Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label education. Show all posts
College: exploitation?
Great article on how universities collaborate with lenders to encourage unwitting students (and their families) to spend huge sums of money on educations that the students will spend far too long trying to pay back. The incentives are not in the students' favor.
The Homework Myth
I've gotten on a binge of reading (or at least skimming) Alfie Kohn's books: the current one I finished is The Homework Myth, which argues that homework is in general a bad thing. I think his argument boils down to a bunch of varied points:
1. Kids get too much homework. Can't argue with that one, if it's true.
2. Kids who are forced to do something as homework learn to dislike that task. I find it hard to disagree with that, although sometimes there are things that one should learn despite disliking it.
3. Homework is drudgery. Bad homework is drudgery, but certain skills can only be learned through practice.
In any case, I'm tiring of his books: they raise very valid points, but they beat those points to death.
1. Kids get too much homework. Can't argue with that one, if it's true.
2. Kids who are forced to do something as homework learn to dislike that task. I find it hard to disagree with that, although sometimes there are things that one should learn despite disliking it.
3. Homework is drudgery. Bad homework is drudgery, but certain skills can only be learned through practice.
In any case, I'm tiring of his books: they raise very valid points, but they beat those points to death.
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