College isn’t what it used to be.
Tuition is going up, up, up and standards are going down, down, down. Pay more,
get less! Take the University of California-Berkeley for example. Please.
Tuition for out-of-state students runs roughly $43,000 a year. Classes on
Western Civilization and Government may have gone the way of the dodo, but the
young scholars can now choose to take classes such as “How to Solve the Rubik’s
Cube” and “Henna Art: Application and Cultural Perspectives.” According to the
institution’s website, these are legitimate for-credit courses created by the
school’s “DeCal” program, which stands for “democratic education.” UC-Berkeley
offers over 150 DeCal courses,
and the school says they are “an excellent way of meeting the university’s
minimum unit requirement” and adds that “all students are encouraged to
consider taking a course!” Grades are typically only offered as Pass/No Pass, a
sure indicator of the courses’ rigorous nature.
Other DeCal courses offered at
California-Berkeley include “Cal Pokémon Academy,” “UC Marvel Cinematic
Universe,” and, of course, “UC Hogwarts: The Wonderful Wizarding World of Harry
Potter.” Pokémon Academy will cover the history of the franchise and allow for
the discussion of “social issues within the Pokéverse.” Ah. According to campusreform.org, students
will also have to draw a picture of themselves as a “trainer” alongside their
favorite Pokémon and design their own trading card. Whew! I’m
exhausted just thinking about those class requirements.
Marvel Cinematic Universe students
will be expected to watch several Marvel movies while focusing on the
“various social, ethical, political and economic themes that are highlighted
within them,” according to the course description.
Those standout students taking on
“UC Hogwarts: The Wonderful Wizarding World of Harry potter,” will be asked to
contemplate why the Harry Potter book series has been “so compelling to
generations of readers.” The class will delve into “the history of magic,
witchcraft and wizardry, social hierarchies and the role of race in culture…the
role of government and corruption, concentration on authoritarianism.” I see. On
the plus side, to obviate the almost unrelenting pressure of trying to
understand the “Potterverse,” the young scholars will get to engage in
activities such as wand-making and Horcrux hunting. And if you’ve ever hunted a
Horcrux, you know how cathartic it can be!
The University of
California-Berkeley is far from the only school tempting its students with undemanding
courses. The University of South Carolina, for example, has reportedly ignored
the state’s mandate that all colleges offer a course on the Constitution, but does
offer a class on belly dancing and a course called “Tailgating 101.”
Party on, Garth!
And now, at The New School in
Manhattan, students can enroll in a four-credit sociology seminar titled “How
to Steal.” Sorry, but I’m old school. What’s next, a course titled “How to Rape,
Pillage, and Plunder?”
Many college administrators and
faculty are trying to be hip and curry favor with students by not seriously
challenging them. The problem is, when these kids leave their schools’ wombs
and venture out into the real world, they will likely find that tailgating,
Rubik’s cube solving, wand-making, and Horcrux hunting are not skills in
particularly high demand.
Colleges are exchanging rhetoric
for rap, civics for cartoons, debate for dogma, and Shakespeare for social
justice warring. This can’t end well…for the students or society as a whole.
No comments:
Post a Comment