Echelon. Sobriquet.
Echelon. Sobriquet.
I was reading The Truth About Harvard written by a Harvard graduate talking about how he believed he did not get any valuable education from the humanities, even as the school crowded with students studying sciences and economics.
He talked about the "higher echelons" of education that put pressure on the professors to give out As, Bs, and Cs and never to fail any of the students because it would reflect badly on the school. He talked about the professor who earned the sobriquet of "C-minus" because the professor was always giving out C-minus while other professors gave out Bs and As.
I already knew what echelon meant, but I looked up the dictionary anyway and found out that it was pronounced "Eh-sheh-lon." As for sobriquet, I didn't know until I learned that it meant "nickname" and is pronounced "soh-bri-kay."
The article was a great read on what some educated people have agreed on, that the departments of English, History, and Philosophy have veered so far past into obscurity known as "Post-Modernism" that these disciplines have less relevance to our lives, even though they shouldn't. Every "doctor and banker" should have a little knowledge of writing clear and proper English, a little understanding of American History and politics, and a little comprehension of great thoughts on human existence from Western (and Eastern) perspective.
Instead of talking about 'truth! what is truth?! truth is relative!' as post-modernists are prone to do, they should, he argued, try to teach a comprehensive curriculum that are relevant to today, rather than going off into some obscure course that teaches about dinosaurs and their relatives when you're not planning to be a paleontologist. Dinosaurs are important, but when a course lasts four months and is one-eighth of your four-year education, dinosaurs should be part of a course that covers more than just dinosaurs.
All in all, he concluded that the educational system was not challenging the students enough to think beyond passing courses, collecting grades, padding their résumés.
I'm not sure how true that is, but I'll concede that it applies to Harvard and may not apply anywhere else, and that it'll take several years after I graduate before I look back and say, "Was it a fond memories of interesting and challenging classes that I took?"
I was reading The Truth About Harvard written by a Harvard graduate talking about how he believed he did not get any valuable education from the humanities, even as the school crowded with students studying sciences and economics.
He talked about the "higher echelons" of education that put pressure on the professors to give out As, Bs, and Cs and never to fail any of the students because it would reflect badly on the school. He talked about the professor who earned the sobriquet of "C-minus" because the professor was always giving out C-minus while other professors gave out Bs and As.
I already knew what echelon meant, but I looked up the dictionary anyway and found out that it was pronounced "Eh-sheh-lon." As for sobriquet, I didn't know until I learned that it meant "nickname" and is pronounced "soh-bri-kay."
The article was a great read on what some educated people have agreed on, that the departments of English, History, and Philosophy have veered so far past into obscurity known as "Post-Modernism" that these disciplines have less relevance to our lives, even though they shouldn't. Every "doctor and banker" should have a little knowledge of writing clear and proper English, a little understanding of American History and politics, and a little comprehension of great thoughts on human existence from Western (and Eastern) perspective.
Instead of talking about 'truth! what is truth?! truth is relative!' as post-modernists are prone to do, they should, he argued, try to teach a comprehensive curriculum that are relevant to today, rather than going off into some obscure course that teaches about dinosaurs and their relatives when you're not planning to be a paleontologist. Dinosaurs are important, but when a course lasts four months and is one-eighth of your four-year education, dinosaurs should be part of a course that covers more than just dinosaurs.
All in all, he concluded that the educational system was not challenging the students enough to think beyond passing courses, collecting grades, padding their résumés.
I'm not sure how true that is, but I'll concede that it applies to Harvard and may not apply anywhere else, and that it'll take several years after I graduate before I look back and say, "Was it a fond memories of interesting and challenging classes that I took?"
posted by Alan at February 13, 2005
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