Wednesday, April 29, 2009
JSH: Referral to NY Times "End the University as We Know It"
The New York Times has an excellent editorial. Quoting from the Source:
Not surprisingly one of my favorite pieces of the excellent article discusses tenure:
As the years have gone by I have challenged many of you to re-think how you look at reality itself, but education eventually leads to a need to act in reality, or, in other words, school is almost out.
For those who refuse to change the same situation exists as it was for those who hated automobiles. Who loved their horses and saw no reason for the horse and buggy to be replaced.
Before them, there were people who liked the Ptolemaic system. It had its problems but worked well enough to plan crops. How can you argue with such a thing?
Change runs into the reality of recalcitrance to change but on a planet with 4.6 billion years of history, the length of time of your resistance doesn't even amount to an eye blink.
For some time I have considered that some of you deep down know you are wrong but hope to simply get your careers done before change throws out everything you've done, but our times are faster than in the past.
Some of you who are undergrads my yet not reach graduation before the changes are set. Those of you who are grads may find that you can't get through your doctoral program in time. And those of you tenured professors may find your retirement plans are torn asunder before you ever get to them.
Our world demands progress.
You will change because at the end of the day, even if you resist it, reality is bigger than us all. We will all change.
Oh yeah, and as I've said, tenure will be abolished and the academic world worldwide WILL be revolutionized.
As I go mainstream, you will be dragged along—whether you wish it, or not.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/opinion/27taylor.html
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR
End the University as We Know It
By MARK C. TAYLOR
Published: April 27, 2009
If higher education is to thrive, colleges and universities, like Wall Street and Detroit, must be rigorously regulated and completely restructured.
Not surprisingly one of my favorite pieces of the excellent article discusses tenure:
6. Impose mandatory retirement and abolish tenure. Initially intended to protect academic freedom, tenure has resulted in institutions with little turnover and professors impervious to change…Your academic world WILL change. It's not about if, and it's not about an ability by any of you by sheer force of denial to stop it.
As the years have gone by I have challenged many of you to re-think how you look at reality itself, but education eventually leads to a need to act in reality, or, in other words, school is almost out.
For those who refuse to change the same situation exists as it was for those who hated automobiles. Who loved their horses and saw no reason for the horse and buggy to be replaced.
Before them, there were people who liked the Ptolemaic system. It had its problems but worked well enough to plan crops. How can you argue with such a thing?
Change runs into the reality of recalcitrance to change but on a planet with 4.6 billion years of history, the length of time of your resistance doesn't even amount to an eye blink.
For some time I have considered that some of you deep down know you are wrong but hope to simply get your careers done before change throws out everything you've done, but our times are faster than in the past.
Some of you who are undergrads my yet not reach graduation before the changes are set. Those of you who are grads may find that you can't get through your doctoral program in time. And those of you tenured professors may find your retirement plans are torn asunder before you ever get to them.
Our world demands progress.
You will change because at the end of the day, even if you resist it, reality is bigger than us all. We will all change.
Oh yeah, and as I've said, tenure will be abolished and the academic world worldwide WILL be revolutionized.
As I go mainstream, you will be dragged along—whether you wish it, or not.
# posted by James Harris @ 19:19 
