Monday, March 28, 2011

Ape Update: Curriculum, All for Naught

"And the people in the houses all went to the university where they were put in boxes and they came out all the same."  -- from "Little Boxes" by Malvina Reynolds

Despite our warnings and refusal to teach the elementary ed courses if they were no longer hands-on, the department head buckled under the pressure of the provost.  So much hard work went into making the math portion of the program into something that could shine, something that could make other schools look at my school in what the rest of the country considers to be a backward state, and say, "We should be doing that!"  I can only be glad the marvelous woman who developed it and did all the hard work isn't here to see it destroyed. 

Starting in the fall, the goal is to cram more people into the classes and shove them through the program as quickly as possible.  I don't know when education at this place became about turning out a product, but it's a damned tragedy.  Powerless, I can do nothing about it. 

2 comments:

  1. Not happy to hear this, but it has been the trend in universities for years.

    Selling the lambskin instead of the education...

    Sorry you've been caught up in the gears.

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  2. Maybe when I get my PhD, get hired, and get tenured somewhere, I can do something. By then, I'm sure things will again be drastically different.

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