our aim is not to defend the questionable practices of for-profit colleges, but rather to draw attention to the fact that colleges of every stripe are soaking up tons of societal resources and saddling students with excessive debt loads in the face of dubious job prospects.
“The Red Herring Crusade Against For-Profit Colleges” by Daniel L. Bennett and Zac Bissonnette @ Forbes.com
In the early 20th century, Europe decided that a high school education would be wasted on the masses. The United States instead made high school universal, and its newly skilled work force helped build everything from the hugely productive factories of the Midwest to modern Hollywood to the world’s most innovative retail and technology sectors.
Over the long term, the best response to the current downturn, by far, would be for the country to regain the global lead in education.
Of course, that will take years, maybe decades.
David Leonhardt, “For Those With Jobs, a Recession With Benefits“, NYTimes
on the battlefield, in the torture chamber, on a sinking ship, the issues that you are fighting for are always forgotten, because the body swells up until it fills the universe…
George Orwell, 1984 (page 103)
From The Singularity is Near,
Still Human? Some observers refer to the post-Singularity period as “posthuman” and refer to the anticipation of this period as posthumanism. However, to me being human means being part of a civilization that seeks to extend its boundaries. We are already reaching beyond our biology by rapidly gaining the tools to reprogram and augment it. If we regard a human modified with technology as no longer human, where would we draw the defining line? Is a human with a bionic heart still human? How about someone with a neurological implant? What about two neurological implants?.. [page 374]
Seem like crazy-talk? Just ask Dick Cheney.
By Brad Goodell, the original is available for sale at Etsy (http://www.etsy.com/shop/bradgoodell/ )
I ordered a pair of shoes on the cheap from Moxsie.com and just received them. Check out the awesome packaging (this is right out of the exterior shipping box):
And a coupon?! Impressive or excessive, at least it looks nice. They also had great, responsive customer service and free shipping. (The shoes are nice too.)
Still, some might read this book and say, “hey, I’m going to give running a try, and then discover they enjoy it. And of course that would be a beautiful thing. As the author of this book I’d be very pleased if that happened. But people have their own individual likes and dislikes. Some people are suited more for marathon running, some for gold, others for gambling. Whenever I see students in gym class all made to run a long distance, I feel sorry for them. Forcing people who have no desire to run, or who aren’t physically fit enough, is a kind of pointless torture. I always want to advise teachers not to force all junior and senior high school students to run the same course, but I doubt anybody’s going to listen to me. That’s what schools are like. The most important thing we ever learn at school is the fact that the most important things can’t be learned at school.
Haruki Murakami, What I talk about when I talk about Running (p. 45)
I ran like a 12 minute mile in high school (sad I know). I remember not being able to run even a 1/4 mile (once around the track), but that any student that ran it under 8 minutes got a free soda. No soda for me!
Maybe the PE teacher should have given me a diet soda…
Popularized most recently by a Levi’s commercial…I’m digging the tune.
70% of the freshman class is likely to end up not with a diploma but a pile of debt.
USA Today, “Is college overrated?” by Patrick Welsh
All I have to say is, “Boooooooo!!!!”
In the zeal to get students, [colleges and universities] are going after them on the basis of recreational amenities.
Richard Vedder, from the NYTimes article “Study: Colleges Spent More on Recreation Than Instruction” by Sam Dillon