Grow Up - Part II

     I know, I know...I'm in one of those "Get off my lawn" stretches. That said, I don't have a paywall on my website so what you read is what you get...for free! And while I have received the occasional comment on Facebook or an e-mail from a fromthegolfroom.blogspot.com reader saying "You're an idiot," I have yet to be called boring. So, away we go.

    A few weeks ago it was reported that New York University fired one of their professors, Maitland Jones, after students complained he was too tough. Yes, you read that right. Jones, who is a professor of organic chemistry and co-author of a respected textbook, was let go by NYU after 82 students in his intro to organic chemistry course signed a petition saying the course was too hard and their grades were too low. Well, now.

    After Jones was let go, a university spokesman said the professor was "hired to teach, and wasn't successful." He cited poor student evaluations and more than a handful of withdrawals from the professor's class. On the flip side, Jones defended himself by asserting 60% of the final grades in his last course were A's or B's and only 19 of 350 students had failed. He said the real problem was that students simply didn't study enough. What do you think, Sancho? So far, I'm with the professor, boss! Yeah, me too. Let's continue.

    So is Maitland Jones an example of today's colleges and universities being over the top difficult and demanding, or are these kids just spoiled brats and a further example of the inmates running the asylum? I mean, shouldn't organic chemistry be hard? It's like wanting to be a doctor. You don't want those classes to be easy because you want to excel in your field and not kill somebody, right? You want organic chemistry to be hard so you can be a good organic chemist. Not someone who doesn't know the difference between organic and inorganic! I'm not the dumbest guy in the world, but I know damn well I'm not smart enough to take a class like that! For those of you who went to college, remember the electives after you had filled out your major requirements? And yes, I know, everyone took something like "Basket Weaving 101" their senior year in order to take it easy that last semester. I promise you, one of my electives WAS NOT organic chemistry. But I digress.

    Getting back to the demanding university or the spoiled brats question. I'd like to think that I've paid attention to various happenings in the modern university. Here's what I think I know (and feel free to correct me if I'm wrong). I think I know that much of the core curriculum, especially when it comes to literature and history, has been watered down in the the last 20 to 30 years. Also, I am pretty sure I'm correct when I say that at many colleges and universities today, a lot of professors hand out A's and B's like they're handing out M&M's. Does this mean that today's higher education is easier? Intelligent people could disagree. I would argue the side of, yes.

    To the spoiled brats question, I offer the following: If a bunch of kids are at a place of higher learning to "LEARN", how is it that they have somehow acquired the power to get a professor in good-standing, who by all accounts has an exemplary record...fired?! Do we not presuppose that these kids don't know certain things and that they need to be taught? NYU doesn't seem to think so. It seems they think the kids know more than the professors. And don't get me wrong; are there lousy professors? Sure. But c'mon...the kids should NOT have this power. I'm even going to go so far as to say that many of these kids shouldn't be in college in the first place. Although they've been told by their parents that they can do whatever they want in life, that they are perfect, and whatever pops into their wonderful little heads and comes out of their mouths is perfect and right...well, the truth is...they can't, they aren't, and many times they are wrong. Trust me. And let me anger some of you even further...a serious college education (due to the reading required, demands of logic, etc.) requires a certain intellectual level. And 40% of these kids don't have it. Doesn't mean they're stupid; more often that not it just means that their brains are wired differently. But it also means college degrees take work and a certain intellectual capacity. And some kids don't have it. So the kids that can't do the work get frustrated, drop out, and have to deal with failure, because somehow American parents have bought into the lie, which is thinking their kid has to go to college in order to be successful and thought of as important.

    Which brings me to a recent survey. Intelligent.com surveyed 1,000 four-year college students, and the results were interesting, dare I say, provocative. I know that surveys can often be misleading but they can offer certain insights. Quickly, 87% said they've thought at least one class was too difficult and the professor should have made it easier. 64% said this was the case with a few, or most of their classes. Most did say they intended to get more help or study more; however, 8% said they filed a complaint against the professor. Are you kidding me? Oh, wait. There's more. 

    64% said they put "a lot of effort" into school. 33% of that 64% said they do 5 or fewer hours of studying a WEEK! 70% said they spend no more than 10 hours a week on schoolwork. Twenty years ago kids were spending 20 to 25 hours a week! Well, either the kids are getting galactically smarter or frighteningly lazier. The last eye-popping part of this survey was that 33% of ALL students said they did not take a course in a given semester that included more than 40 pages of reading per week.

    So, what have we learned? Maybe we've learned that higher education is more concerned with other institutional functions and goals as opposed to learning. Maybe we're learning that many kids are treating the college experience as one long 4-year keg party (this would be nothing new but it's still disturbing). We're certainly learning that a lot of kids think 10 hours of studying a week constitutes real academic work. 

    I know I could be...maybe...coming down too hard on these kids. And I certainly don't mean to imply that every kid wants to fire the professor and doesn't give a damn about learning. But it does raise tough questions about expectations, in terms of course loads and student work habits. It raises questions about learning and expanding the mind (which is why they are there in the first place), so they don't end up being the idiots who throw food and paint at priceless works of art...or glue their hands to the floor of a car dealership. Everybody is always saying that these kids are the future. One might argue they need to start stepping up.

    And finally, it's insulting to all those young people who routinely put in 10-hour days waitressing, driving trucks, working construction and otherwise keeping us fed, clothed and housed.

write to Peter: magtour@icloud.com