustees. Once the median qualification is a B.A., many academic professions will no longer command a significantly above-average wage level, and an expensive college degree will be a bad investment. Countries with a mostly public funded university system might be at an advantage here if they invest theit tax money wisely.
jrwoodruff 17y ago
you mean write well, right?

by kaa2102 17y ago

gloob 17y ago

I don't want my open heart surgery to be performed by a dropout, no matter how passionate and relentlessly resourceful they might be.

jerf 17y ago
That's a total strawman. It's not even worth expanding on this reply further.
- gloob 17y ago
  That's a total strawman. Not really. It's probably not a terribly popular sentiment on a site for web-based hacker startups, but there are plenty of jobs that actually require some sort of meaningful education. Most of the medical system is composed of such jobs, as are large chunks of the legal system. Government bureaucracy (while the benefits of having a degree in such a job may be questionable) commonly requires them, at least in Canada. The government is not a small employer. 50% may well be excessive, but there are a huge number of jobs out there that demand a degree.
  - mynameishere 17y ago
    Yes, really. You're responding to something that wasn't said.
  - jerf 17y ago
    Who said "Hey, let's do away with higher education entirely, such that doctors won't have an education?" Total strawman. Thinking there's too many people going to college is not the same as thinking nobody should go to college, and you're not helping anybody with anything by conflating the two.

fhars 17y ago

That might not work out for the universty trustees. Once the median qualification is a B.A., many academic professions will no longer command a significantly above-average wage level, and an expensive college degree will be a bad investment. Countries with a mostly public funded university system might be at an advantage here if they invest theit tax money wisely.

jrwoodruff 17y ago

you mean write well, right?