IHTFP - Loving it or hating it, come discuss.

CalAlum
Thu, 01 May 2008 14:12:38 +0000

@ Lizbee:

[quote]
If, however, I had known what I know now, I would have urged child to go elsewhere – to, perhaps, a smaller school where professors have a more considerate approach to undergraduate teaching; or to a place where child’s GPA would be more protected, thereby increasing grad. or professional school options.

[quote]


I’m sorry to hear your child is struggling. When we send our kid off to college, we want everything to work out well, and sometimes it doesn’t. But I disagree that sending your child to a less rigorous school (i.e. a teaching college versus a research university) is the answer. MIT is very tough – yes. But MIT’s retention statistics are outstanding. At many state universities, students drop out of engineering and hard science majors in large numbers (just log on to Google.Scholar and enter the terms: "retention and engineering majors). In contrast, at MIT students persevere and finish the degree, and it’s quite possible this is due to the student culture, in which an MIT education is viewed as a climb up a difficult mountain, a climb students complete together.

Yes, you can send your child to Berkeley or some other school. But then it’s more likely that your child will drop out of engineering. And yes, you can send your child to a small teaching college, but then it’s more likely that your child will never have access to hands-on cutting edge research.

We all want to protect our children. They leave home and we watch them bobbing away like little boats on the water. (I just typed that sentence and almost can’t believe I wrote that, but what the hell–I’m in a hurry). But let’s face it. Some little boats tip over, and some even sink. I’m currently teaching at Stanford by invitation, but eventually I’ll return to the “liberal arts” teaching institution I normally call home. Over the years, I’ve met dozens of students who succumb to procrastination, drink, or drugs. It isn’t always the fault of the instructor, when the student struggles.

I think the MIT students who post on cc have been amazingly open about the struggles. I also think that openness is the same quality that empowers MIT students to persevere. It’s tough; you have to be resilient; you need to seek help; the challenge is both overwhelming and at times exhiliarating. But in the end, students leave with a degree from one of the top science and engineering universities in the world.