| Page originally posted 01.X.2005. Last update 19.III.2006 |
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COLLEGE FOR ALL?
Statement on diminishing academic standards in the United States
This page is the introduction to Educational Readings, a reading assignment students do as part of their fulfillment of the course requirements during some semesters in General Biology as taught by Dr. Nilsson, South Texas College (STC) Biology Department, to help them take their college education seriously. Starting fall semester 2006 Educational Readings will also be an official requirement in both General Biology and Environmental Biology, every semester. Most of the Environmental Biology students, and many General Biology students, have hopes to become teachers, so the topic should interest them. Furthermore the Environmental Biology textbook is now spending more resources on "education and studying" with the first chapter of the book devoted to the topic. Students come to STC from a variety of different educational backgrounds, some extremely mediocre and non-challenging, where they have not learned to appreciate and understand what is a good education. To name a few, e.g., having knowledge about the world, be able to think critically, be able to write with an educated vocabulary and understand the importance of spelling and legible handwriting, be able to count and do simple computations, and having respect for and acceptance of others educated opinions. (Notice I said "educated" opinion.) Perhaps you have heard the expression "college for all". (When I Googled "college for all" I got 52,900 hits. Very interesting reading...) Some people have misunderstood and think it means college should be easy so that "all" can get a degree. Incorrect! It means that "all" should have a chance to "earn" a degree, not just the rich and privileged. It also means quality; teachers must challenge students, and educate the students (and sometimes parents) to understand what it means to be educated. Whining, disrespectful parents, complaining about the grades "given" to their kids are often the reason why grades are inflated and academic standards diminished. Also, kids often mimic behavior of the parents, which means that if the parents are disrespectful to the kids' teachers, the kids are going to grow up and show the same disrespect. Both parents and students may need a reminder that grades are not given, but earned by the students.
There was an interesting article in the Monitor (February, 2006). As you probably have heard already, education is in trouble in this country, and the Rio Grande Valley is no exception. Not all students have received a poor quality education, but many students don't think learning is important, and they have the misconception that after going through a mediocre and non-challenging high school education, a college education is also going to be mediocre and non-challenging (read easy) -- as can be noted by the common notion of students thinking that they don't have to read, or even obtain, their required course textbooks, or that they can turn in an assignment looking like it was finished by a pig. (The statement not intended to insult pigs...) As you can see if you read the article mentioned, a college education is not mediocre and non-challenging, "50 percent of community college students nationwide often do not return for a second year of classes", and it isn't because they think their classes are too easy. The article informs, "nearly 80 percent of Hidalgo and Starr county students are unprepared to handle college work". This means that "jobs meant for present and future Valley workers could go overseas, to e.g., India and China, if more college and work-ready students" are not available. Companies owned by Americans do not want to hire poorly educated goof balls, so they "outsource" looking for better-educated workers in these countries, where the salary levels also are lower!
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There are many books on this subject -- poor quality education. I will mention a few. When addressing the problem, Norman Mailer, author of the book "The Big Empty" states that 52 percent of the American people are uneducated and stupid, and that "the Bush administration holds great faith in the stupidity of the American people" so that they can push their agenda and worldview...
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Addressing the same problem -- poor quality education, James Rosenbaum, author of the book "Beyond College for All: Career Paths for the Forgotten Half" states that America is called the Land of Opportunity because people of all backgrounds are given a chance at advancement through education and hard work, but these opportunities are not available to all students. The "forgotten half", does it have something to do with the 52 percent mentioned in Mailers book (above)?
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A more extensive review of Rosenbaum's book is here, but I will still mention two important statements, since this topic of vocational courses has been mentioned elsewhere on Dr. Nilsson's CyberOffice. First: "American schools are uncomfortable with creating a substantial vocational education system and instead offer a college preparatory curriculum to nearly all students, a choice which ends up depriving students of the means to earn a good living." Second: "After high school graduation, students enter community colleges ill-prepared for the courses; most students must enroll in remedial courses, which they're paying for, but do not earn college credits. Disappointed with this process, high numbers of students drop out with few or no college credits." The second statement sounds familiar? It should, it was what the Monitor article (above) was discussing. In another article (February, 2006), Chris Ardis, local teacher and columnist in the Monitor, states that it "is obvious that there is much work to be done" to better the quality of education in the United States. Lack of education is a serious problem in many aspects; one is because the quality of education is better in other countries. If nothing is done, the status of the United States as a democracy and as a leading country of the world is at stake. Dr. Reed, president of STC, states (see Ardis article) that if "we in the Rio Grande Valley as well as the rest of the nation are to retain our competitive edge in the global economy, graduation from high school must truly mean ready for college" and we must "address the challenges before us and in ways we have never done before". Many of the rich in this country don't care -- many share the agenda of the Bush administration, as mentioned by Norman Mailer, and are responsible for outsourcing of jobs. As long as the percentage of uneducated Americans remains high, nothing will change except the rich will get even richer. As evidence of this problem -- poor quality education, Dr. Reed, president of STC, presented the following statistics during faculty convocation (August, 2005). These are the statistics for Rio Grande Valley high school students enrolled at STC: 
STC Graduation rates:
Students with letter grades A, B, or C:
Recent High School Graduates passing THEA:
Transfer to UTPA:
Employment after graduation: 96% As can be seen from the statistics, there is a positive trend -- it is getting better. Also encouraging, of the students who graduate and look for jobs after graduation, 96% will find employment! That is good news. However, if only about 10% graduate, then there will not be enough skilled, educated workers in the Valley to attract new companies or to retain the present companies. As stated in the Ardis article by a business owner who paid taxes in the Valley -- which in part pay for the education of local students: "You don't mind paying taxes but you want return on your investment." Students not taking their education serious are not a good investment. If Valley schools do not provide a skilled and educated workforce, the jobs will go to other countries. According to Dr. Reed, also presented at the faculty convocation (August, 2005) there are certain minimum requirements, which must be asked of college students, -- many students ignore these requirements (the words in parenthesis are mine, not from Dr. Reed):: If you are one of those students who think college should be easy (high school was?), or think it is too hard to do class projects that requires you to read instructions (the instructor should explain everything in twenty seconds?), or think handwriting is not important (no one will read what you write anyway?), or think it is not important to be able to place Texas on a map of the United States (or India and China on a world map?) -- you need to rethink what you are doing. 
Again, to start where we started, college for "all" does not mean college should be easy so that "all" can get a degree. What it means is that "all" should have a CHANCE to get the opportunity to "earn" a degree. If it was easy to earn a college degree everyone would have one, and it would be worthless. Not everyone will earn a college degree, as the statistics above shows.|
From an Environmental Biology student in a class where most students aspire to become elementary teachers: Although, I am not a teacher yet, I have had many experiences with peers who do NOT listen and also disturb others who want to listen. I would like to confide in you that what worries me more is that in this class there "may" be future teachers and that is a concern for me, since, I have a 3 year old who one day might be my peers' student. |
time to wake up and smell the coffee...
Copyright © 2006, Jan A. Nilsson. Page created 01.X.2005, last updated 19.III.2006, most likely during the wee hours of the morning on a G3 PowerBook owned by Jan A. Nilsson. Web page layout and design © and intellectual property Jan A. Nilsson. Content on Dr. Nilsson's CyberOffice may not be used for commercial purposes. All rights reserved. Except for educational purposes and 'fair use' (see below), reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited. If used for educational purposes and 'fair use', including photographs, source must be given. (Some clip art, texts and backgrounds used on Dr. Nilsson's CyberOffice downloaded for educational purposes and/or 'fair use' from Internet free domain has no source.)
If anyone feels that his or her material cannot be used this way I will immediately remove it if notified. 
