College Degree vs. College Education ???

Donald Simanek, a physics teacher, presents some challenging ideas regarding collegiate education:

Even in the best of universities, some students get through with good academic records and still are not well-educated. They coasted through college without letting anything touch their minds. They didn't let academics interfere with their social life. We should not allow this to happen. It is a good thing for such students that most jobs that require a college degree do not require a college education. It's also a good thing that high intellectual ability isn't required for success and status, as anyone who has a boss knows.

What will the rest of the people do, those who can't earn a degree? The same things they do now with one. Most jobs that now require a college degree don't require a college education. The requirements of such jobs are easily met by trade schools or a year or two of community-college courses. For many employers a degree merely certifies that the person had four years to 'mature,' during which time he or she had to meet arbitrary standards, do unappealing and boring work, submit to authority without complaint, and not give up. That molds the sort of worker that business and industry like.

But there are a few modest steps we could take to improve education somewhat. Schools have become so cluttered with non-academic components that they have forgotten what ought to be their purpose.

The purpose of education is not merely to accumulate facts and information or job skills. Those are auxiliary functions. Facts and information and skills are necessary: they are the fodder for thinking. The purpose of developing the mind is to enable us to better acquire, evaluate and interpret information. But mere information, without thinking skills to evaluate and implement it, should not be worthy of academic credit. This suggestion is really quite radical. Even in the best universities, in the most 'academic' fields, evaluation systems give credit for memorized information.

I ask my academic colleagues this hard question. "In your exams, what percent of the points could be earned by a student who was merely a good memorizer of facts and procedures but understood nothing?" Few can honestly claim any less than 50%. I consider this to be the real scandal of education.

http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/decline1.htm

Yum????

From Switzerland - Cheeseburger in a Can! A Swiss company has created this easy eating solution. It's an all-beef patty, lettuce, tomato and cheese on a sesame seed bun - sold in a can that retails for about 5 bucks and can stay fresh for up to a year!

Taken from http://www.cbc.ca/news/fortunehunters/hitormiss/2009/01/the_easy_eating_trend_-_22_mar.php

Cicada Rhythm--College Ediiton

Like cicada, every semester a few students "wake up" about two days before the end of classes, and attempt to "catch up" the semester's work in a vain attempt to pass the class.

This illustrates the paradox of college academic life: those whose past endeavors in high school was characterized by teachers constantly hounding these students for assignments (and the student responding with less-than-complimentary characterizations of these teachers) are the same students that, once having entered the "hassle-free" academic life of a college campus, show that they need that "nagging" high school teacher.

And my experience has been that intelligence and talent vary widely among these cicada students . . . . some are quite talented, but haven't practiced the self-discipline that will allow that talent to produce academic results.

Luckily, every semester I also have students who have been struggling with the material all term long; they may not always test well, but these students have slogged through all the assigned exercises, and have a good working knowledge of the material. These are the students who sometimes find themselves the recipient of a few extra points to "blow them over" into the next higher grade.

That same wind doesn't blow for my cicada students--they just get enough dirt to bury them until the same time next semester.

Money Well Spent????

Please double-click on the diagram for a larger view.

Kissing the Mirror . . . . .

According to a news report, a certain private school in Victoria, BC recently was faced with a unique problem.

A number of year 12 girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the bathroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Every night, the maintenance man would remove them and the next day the girls would put them back.

Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. She called all the girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance man. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night.

To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

There are teachers, and then there are educators.

Taken from http://blog.chickencrap.com/2009/03/kissing-the-mirror/

What a Month!!

One of the purposes for which I maintain this blog is to show students what blogging is all about. One of the cardinal rules of blogging is to maintain regular posts--to keep visitors interested and returning.

My last post was over a month ago; but I have a good reason.

My wife was diagnosed with esophageal cancer in early February; it's been a whirlwind of tests, doctors, etc. since then.

We're blessed that it's still in Stage One, but her other medical conditions (the fancy term is "co-morbiditites") do complicate things.

We're now about to get the Venal Port, the PEG line, etc., so that we can begin the fun and games called Chemo and Radiation.

I'll begin regular posts soon.

How Much Gasoline Did You Eat Today????

Advice to the People of Illinois . . ..

Here’s my advice to those Illinois residents all upset about this mess: quit electing rotten crooked bastards as your governor. The last gov is in jail, and this one will be. And if you can’t stop yourself from electing thieving weasels to office, make sure law enforcement has the tools and budgets to put them in jail before they screw up big things like Senate appointments

From Technology is Broken


Almost seems like Illinois has a history of sending its best and brightest to Washington (Adlai Stevenson, e.g.), while keeping the crooks closer to home.

--------------------



On another front, if a Camel is a Horse Designed by a Committee, then the current Economic Stimulus package has a hump only because the Democrats 1) tried to do it hastily and 2) tried to accommodate spoiled Republicans who wanted things their way, then didn't vote for it anyway.

That's proof what they say about Laws and Sausages---you don't want to know how either of them get made . . . . .

Tragic but True . . .

Kudos to http://idly.org/

The Consent of the Governed . . .

The Associated Press reports a new study concerning the degree of political involvement among college freshman is spiking higher.

And that many of those freshman were not able to attend their "first choice" school for financial reasons.

And that 41% of those same college freshman support legalizing marijuana, though apparently about 32% of high school students have tried the illegal drug. And the Associated Press draws the conclusion that this attitude about marijuana may have less to do with these freshmen's attitude toward illegal drugs as it does about the role of government.

Well DUH!!! All during the previous administration, these young folks have seen older siblings ship off to an ideological war (not that any war isn't ideological, but Iraq was to the extreme) all the while mom and dad's ability to provide the "extra" funding dwindled.

Oh yes---and the promissory note to pay for the above mentioned ideological war--guess what's awaiting this young person on the far side of graduation????

Is it any wonder that today's uber-connected freshman wants his government out of the bedroom and into the boardroom???

While it's far from unusual for young folks not to want to be told what to do by older-boardroom-authority-figure types, now that they have 1) discovered the power of the ballot and 2) have a new standard-bearer in the White House,

the governed just became those who are governing.

Barocha

The Lord Bless You and Keep You

The Lord make His Face shine upon You

And give you peace forever.


The Lord be Gracious to You

The Lord turn His Face toward you

And give you peace forever.

Today marks the inauguration of Barach Obama. So many are writing so much that I fear blog overload.

Suffice to say that his odd-sounding name isn't really that odd. The African "Barach" is very close to the Hebrew "Barocha" or "Bharucha" which also means blessing.

Some of you know the musical work of Michael Card, whose Lullaby entitled "Barocha" reflects the simple Hebrew blessing quoted above.

Play this via Rhapsody.

May the Barocha of the Almighty fall upon Barach.

Hallelujah, Martin, It's October !!

"This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality."

The sentence above is taken from Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech, given August 28th, 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial; many folks know the end of the speech, but not as much notice is taken of the beginning.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

I am a middle-aged white man; while I cannot pretend to know first-hand withering heat about which Dr. King spoke, I have seen the changes since the early sixties. Though I hope I never personally blew hot air upon any of my black friends, co-workers, and acquaintances, I could not always avert the hot blasts coming from society as a whole.

Many of my twenty-something students fail to grasp the significance of the Obama Presidency as fully as can some of their older kinfolk--even those twenty-somethings who are themselves black or of mixed race. Nothing is as eloquent as the sight of bleary-eyed black octogenarians standing in mass, joyous witness to the events of the past six months.

Ask. Read. Watch. Do not let the Chicago tears of Jesse Jackson, or the courage of Jackie Robinson, or the verse of Maya Angelou be lost in an insignificant blur of past history. Every American, but especially those who are of African heritage should be as readily able to explain the contributions of Booker T. Washington, Langston Hughes, or Crispus Attucks as they can Benjamin Franklin or Robert Fulton.

Yes, this President IS a big deal. Treat it as such.

And yet, the very fact that young folks accept this as routine speaks eloquently to this no longer being August.

Hallelujah, Martin, It's October!

Information Antennae

In a very good posting from eLearning Technology, (Winner of an EduBlog Award 2008), Tony Karrer lays out techniques for Learning Professionals to hone their "information radar."

But while in college, students need to practice using their "antennae" for information sources as a precursor to "real" business world "radar."

Many students think that they will face less information once they've graduated, not more. But a collegiate environment normally circumscribes topics for study; the business world does not. Information is everywhere, but usable information may be much harder to discern.

And I'm not convinced that utilizing Wikipedia, MySpace, FaceBook and YouTube actually qualifies students for the business use of Web 2.0 applications. True, they may have more of a "feel" for the technologies than might a 60-year-old colleague, but the elder might have a better idea of where to search (and often more importantly, where NOT to search) and what constitutes a true information nugget.

I would encourage students to begin reading blogs, wikis, and RSS feeds of publications for their field. If nothing else, it will serve as good background; it might even impress a prof with a well-informed question. At best, it will begin a habit that will reap rich benefits over one's career.

Farewell, Mr. Bushanan . . . .

Before Buchanan left office, seven slave states seceded, the Confederacy was formed, all arsenals and forts in the seceded states were lost (except Fort Sumter and two remote ones), and a fourth of all federal soldiers surrendered to Texas troops. The government decided to hold on to Fort Sumter, which was located in Charleston harbor, a visible spot in the Confederacy. On January 5, Buchanan sent a civilian steamer Star of the West to carry reinforcements and supplies to Fort Sumter. On January 9, 1861, South Carolina state batteries opened fire on the Star of the West, which returned to New York. Paralyzed, Buchanan made no further moves to prepare for war. (Taken from Wikipedia)

Today, tracing the "tracks" of President-Elect Lincoln, Barack Obama takes a train from Philadelphia to Washington, DC. Once there, he will become our 44th President.

Was the "State of the Union" on March 4, 1961 (Inauguration Day was later back then) worse than what Mr. Obama faces? Suffice to say, it was a mess. And James Buchanan couldn't wait to high-tail it back here to Lancaster.

The secessionists, lacking any opposition from Washington, ran rampant during the last six months of Buchanan's administration; in our day, it has been rapacious capitalists and religious/ethnic zealots. And Bush 43 did not make Buchanan's mistake--he DID act--but perhaps unwisely.

And so, to this, comes a singularly remarkable man. Much has been made of his being black; but it is NOT his blackness that will be needed--it is his character. Unflappable, deliberative, inclusive, and decisive.

Like many, many Americans, my wife and I are treating these next few days as a holiday; never in my memory have so many people been in such longing for change.

Pray wisdom for Mr. Obama, vigilance for all those entrusted with his safety, and sobriety for all of us as we witness what shall be a day worth remembering.

SkyFire Mobile Browser Beta

While still in Private Beta, this new browser has been impressing me with its ability to "show" webpages (MyITLab, Blackboard, etc.) on my HTC 8925.

It's not something I'd recommend as a REPLACEMENT to Opera or Mobile IE yet, but definately something to check out as a secondard browser.

Semester Break is Over . . . . .

It's hard for me to believe that my last post to this blog was for Christmas---that seems SOOOO long ago. . . .

While, like most of my students, I've been busy during the semester break, my routine was completely different than during "school" --- and one of the things that I became lax about was posting to this blog. (Those who know me well know it's NOT for a (1) lack of opinions, (2) things to say, or (3) things I know anything about--not that the first two have EVER required the last one . . . .)

Here we are in January (temperature outside this morning is 8 degrees) and welcome to the Spring Semester???? (Truth in advertising, shouldn't we call it the "Start out freezing your tail feathers, then slogging through the March mud, and then, when the weather really starts to get decent, we hit you with FINALs" Semester?) Ok, for the sake of brevity, we'll stick with "Spring." Brrrrrr!

I've been to all the rubber-chicken faculty meetings, wrestled with syllabi and assignment grids, spruced up my faculty web page, and decided that paperless doesn't work for most things in a traditional classroom setting. Tell Weyerhauser to keep plantin' trees . . . .

So, this here'll be the first of many posts in the new year, new semester, and in five short days, a new Presidency.

Ain't new beginnings great?????

The Wisdom of Apollo 8

Christmas Eve, 1968: The view of "the good Earth" from the window of Apollo 8. Three astronauts paused to reflect, and sent back to Earth:

William Anders:

"For all the people on Earth the crew of Apollo 8 has a message we would like to send you".

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.
And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness."

Jim Lovell:

"And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.
And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so.
And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day."

Frank Borman:

"And God said, Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good."

Borman then added, "And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you - all of you on the good Earth."

As I've stated on this blog before, many of my students don't recall a time before there was an Internet; many of their parents may not have been in kindergarten when this broadcast took place.

It was a different time; Both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy had been shot in 1968, riots had been quelled, and both the Vietnam War and Civil Rights were the topics of debate.

These astronauts were, after all, military men; conservative, disciplined men who tended to see an order in things. Surrounded by tens of thousands of miles of hostile space, they were given full latitude by ground control in Houston to "say what was appropriate."

And so they chose.

Much has happened in those forty ensuing years; technological progress marred by thorny social and ethnic strife, an erosion from faith, so that now that quoted text from Genesis seems quaint.

But, as we finish yet another year, we collectively look forward to the future with hope. But hope not grounded in faith is irrational.

The Apollo 8 team found that when we are furthest from "ground" is that most opportune time to find that which "grounds" us.

Many of the events of 2008--economic turmoil, natural disasters--have (as least figuratively) knocked the ground from beneath us. And we're feeling a bit uneasy.

Perhaps the best time to find "ground."

Senatorial Sombreros

I had taken a break from blogging, since the last two weeks have been the last week of classes and finals week. Student's needs (and neediness!) increases during that period.

But today I'm confronted with the news that the Big Three Auto Bailout is dead in the U.S. Senate. Apparently some senators from southern states (home of Nissan, Toyota, Honda and other non-union automakers) had asked the UAW to adjust the wages of their workers in Michigan to match the wages paid in, e.g. Tennessee.

Following that line of reasoning, we should ask the U.S. Senate to relocate to Costa Rica. While language might be a problem, Costa Rica is a model democracy in Central America. And they pay there legislators a great deal less there--not that the Costa Rican Deputies (they don't have "Congressmen" or "Senators") are any less capable than our own folks. Actually, perhaps they're better--they've disbanded their army and have passed laws to become a "green" nation that actually may work!!!

During this period of poor economy, we could do with saving money on legislators.

And (since it was good enough for Detroit's CEOs) let's ban the Senators from flying back to their home states. Get those men each an American-made Hybrid! Some parts of Mexico are delightful by automobile . . . .

The point of all this is simply that the cost of living DOES vary from place to place. Perhaps the cost of living in Michigan is high because the auto workers have always made "good" money (because of the UAW?). But the cost of living won't miraculously deflate by congressional fiat. I teach at colleges that have the reputation of being a "good value" -- partially because instructor salaries are lower here, because the cost of living in Lancaster County is less than, e.g. Connecticut.

Am I in favor of bailing out a mismanaged, bloated industry that has been force-feeding gas-guzzlers down American throats for decades??

Government, which normally doesn't run companies very well--but usually has good intentions--should get a stake in these companies, and attempt to force reforms resulting in a viable business model.

That's preferable to bankruptcy, where the same bankers and lawyers that gave you the recent Wall Street debacle all get to take their piece first . . . and leave crumbs upon which to rebuild three million jobs--but this time the American auto industry will be the Central American Auto Industry.

Does anyone at the UAW speak Spanish????

Hybridizing Knowledge Workers--Not Advised

Continuing the conversation about MS Office, Knowledge workers, and collegiate education, V. Yonders wrote in her blog:

However, I think this is true of any generation and technology. My generation embraced the PC because it was new and we were learning how to use it in school, whereas my father embraced it after other workers started to use it and demonstrated how it could impact the organization. I am sure the same happened when the xerox machine and telephone was introduced.

In other words, new technology allowed “older” workers to perform the “same old work” faster or easier. But in an earlier post, CIO Insight observed that tech natives change their thinking because of technology—they mold their “work” to fit available technologies.

As I see it, the real problem is that our educational system is still set in traditional structures (due in part to businesses wanting more "content" which will be a product for them to sell in the future). The true gap, therefore, is between those educated in a traditional way and the new "skills" needed to work in a module setting (able to move people, companies, offices, departments around without losing knowledge or the knowledge product) communicating through a network (rather than the old vertical structures) with critical thinking and problem solving skills that allow workers to react to the environment as it changes and create new knowledge (or knowledge products) in a short period of time.

Looking at work literacy from this viewpoint, technology is only a tool with which these knowledge workers will be able to draw on. If students coming out of high schools and college are ill prepared for these new structures, then the workplace will need to start training new workers in terms of critical thinking and problem solving skills, new communication skills (including how to interact without "authority" figures and initiate communication), team and group work skills (as module structures require participation in groups), and metacognitive skills (in order to be aware of what is going on in the work environment and retooling as appropriate).

The orchard doesn't bear fruit immediately upon planting new trees--while most of learned our “times tables” in 3rd grade, knowing WHEN to multiply didn’t completely “gel” until later. The challenge is that many times college freshmen have no “real world” experience from which to draw, so teaching such skills as goal-seeking in Excel or using OLE to embed an automatically-updating spreadsheet into a MS Word document must be skill-based.

In training non-IT majors in MS Office and other “technology” skills, admittedly I’m limited; I cannot know the myriad usages my students may find for a particular skill. There are some “building block” skills that defy “critical thinking” –they are only building blocks from which thinking can proceed.

While I’m not complaining (as doing so fills my classes), it IS a shame that we need to continue to teach these skills at the collegiate level. In reality, we are teaching these skills multiple times (late elementary for the most basic of word processing, high school for basic academic writing, and then in college for discipline-specific uses).

Perhaps the challenge is NOT that today’s “tech native” knows how to use the technology, it’s that after using the technology for personal/pleasure uses, making the transition to “work” uses (and the limiting parameters associated with such use) fails to engender the respect for the technology that us older folks feel.

And teaching respect, even for one's tools, isn't something easily accomplished. It comes with maturation; so while colleges can and should teach skills, industry should not lay all the blame for ill-prepared workers upon academia.

Plant. Water. Prune as necessary. Wait. . . . Then Harvest.

Nano-Life Reflects Life (or vice versa?)

Originally posted on CafeTerra,
these images seem to suggest that forms familiar at our size also exist at the microscopic level.

Nano Space - The final frontier. The space ship Enterprise NCC-1701D of Star Trek was fabricated in one-billionth scale by 30 kV Ga+ focused-ion- beam CVD using phenanthrene gas. Length 8.8 µm.
Magnification: 5,000X



Nanoscale soldiers in marching formation on the edge of a silicon substrate
Magnification: 200,000X




Nano toilet - An effective method of dealing with defects is to find a collection site. Magnification: ~15,000X



“T4 Bacteriophage” is a virus like the robot in the living body
Magnification: 25,000X