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Earl Aagaard’s opinions about everything that interests him. Og also enjoys gardening, travel, reading, woodbutchery, and lots of other stuff.

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IF YOU’RE A PARENT WITH A KID GOING TO COLLEGE, THIS IS GOING TO HURT….

And if you’re a parent with a kid that is someday going to go to college, you’re involved, too…...

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) has a report out…..and the news isn’t good.

The average amount of study time is roughly half the amount that professors think is necessary for adequate progress. Students find that college is a fun environment and most of them decide that they don’t want class preparation to get in the way of other activities….the NSSE figures show that many college students get little practice in writing….the NSSE data appear to show that large numbers of students are only marginally interested in their coursework since they say that they only “sometimes” or never discuss it….All in all, NSSE gives a picture of American college students that tells us that many appear to coast through their courses without putting in a great deal of effort. This view is entirely consistent with the data in the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (which I wrote about here) showing low and declining levels of literacy among college graduates.

What ought to infuriate parents, and all the rest of us, is not that students want to coast rather than work hard…that’s perfectly normal, especially with a bunch of teenagers cooped up together on a college campus. What ought to make us all crazy is that the PROFESSORS are letting them get away with it!

You think that characterization is unfair?

“Most students here, except for the journalism majors, feel they don’t need to try hard [in classes] and they can get by and get their degree. You find that when you walk into your first class here….Most Mizzou students are satisfied with easy schoolwork because other things are more important to them, mostly partying and following the Tigers.”

“...satisfied with easy schoolwork….” Hmmmm…..just what might that mean? Remember, not only are these students “passing”, but their grades are getting BETTER and BETTER while they spend their time “partying and following the Tigers.” Sounds like professorial malpractice to me….and the bill just keeps getting higher and higher as tuition (as well as grades) inflates.

READ THE WHOLE THING

Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/22 at 10:50 PM

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