Quick Note…
I just spoke with a reporter from a major national newspaper. She needs interview subjects for an article she’s writing on college. Specifically, she’s looking for…
- students at selective colleges who have had a hard time getting into a popular course (or found an innovative way to get in);
- parents of students who are frustrated that their tuition money does not necessarily gain their student access to all of a university’s resources; and
- professors with a strong stance on whether this is good or bad.
If you’re willing to be interviewed, send me a short e-mail explaining who you are and where you go to school (or where your child goes to school, or where you teach). If possible, put “[Interview Request]” in the subject so I can notice your message. I’ll forward them on to the reporter.
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In other news…
I published an interesting guest post over on Ramit Sethi’s blog; it discusses the danger of “getting started.” It fits in well with our recent discussion on rethinking passion.
You can expect my next post on Friday (God willing): it has to do with specific advice for transforming your student life from a trial to survice into the foundation for a life well lived.
Stay tuned…
Hey Cal,
Do you mean “surface” or “service” rather than “survice”? Couldn’t find it in the dictionary.
Cheers,
Stanley
I think he means “survive”.
I pruned down my questions on the previous post, and now only have these:
1. For a person who delights in reading those “Classic” books that few people have ever heard of, can you recommend any good books to increase vocabulary for the SAT?
2. All of those who I’m trying to contact are not responding to e-mail (including Ms. Justine Musk-maybe I’m e-mailing an address she doesn’t respond to?). In such a case, how should I begin my search for a closed community?
3. How do you feel about keeping a journal?
I think often about #3, but I have only Victorian and older writers for my examples: if Trollope wrote a great deal everyday in his journal, or if James Joyce wrote a few sentences, or Murasaki Shikibu recorded her thoughts on Japanese Heian court, how relevant is it today? What bearing does the journal have on their deliberate practice of fiction writing?
I apologize for the rambling, but I just wanted to hear your thoughts on what you could understand from this.
Today’s students suffer from the fact that among the university professorate teaching just isn’t that important. Research, winning tenure, and professional recognition by their peers are what matters. As a result, they’re not interesting in adding to their class load and, when they do teach, they prefer to keep a class small and exclusive.
Students need to demand more from their universities. They’r paying too much and getting too little. And with the current economy, getting a degree doesn’t even mean getting a job when you graduate.
That’s wasn’t true when I attended a state university in a small town in the late 1960s. The professors were there to teach. The classes were often difficult–this was before grade inflation took off. But courses were taught by full professors who took the time to teach well. I can’t even remember a course I couldn’t take when I wanted it.