Chemical Forums
Specialty Chemistry Forums => Chemical Education and Careers => Topic started by: JGK on November 13, 2008, 09:57:14 PM
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http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=946910 (http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=946910)
I know I've been away from academia from over a decade but the attitude outlined in the article really shocks me.
To demand a good or improved grade for attending "most" of the classes and/or doing "most" of the reading almost had me spitting coffee over the keyboard.
Some of the other opinions shown cause me despair as some of these people may be future job applicants I have to interview.
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Dont blame the students. Blame the society and the parents, and the teachers from secondary or highschool. If you only fire upon the passion of knowledge, and give them oppurtunity: Then everyone could be talentful. At least after this article from the Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/nov/15/malcolm-gladwell-outliers-extract
10000 hours of practice, thats "all" it takes. Just have the stamina to do so :-)
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10000 hours of practice, thats "all" it takes. Just have the stamina to do so :-)
No if you read the article in more detail it say you need the talent/ability plus 10000 hours of practice.
The problem is kids today hear that if you try hard you can achieve anything. Which is complete rubbish.
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Ehh, this might piss a lot of people off. But in the US, too much government money is going to funding the cost of a college education for the public.
Sure is schools like Berkley, where Mitch is at, most people there either have a desire to really learn or have rich parents.
In most colleges across the country, most students are there because they were told they should go to college, or they want to avoid the responsibility of real life, and so the government is subsiding the cost of college for people who have no real desire to learn, work hard and achieve success.
If you have no real desire to learn, of course the attitude toward learning will be that of a jackhole.
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The problem is kids today hear that if you try hard you can achieve anything. Which is complete rubbish.
It does make sense, if you think of it in a pedagogic kind of way. In primary and secondary you want the kids to try everything and find themselves.
In Norway we got something called Lånekassen, where people can loan money for education. If you dont complete a course or the exam, you have to pay the expenses for that semester back. If you complete an education and stood in all courses and exams, this loan is getting ridiculous small compared to other kind of loans. It really gets people thinking, how much are you going to pay for your education? Is this course worth trying?
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I think it's sad, but not shocking. The sense of entitlement is eroding our society quickly. No personal responsibility anymore, just "I deserve...". Bunch of whiners, essentially.
I would personally be affronted it students told me they felt they deserved a grade for showing up. Screw that. People should get what they work for in my opinion.
As for Berkeley, we have a huge sense of entitlement with the students here, especially the UGs. It's no different than anywhere else.