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Atma's avatar

@grisha koshmarov

"Follow the money", indeed !

The job of public education K-12 is *indoctrination, and forced socialization, not "education".

In a way that would give Reagan present day heart palpitations of joy, our Universities are now being "dumbed down" the same way. Ensuring that people are left in the dark makes them THAT much easier to B.S. and control with fear.

Presently colleges are *dropping requirements for entrance exams. ANY and ALL entrance exams. Even prior to *doing that, we have had parents of Harvard students *paying Harvard rates to have their lil' darlin's sit in classes watching episodes of "The Honeymooners" from the Fifties for a *full term, and "earning" Harvard credits !

And not just film students, this is what is now passing for Sociology Credits ! Watching the old B&W TV shows USED

to be what college students did while they were DITCHING classes !

Our colleges were once the envy of the literate world !

And we blame China for being *evil while WE excel in Lazy, Duplicitous, and *bone-crushingly STUPID ? China may *be

"evil", but we are foolish if we think she is *DUMB !

We are not being taken down by any enemy "out there",

they would have to hurry in order to arrive before we collapse from our own catastrophic dysfunction *within !

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Koshmarov's avatar

I'm just glad I made it through college before Google and Wikipedia were things. Came up the hard way, had to walk 50 miles in the snow, etc. I did actually learn a lot.

Seriously, though, writing final exams in blue books was a cast-iron bitch. Hand cramps!

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Atma's avatar

@ grisha koshmarov

No KIDDING ! Fifty miles to school in Six Feet of snow - *BAREFOOT ! We had to keep boiled eggs in our coat pockets to keep from frostbiting our *hands !

No, I KNOW that same road !

I feel equally blessed to have completed my education even before computers became a "thing" in the 1980s. Especially bcuz I ended up retiring as a Systems Analyst for IBM. That is *another thing that will *lift the lilies from one's eyes - to SEE Hi-Tec from the INSIDE. We can file *that under "continuing education ! But, yes, it all had tremendous value.

I am quite a fan of one of the myriad quotes from Mark Twain. Twain's father died when Twain was 12, forcing the youngster to drop out of school to help support the remaining members of his family.

He became an autodidact (that does NOT involve a dark closet and a belt around the neck ;-D) (Self Taught, for those unfamiliar.) The quote:

"I have never allowed my schooling to interfere with my education !"

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rtj's avatar

I'm glad we made it through college in a time before social media. We would have been so screwed.

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Koshmarov's avatar

I'd be screwed if I were on social media now.

...wait, does this count? TK Comments is akin to a 1990s message board with slightly poorer functionality. That's why I like it.

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BillPD's avatar

Fully agree GK...this comments section smells a lot like my old BB (BB = bulletin boards for those too young to know).

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Koshmarov's avatar

I'm nostalgic for that dial-up modem noise. The buzz and then the whirr.

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BillPD's avatar

But not nostalgic for how long it took to download porn I'm assuming...

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Trollificus's avatar

Hahah! I remember putting my first computer together and when I went get online and heard that noise I was certain I'd destroyed something. Almost ran out of the room.

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rtj's avatar

But at least it's not pictures. Bong hits would have been the least of our worries.

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Koshmarov's avatar

I believe bong hits are now largely viewed as benign, but it has been many a moon since I was "hip" to "the scene."

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rtj's avatar

Not if you were on Joe Biden's staff, and then got shitcanned for admitting that you smoked weed. Despite the fact that it may well have been legal in your state.

*VP exempt, of course.

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rtj's avatar

Think Hunter Biden, but your daddy isn't the VP or potus.

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druzus's avatar

Blue books still exist. Students just have better access to pain killers and hand surgeons now to ameliorate the wrist issues.

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BillPD's avatar

And notes from their parents excusing them from Carpal tunnel-causing activities

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druzus's avatar

Your enormous oversimplification of the current state of post-secondary education doesn't do your overall argument any favors. You can criticize it's failings without resorting to cartoonist characterizations.

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Atma's avatar

Really ? Common freedom of speech says I can criticize it ANY way I WANT. Thanks Captain Pedantic !

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Atma's avatar

@druzus

P.S. to my previous, I hate to be the one to break it to you, but this is an *opinion queue. You must look elsewhere for the essay results from a six year study on the questionable sociological outcomes resulting from watching "The Honeymooners" for actual credit at Harvard Tuition prices. Cheers !

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