"Years ago, our educational system moved from a structure that taught students how to think to a structure that teaches WHAT to think."
That is a sweeping statement based almost entirely in fantasy. When was this golden age of education where our students were mainly taught critical thinking skills?
"Few graduated students possess the ability to critically evaluate the information presented to them. They simply regurgitate it as "fact" without testing that information for themselves."
Again, is a sweeping generalization with no data to back it up. This is a "truth" as you know it, but not the actual truth. At best, you can cite anecdotal evidence filtered through your own expectations.
"A degree doesn't necessarily indicate a high degree of critical thinking but rather the ability to absorb and regurgitate data in a testing format."
Again, you refer to standardized testing and the lowest form of education which is rote memorization.
"This is part of the reason younger people tend to be liberal. The ability to critically evaluate abstract concepts develops with age."
Conversely, you could argue that the ability to reason and think critically fades with age; or at least the ability to see both sides of an issue fades with age.
"The critical thinking of some remain stunted by outside influences or through choice."
While it is, in fact, a "sweeping generalization", that shouldn't diminish the very real basis for such a generalization. I deal with recent college grads all-too-frequently, and can absolutely attest to the veracity of Ft_bstrd's statement. This is no recent phenomenon, though. Rote "learning" has been the order of the day in the American (and not necessarily all other) educational system(s) for a long time, now.
Perhaps that should be "generally agree". I am a big fan of the Socratic method and kind of miss it having been a student both in 1971 and in 2008.
One thing, and I confess this is a bit of perhaps and extreme personal view, that I'd like to see is Power Point tossed out on it's ear.
I am going to school with some folks who are ostensibly some of the brightest and my personal view is that I'm immersed in a generation of folks who are graphics artists with a diminished capacity to "THINK". I've seen a lot of spectacular presentations with zero content.
I am a huge fan of a student being called on to stand, speak for an hour on a subject, challenged and the long lost 50 page page.
No kidding, I saw a guy turn in a "term paper" in a Construction Legal Claims class last semester that was two pages of cut and paste. I miss the days when a Professor would have torn it up and given the kid an "F".
I'm currently a student, albeit a graduate student. I must say, most of the students I work with are pretty bright individuals, and they actually have great critical thinking skills. And it's funny - many of my friends are pretty conservative. I was expecting to come to school and be attacked for being in the military, etc. However, this has not been the case. Most of the professors do an excellent job of keeping contemporary politics out of the classroom, and the students reciprocate by not asking what the professors think.
I have not dealt with undergraduates since 2000, and that was an atypical undergraduate situation where critical thinking was crucial so I can't comment on the status of "normal" undergraduate critical thinking skills.
PowerPoint sucks. We don't use it much as grad students, but in the Army, some people excel purely on their PowerPoint skills, and some leaders judge their subordinates purely on how good they can make a slide look. This is a disgusting trend. That's all I have to say about that.
My experience has been much the polar opposite of yours and one of my problems with Columbia was that they had banned the ROTC from campus.
Both Barack Obama and John McCain, during their joint appearance on campus, blasted Columbia for doing this. The schools response was lame at best.
I confess to leaning towards PDC (Pretty damn conservative) in that I believe folks bear a great deal of personal responsibility for their actions. I see it as MY challenge if I want to get myself into a higher income bracket, not the role of government to spread wealth my way. My strategy has always involved learning more, being better and working harder. I'm a fan of fairness, not entitlement.
Obviously Columbia, in addition to being the 2nd most difficult school to gain entry to, is the home of entitlement. A significant, lets assume for the same of this conversation on the order of 50%, of the students are non-American citizens with others picking up everything from their tab for tuition, books, fees to free airport transportation and lodging.
I confess to having an ulterior motive. After being told a "normal guy" stood no chance of gaining admission, I somehow got in and my goal is now to graduate as Valedictorian (is that spelled right? ) from the Columbia Master's program.
I have met some REALLY sharp young kids (they are) and some folks who consider this simply their "meal ticket". The gathering crowds of recruiters reinforce their thinking.
One of my goals in learning is to learn, not to "package and repeat". One of my capstone thesis classes, this semester, has nose dived into what I've termed (to the administration) "cut and paste 101". The administration listened and next Monday is meeting with a group of grad students to evaluate program changes.
Being immersed in the educational system sure taints the way I see other things . . .
Columbia has approached me with initial interest in me teaching (I do two seminars for them now) after the required 1 year wait from my graduation.
In all candor, I think Tramp and I should teach a joint class that would leave students, after each 3 hour session, feeling like their mind has just had an orgasm while skydiving.
Thinking should be a high science not one of simply making sure the entire group stays together.
I'm a true misfit in a flaming liberal institution but intent on beating them at their own game.
Thanks for the vote of orgasmic confidence, Court. Unfortunately, I'm an impotent educator, at best, within the confines of 4 walls & a ceiling.
I would be remiss not to remind you that, in fact, this statement: "50%, of the students are non-American citizens with others picking up everything from their tab for tuition, books, fees to free airport transportation and lodging. " is inaccurate re: Columbia, as is the statement that it's the #2 most difficult school in which to gain entry. IN fact, Columbia, as I've stated earlier, has no scholarship program, which balances out the no-ROTC stance pretty evenly. Until our country implements mandatory service for all Americans, it makes little sense for a private university to comply with such a .gov program Believe me, nobody made more noise about the free ride that the financial aid "students" were receiving, when I was in school than I did, and I had to travel to another campus for my short-lived ROTC tenure. This was from an altogether different non-rotc school I attended, (Do NOT make any inference that I attended Columbia or any other Ivy) before I decided that the ROTC candidates with whom I'd been surrounded were largely limp-wristed momma's boy jerkoffs (or as some like to say, officer candidates) who'd toss any other candidate under the bus to get ahead. ROTC is NOT the blue-blooded American institution that it's cracked up to be. I still view professional academia (that is professional studency, whereby folks stay in school merely to avoid the world, while living on student loans and financial aid) is an unquenchable blight on our economy, and one that receives inordinately little press. Were more "pro students" to be jettisoned for having GPAs below, say, 2.5, our nation would require fewer illegal immigrants to perform 'untouchable' functions such as lettuce-picking and house-cleaning. US dollars being squandered on scholarships for foreign students in our American schools should never have been entertained in the first place. I feel exactly the same about these inane principles as I do about squandering $ on policing foreign nations. Bring all the boys home, give 'em a nice pension and a month of free lapdances, and put them on our borders. The American worker can no more afford to pay for policing Iraq (and their budget surplus!) than it can for foreign students milking our taxpayer subsidized education system. American Soldiers should be protecting our OWN borders (and airports, watching for the next run of Mohemmed Attas), and foreign students should return to their nation of origin, that all seem to brag superior educational systems to our own. ROTC? Funk dat. Our nation has an efficient OCS system in place within our military, and abiuused ROTC expenditures might better be employed toward expanding the GI Bill for those American men and women who've already proven themselves through their service.
I definitely don't believe EVERY student is dense, but the system isn't designed primarily around critical thinking. The system is designed around Data organization and conveyance. Hence the "cut and paste".
The best class I ever had was an economics and political analysis class where each week we were required to research both sides of an issue and were required to spend 50% of our time on each side defending our argument against the class. It was fantastic. When you were done, you NEEDED to take a nap because you were simply mentally spent.
I successfully argued why a no growth environmental policy was good for America, the benefits of a strong abortion policy, and why Reagan was the worst president in history.
Our Democratic friends here would have been proud.
Princeton has fallen to #2 (from #1) and Columbia (shortly after my admission) went from #2 to #7. That hurts, that really hurts.
7. Columbia University (New York, New York)
Columbia's "smart, motivated, independent, and intellectually curious" students are "hardworking, continuously busy." One student says they can be "very full of" themselves, and perhaps they should be, because earning an acceptance letter from Columbia is no easy feat. Applications to the university continue to rise and many great candidates are rejected each year. There's no magic formula or pattern to guide students seeking admission. One common denominator among applicants is stellar grades in rigorous classes and personal accomplishments in non-academic activities.
"Columbia (shortly after my admission) went from #2 to #7"
Isn't that ranking for the Columbia Undergraduate and Graduate School?
From what I saw on their web-page, you are part of the College of Adult Continuing Education. Admission to that program doesn't even require a GRE. In that program you can even get a certificate in landscape design.
There is a huge difference between that, and getting accepted to something like Columbia Business School, or their law school. It is comparing the ubiquitous apples and oranges.
I'm not intending to diminish your accomplishments, but that "two page term paper" would most likely have been ripped up and tossed in the actual Columbia Graduate School (an entirely different institution).
The Socratic method might well be exercised there, as well as critical thinking skills.
I want to expand on what Bill said above. Higher education, more so then ever, is a business. More people attend college, however; that doesnt translate into a more intelligent population. The percentage of intellectually gifted people hasnt changed, just the number of stupid people attending college. Furthermore,jobs that in the past didn't require a degree, do so today. People used to be able to get ahead on hard work. Nowadays, they promote based on college credits. I do believe degrees in the sciences are generally more reflective of actual effort because the curriculum is straightforward. You can't bs your way into making two plus two equal five.
A college student interning in my office was planning to take the civil service exam for the job. He expressed that only those with a degree should be eligible to take the exam or, that failing, should be given extra points on the exam because of their degree. I didn't agree with him. I told him his education should be the only advantage he needs. If a person without a degree does better on the exam, then we want that person. His degree in itself is of no value to us. Ability is all we want.
A college degree is what a high school diploma used to be.
One of the most successful people I know has an 8th grade education.
I'm not saying that a college education is worthless, but I am saying that it isn't a guarantee of intelligence. I means that you are able to take tests and assimilate lectured information well.
I believe the general lack of depth of sociopolitical discourse is a prime example of what and how students are being taught.
I'm just some schlub from a small private school, but I can tell that people aren't taking the time to look at why things are happening and what the repercussions of actions are going to be two or three steps down the road.
Some of the dumbest people I've met have had obtained degrees on the 6 year plan. The people who have most impressed me throughout life were those with average IQ's but the ability to do or fix things with almost nothing; tear apart a giant combine, understand hydraulics, electrics, etc., while the "smart" guy had to have someone else replace the battery in their car.
Then again, my new son-in-law just graduated with a PhD in computer science and went to work for Sun Micro Systems. After he explained what it is he does, all I could muster was a dumb smile and a "That's nice".
I'm not saying that a college education is worthless, but I am saying that it isn't a guarantee of intelligence. I means that you are able to take tests and assimilate lectured information well.
I could not agree more.
My Grandfather was orphaned in grade school when his parents vegetable truck was hit by a train on Silver Lake Road in Topeka, KS.
He was 10 at the time and he education stopped there.
He lived with 16 families, made his own living and never went to school another day.
He retired at the age of 88 and sold his "vegetable stand", which had grown from the little cart he ran for the war department at the Eudora Munitions Plant, for $873M.
His best friend, Sam Walton of Bentonville, AR, did fine as well.
Education is one of the best things a person can do and he was a believer in it.
Education can be one of the worst things a person can do and can lure the unwise into thinking they are entitled to something.
My Father was kicked out of college. Eventually went into the College Hill Inn, borrowed $50 a piece from 10 L.U. 304 Lineman and managed to come out okay.
If you don't know how to work hard no amount of education will fill the void.
Saying "Education is worthless" is equally foolhardy. I've yet to encounter a situation, other than the anecdotal joke, where being dumber is better.
Oh yeah, AARs, QTBs, OIPs, all that crap. I see you're at Fort Polk - I was there for four years. It wasn't as bad as people say. But I won't be upset if I never get stationed there again...
) from the Columbia Master's program.