Posted by alexandra_k on June 5, 2018, at 6:19:41
In reply to Re: equality vs equity, posted by alexandra_k on June 5, 2018, at 5:19:34
so i'm thinking, now, of the virtues of the four year degree program that i saw something of in north carolina.
there were 2 levels of courses: lower level and upper level. and a degree was comprised of a breadth requirement and a depth requirement.
and they would run parallel streams of the same course. which was a way of doing it. so, for example, intro ethics might have one stream taught by the departmental chair and another stream taught by a teaching assistant. and the teaching assistant stream (I do believe) was where they put the students who were not declared majors.
i'm ambivalent about the different teachers for different streams / versions of teh course.. only because i can forsee already the abuse we would do with that. i mean, i see greedly little managers eyes light up and what ingeneious strategy they will try and sell in the name of saving costs...
but the idea of a breadth requirement means that there is an incentive for the university to invest more broadly across different subjects. because people who want to study medicine or law or whatever have options - because they are forced to have options - and so now there is a sense of responsibility to have good people teachign these courses and grading the work in a responsible way and so on.
we don't have that here. i swear that sometimes people are hired precisely because they are crap. because they will put off anybody with any kind of other option... it is like they have been hired specifically to do that.
we have this 3 year degree thing with three differnet levels of courses. degrees are really focused in on your major subject from quite early on. once you have picked your second year papaers you have basically committed to a major and then you have really no options at third year you are forced to do whats prescribed.
that means, for example, you find yourself in the position of 1 person who plays a signifciant role in gatekeeping success in a field. like, i don't know, physiology, at auckland. this one person can set laboratory reports to be a significant component of the assessment and can grade all the laboratory reports themself. the person might be someone who is veyr amenable to suck-ups. so the game is in crying for help and writing down what you are told... not becaue this person had a great reputation on the basis of their own amazing research... but because you reailse that that is the situation early on. so... you wouldnt stick around and major in that (throw your chances of grad school in anything or grad entry to medicine at the feet of a guy who rewards the biggest suck up).. unless...
and i see why people say to stick with things like stats where there is less opportunity for... corruption. to determine how things turn out.
the university doesn't provide tutoring, here. well, they do, but it's pretty crap. if you want a social club, good luck to you.
but you live in a residential college and the residential colleges employ tutors. and different tutors work different examples. and so on. but, yeah, there is a perception that there's more of a chance to reward actual merit.
I just don't understand why it isn't blindingly obvious to everyone that we would make more genuine progress in figuring out mutually beneficial arrangments and so on if we were more equitable and fair in the way that we provide an education to all (not a different quality depending on yoru residential hall) or things like blind grading or selection of students on the basis of information that was previously deemed to be relevant for selection instead of insisting on making these decisions on the basis of things we know only serve to entrench inequtiies.
i imagine it is sad if you see a kid who is great at math or whaetvevr run off to join something like glee club. the problem coems from the perception that 'anyone can be an artist'. becaue they put peopel in charge who can't tell the difference. intentionally, i think. people who cant' tell the differenc ebetween postmodernist essay generator and anything else... Not everybody has the capacity to be a great artist.
I'm thinking I do just want to get out of here. Here is... Very much ruled by the churches, still. I guess I wrote about corruption down here, before I came here. It's only turned out to be worse than I thought. I was nearly trespassed from work and income because a guard there accused me of being abusive. Even when I wasn't (i emplored them to watch the video since there are cameras operating and she was the one who purposely positioned herself in front of my lawful path of action and I simply purposely continued on my path - straight through her). Even with it on camera it was a close call.
Things here really are that bad where a certain person chooses to call the cops and I'm locked up.
For God knows how long.
I don't feel safe in this country.
Genuinely. Legitimately.
Things are not okay, here.
poster:alexandra_k
thread:1096433
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/admin/20151112/msgs/1099067.html