Blissful Ignorence?
"Ignorence in the United States is not just bliss, it's widespread." So says Bob Herbert in a New York Times editorial this week. While his story focuses mostly on the problems of secondary schools, I'm convinced that those problems become higher ed's problems as well. If 1/3 of high school students graduate unprepared for postsecondary work (another 1/3 don't graduate high school at all, and another lucky 1/3 graduate prepared) .. . let's see, that means half of high school graduates are unprepared for college. Yet according to the Education Trust, 70% of high school graduates do attend college within 2 years of graduating high school.
Many of these folks struggle with the reading requirements of college; 1/4 of first-year students at 4-year colleges don't stay for their second year. As Dr. Michael Kirst puts it, "College enrollment [is] soaring but completion is not."
While we're waiting for the K-12 system to heal itself, what can we in higher ed do to help those struggling students improve their skills and reach for the better life promised by high literacy levels and a college degree?
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Dennis G. Jerz on Blissful Ignorence?: I'm shocked -- shocked! -- to
Joan F. on Blissful Ignorence?: I don't know whose mistake it
I don't know whose mistake it is, but the word "ignorance" is spelled incorrectly in the title of this blog. How can we have hope for struggling students to improve their skills and reach for the better life when those who are teaching them and/or writing about them cannot even spell their topic own correctly?
I'm shocked -- shocked! -- to find evidence that a teacher is human! Head for the hills, the end is nigh!
In all seriousness, what do our students learn when they see us pouncing upon the imperfections of our fellow professionals? What do they learn if instead they see us giving and responding to constructive criticism?
Thanks for pointing out that "Clueless in America" article, Lee. I'm shocked by the rate of high school dropouts these days. I think the solution lies in getting young people to value learning (not memorizing historical facts, as the article seems to suggest with its examples).
Have you seen the film "Idiocracy"? It takes this to the extreme and imagines what the world will really be like. It's a comedy, and this is a serious topic, but I believe comedies and other forms of pop culture like it can get us to both "laugh at ourselves" and also open our eyes and get us to reevaluate our culture -- even if we're all high school drop outs.