Its about time I got serious about...

College Confidential Community
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<p>Haha, we all love Feynman (in a cynical world where many attributes are no longer as valued as they used to be). The only problem is that his case is especially unique (few people are as intelligent/curious as he is). Perhaps people would be more open if they were subject to a laissez-faire educational system - but such a system still wouldn’t turn them to Feynmans.</p>

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<p>Yes, students will always form their social groups and hierarchies. But at least the quality would be different.</p>

<p>The free-style school, in its most pure and theoretical form, would not have weekly evaluations. But unfortunately, we cannot have systems that perfectly emulate the free-style school (because of human nature). Thus, we need to find a way as to provide incentives (incentives that are based on a scientific understanding of human nature) to desired outcomes.</p>

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<p>You know, I kind of believe that college isn’t really necessary. You can learn all you want from a college from course materials (and textbooks) online. The problem is that a lot of instructors believe that students should have access to information that no one else should have access to - just because such students are “paying” for their education.</p>

<p>As for discussions, I think forums are an excellent venue for classroom discussions. For one thing, you can actually keep your discussions years after you take the course. You can have people from across the country enter the discussions. And the discussions can of course be moderated.</p>

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<p>I find websites like these ( <a href=“Classroom Resources - National Council of Teachers of Mathematics”>Classroom Resources - National Council of Teachers of Mathematics; is an example) far more exciting than lectures. The ideal skill in the information age: encouraging students to be able to distinguish between the (a) relevant/irrelevant (this depends on the student - so a student’s self-awareness is important for this) and the (b) reliable/unreliable sorts of information. Instead of lectures, there could be links to this that discuss interesting topics that aren’t in a textbook.</p>

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<p>^^ That’s pretty radical/unique. I need some time to think about that thoroughly.</p>

<p>(Haha, I think I just proved your point!)</p>

<p>So when would we go off into the “real world” and what would be transition for that?
Oh and why not open college to everyone instead of just getting rid of them completely b/c they are exclusive? I think I’m going to use the same competition argument I used before. At college you definitely some sort of competition b/c the job market and what comes after is ruthless. </p>

<p>How can you prepare for it w/ some kind of real life experience? Are you actually proposing a thorough societal reform b/c it seems like everything would have to change if you got rid of certain things?</p>

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<p>n00000, no more rabbits? :(</p>

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<p>W…t…h Isnt This Supposed To Be My Thread!!!</p>

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<p>I posted many amazing ideas for his 1000th post… :(</p>

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<p>Well, you know, prolonged adolescence seems to be a Western phenomenon. In non-Western countries, people were often considered to be adults at puberty. Of course though, we now have more to learn before we really can go out into the world - personally, I’m glad that the minimum driving age isn’t lower. :p</p>

<p>One of the problems with education is age-segregation - this phenomenon of massive schooling has never been attempted before. Certainly, before mass schooling happened, people were fully able to grow up into adults and to “live” normal lives. Schooling isn’t necessary for this - people can get in-job training for their specific tasks.</p>

<p>Supposedly, college is for an “education”. But it’s also regarded as a signal for the job market - it’s often treated as such - many students are only motivated by potential job opportunities. Still, it doesn’t have to be the only signal for the job market. Students could have the option to take tests in advanced subjects (provided by a nationalized testing agency) and to pass them to prove their ability - this seems to be accepted in the software industry - where people have to pass certified exams in order to get accredited (don’t quote me on this, I just heard of that). </p>

<p>This wouldn’t be a huge leap from previous arrangements - considering that college grades are already heavily based on finals and midterms anyways</p>

<p>You obviously don’t need to be in a classroom to write papers anyways.</p>

<p>What of research and other opportunities though? Professors are generally open in letting students volunteer for research, whether the students go to university or not. But research seems to be one of those things where students have to be on campus for (same with labs). Labs aren’t going to be easily transferrable online through the Internet. :stuck_out_tongue: There’s a difficulty.</p>

<p>Yeah, there are some things in college that are hard to mimic. For some people, college is largely useless. But for some others - they see it as the highlight of their lives. And the rigorous environment in the college certainly seems to motivate students to learn - whether they actually remember the material or not - that’s a different story.</p>

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Anyways, one thing that I’ve thought about: free market education. Let the market decide prices for textbooks (instead of forcing students in particular classes to buy certain textbooks). People can post reviews of textbooks on Amazon.com, and these reviews in turn inform potential buyers of the product. There’s always the potential for abuse (heh, Amazon.com used to have a lot of it), but that abuse can be moderated.</p>

<p>The other issue is BitTorrent. :stuck_out_tongue: Why buy textbooks when you can download them off BitTorrent? This makes online learning A LOT easier, but it might prevent authors from fully realizing their profits. Artists don’t seem to be profoundly affected by p2p file sharing, but there is a key difference between the fanbase of an artist and the fanbase of a textbook. :stuck_out_tongue: Frankly though, one thing is inevitable: more free content will be posted online, and we’ll ask the question, do we even need textbooks in the future?</p>

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<p>Maybe he just didn’t notice… WHy don’t you send him a PM and talk to him directly…</p>

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<p>I don’t know enough about college life to discuss anything thoroughly but it seems like you’re focusing on the academic part of school. The social parts are important too especially face-to-face interaction. Forum posting isn’t the solution and neither is any internet communication since they don’t allow for inflections or expressions which are necessary in the “real world.” I, personally, hate the way everything is becoming so technology-based. Curling up with a book (made out of paper) is one of my favorite activities and I don’t think it has the same zing as “curling up with my DigiReader.” </p>

<p>I love your point about Western prolonged adolescence. It’s so true. Which is why people are so quick to judge the early marriage ages in different cultures as being “gross.” If you’re treated like a fully competent adult @ 16, the next logical step might be marriage. (I’m not supporting child marriages btw----What I’m talking about goes to a certain extent.)</p>

<p>Oops, I went off on a tangent again. I guess notyet(a) was right… :(</p>

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<p>But you can’t communicate theoretical ideas at the college level wtih inflections and expressions. All ideas at the college level can be communicable through words. Since people should already be old enough to develop adequate social skills, there is nothing new to be learned by more socialization. Now, I can definitely understand that it’s probably easier to be motivated when you’re with peers. All I’m asking for is a recognition for those who choose to self-study instead of forking out $$$$ for college.</p>

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<p>Yay!!! Cafe is fun.</p>

<p>HS Life used to be fun…</p>

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<p>What I find really funny is how we far we have digressed from the original intent of the thread :D</p>

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<p>yeah i mean omg? :o</p>

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<p>and what’s with all these long posts… for some reason I just don’t like lost posts :eek:</p>

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<p>Exactly!!</p>

<p>I hatessss long posts as they hurt my eyes and brain. I get enough of that at school!!! :p</p>

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<p>^Well, I don’t go to MIT yet, so I don’t mind the long posts (plus I contributed to half of them, and I’m not going to diss myself…:))</p>

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<p>hahaha of course ! :)</p>

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<p>Wow, how did this all start…</p>

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<p>I don’t know!!! Looks like someone was in the AP-mode and decided to get a little practice on those free-response writing questions!!!</p>

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<p>hahahaha…</p>

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<p>InquilineKea sarcastically suggested we debate this, and I at first thought he was serious, so I initiated the debate. But blame InquilineKea for not making his sarcasm clear enough (and don’t shove the “CT schooled you in sarcasm before” thing in my face…I know, I stink!)</p>