http://theweek.com/speedreads/626361/oberlin-students-want-abolish-midterms-grades-below-c
<shakes head>
You know, the one quote in this story is partly correct: "You know, we're paying for a service. We're paying for our attendance here. We need to be able to get what we need in a way that we can actually consume it," student Zakiya Acey told The New Yorker.
The parts that are incorrect: 1) activism is outside the classroom, and therefore on your own time, and therefore YOU choose to do that; try telling your job that they need to cut you slack because you decided to do something non-job related, but you should still get paid for the time you weren't there.
And 2) Yes, you're paying for a service. But guess what? You're not just the customer. You're also the product being put out by the institution. Whoever employs you is expecting someone who can do the job, and they blame both you and the institution when you can't. And when no one will hire you because employers know that the institution is NOT graduating students who can do the job that they and society require, guess who you'll blame?
There is a fundamental misunderstanding, both without and within educational institutions, about the responsibility educational institutions have to society, to employers, and to students. Society expects institutions to provide responsible citizens. Employers expect institutions to provide workers. Students expect institutions to make them employable and responsible citizens.
If this young lady is an example of Oberlin's provided education, well....
<shakes head>
You know, the one quote in this story is partly correct: "You know, we're paying for a service. We're paying for our attendance here. We need to be able to get what we need in a way that we can actually consume it," student Zakiya Acey told The New Yorker.
The parts that are incorrect: 1) activism is outside the classroom, and therefore on your own time, and therefore YOU choose to do that; try telling your job that they need to cut you slack because you decided to do something non-job related, but you should still get paid for the time you weren't there.
And 2) Yes, you're paying for a service. But guess what? You're not just the customer. You're also the product being put out by the institution. Whoever employs you is expecting someone who can do the job, and they blame both you and the institution when you can't. And when no one will hire you because employers know that the institution is NOT graduating students who can do the job that they and society require, guess who you'll blame?
There is a fundamental misunderstanding, both without and within educational institutions, about the responsibility educational institutions have to society, to employers, and to students. Society expects institutions to provide responsible citizens. Employers expect institutions to provide workers. Students expect institutions to make them employable and responsible citizens.
If this young lady is an example of Oberlin's provided education, well....
