Is the dumbing down of America's Colleges in order to accommodate equality/Equal outcomes?

Question

I see the benefits short term for equality' sake, but the long term is a disaster waiting to unfold.

http://www.ourcivilisation.com/dumb/dumb2.htm

Answer 1

This report was written in 1996, and I was still in college.  I guess I was fortunate.  At the university that I attended, we had to take a number of the classes that the article described as cut from curriculums.  I think it was something like 3 writing courses, 3 math, 2 science, US History or Politics, state history, 2 semesters of 1 language, and 3 cultural courses.  Of course, some of these could be taken within a certain discipline, but they had to meet the requirements of the University.

I had friends that often complained about this kind of well-rounded curriculum.  They would say, I came here to learn a trade not learn Spanish, or not learn math I'm never going to use, etc.  Most put up with the system, but some left to go to schools where they only learned what was needed for their career choice.  So, I think it just comes down to money.

Such schools that have reformed to this have just followed the dollar, so to speak.  However, I think that it is cheating the students.  Those courses have helped me in so many ways after leaving college.  They have helped me relate more to others, they have given me a better understanding of the world around me.  I am always surprised when I suddenly have to use some of that stuff.  It also gave me some flexibility in my career and gave me more skills to adapt to the changing economy as well as improve my career skills.  Just last year, my college Spanish helped me communicate with the workers who replaced the roof on my house (they were here legally, but had a hard time with English---but that is a different topic).

As far as the dumbing down part, I have two things to say about that.  I also lucked out in that I went to a high school were a good percentage of students took AP or college coarses.  So, I'm sure it is a mixed bag when it comes to college.  I think remedial courses have to be offered however.  With college you get all sorts of people attending.  You get people that struggled extra long to get their GED, as well as the average and gifted students.  I knew a man who was determined.  He couldn't pass his GED for some time and had to keep trying.  When he did, he then went to college.  He did take one remedial class, that just helped him with all of his other courses.

However, since a GED or diploma is required to go to college, only these kinds (as desribed above) of remedial courses should be available.  All of the other kind (as described in the article) should be covered by the GED testing and in high school.  This is more the problems in the public school.  We are already behind the world in many areas of education, but to not make the grade for our standards where they are now is even worse.

Unfortunately, the government's attempts at fixing the problems have lead to more problems and have not necessarily helped the situation in others.

Answer 2

yes.

Answer 3

Yep.

Answer 4

Colleges are being dumbed down for a number of reasons.  One of the biggest is that academia is now being run as a business.  A college degree is a commodity.  Children who are raised by overprotective lazy parents don't want to work for their degrees, they just want it handed to them.  Overprotective parents who are obsessed with their children harass college professors for expecting their children to show up in class and do actual work.  University bigwigs, often appointed by businesses and politicians, who see only the money they'll lose if tuition-paying parents are unhappy, give in and dumb things down to keep the gravy train rolling.

Answer 5

Please, give me an example of how equality has affected the outcome of the change in college course curriculums. Based on what I just read, it's because the students who're being accepted into these institutes of higher education are not making the grades that students who've gone before them have. And this is for both women and men.

The college professors are speaking out against this because they come from a different era where education was a top priority for students enrolled in school. Now it's based on who's going to get drafted out of college into the major leagues, who's going to the Olympics, and who's career is going to take off prior to graduation. This in my opinion is more important to most of these kids than actually retaining the education they’re paying for.

I don't think it has anything to do with equality. The only reason why you say that is the extra course you saw added to replace some of the traditional core course that used to be mandatory for passing. I think you've got your wires crossed on this one. It has nothing to do with the s*x of the student, but everything to do with the student’s ability to learn and retain the information needed to be classified as a college graduate. The youth of today don't take education as serious as my generation and those before me did when we where in school.  Remember, most kids chose careers that they think will pay them high amounts of money annually with out actually researching the career itself. And once they start completing the core courses for that degree plan, they realize it's not what they wanted. They drop out, they owe large amounts of money that they can't pay, and the school ends up suffering in the end. Which I think is another reason why the schools have "dumbed down" their courses to accommodate the educationally impaired.  I know this for a fact, because I’ve seen it happen so many times while enrolled in college myself. I watched kids sign up for classes that seemed “cool” because they didn’t really want to go to school, but they wanted to pledge and party. “My parents are making me go” is what one of them told me. And the only reason why he was going was so that he would be able to work a part time job, stay at home with mom and dad and get high in the basement with his high school friends. Kids are not working as hard for higher education any more. And this is coming from my mother who works at a high school as a councilor with graduating seniors (of all races, both s*x, and many different back grounds). Most of them just don’t care any more.

Answer 6

Any attempt to dumb down something for the sake of political correctness aka "vote bank retainment exercise" can only be a short-sighted effort. Long term, disaster is unavoidable.

Answer 7

No its in order to have the right distribution of intelligence, if you have too many peepz holding college degrees you still would have only so many leadership positions and so many "do you want fries with that ?" positions. And boi would the high qualified peers who have only "do you want fries with that" to turn to make a fuzz. By not giving them an education thats worth a d**n they have an easier time to work for minimum wage.

Answer 8

Welllll...there's ALL kinds of ways to answer this.  We could look at all the conspiracy theories...the fact that 'someone' wants to see a considerable drop in the general intelligence of the population - easier to control and manage.  It could also be the result of a plan gone bad...there is no question that the style of education and teaching has changed, and the goal of it today is to have different ways of 'thinking', rather than heads crammed with 'knowledge'....maybe, they screwed that up.

But - since I know your question was an attempt to slag feminists or women - how bout I answer this way....you know, of course, that studies and statistics overwhelmingly show higher grades and learning curves for women, right?  So I agree that the dumbing down of America's colleges was to accomodate equality for men - to assist them in a more equal outcome.

Answer 9

Your right on that so is our grade schools. Ever one thinks that ever one is the same. We all should be collage educated.

So you down grade the school systems to make ever one collage able. this country dose bit believe that we need factory workers We all need to push papers around.

Answer 10

"Is the dumbing down of America's Colleges in order to accommodate equality/Equal outcomes?"

Perhaps. Isn't that what they are doing to get more men into college? Dropping admissions standards?

From the New York Times: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.ht...

Answer 11

Oh, you mean all-women's schools going co-ed? Hm... that's an interesting suggestion.

I think that the reasons schools now have fewer required courses has more to do with students being eager to pursue their interests right away. Engineering majors aren't always interested in history-- and with the internet, they can just "google it." It's got more to do with the internet, I think.

And to say that gender or LGBT studies are useless is silly. College is a time to explore things that you'll never again be able to study. For some, it's the only swim they'll ever get in the seas of academia.