Please do post it and then proceed to tar everyone in academia with the same brush. That should be completely unenlightening.

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'll have to post this story about a mother whose
> child had to do homework about GMOs and they made
> them seem benign...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2013 09:45PM by HH.

Good grief HH...

Why are you lashing out in such a negative/nasty tone? Seems out of character to beat a person over the head for simply for posting their personal opinions or beliefs.

You seem to be carrying on this trend in several threads...

Ever hear of the "compliment sandwich", lol?

Speaking of colleges - I just heard this news today about Cooper Union in NYC. Interesting because I always thought colleges had large endowment funds in the millions or billions of dollars. Can't they use those funds for anything they want, like free tuition for all, if that's their style?

Cooper Union Will Charge Tuition in 2014

[www.nytimes.com]

"The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, which is one of the last tuition-free colleges in the country but has been under severe financial strain, announced on Tuesday that for the first time in more than a century it will charge undergraduates to attend."

"Cooper Union opened in 1859, endowed by the industrialist Peter Cooper with valuable real estate and a mission of educating working-class New Yorkers, at no cost to them. Early on, some students who could afford to pay did so, but no undergraduates have paid for more than 100 years. Along with the nation’s military academies, Cooper Union was among the only remaining schools in the United States that did not charge tuition."


**********

This explains the endowments -

[www.nytimes.com]

"For years, America’s largest, richest and most prestigious universities have been the envy of investors. They churned out double-digit returns over the last two decades, even with steep losses during the financial crisis. Harvard’s endowment today is over $30 billion and has generated annualized returns of 12.5 percent over the last 20 years."

Ironically, the very reason I am complaining about my experiences is because views that were not deemed liberal were treated with scorn and it's almost like being intimidated for having a dissenting view. And I am far from ultra-conservative but am hardly knee-jerk about anything. That sort of bullying and anti-free thinking was probably not present 20 years ago. As I have said, I went back in the late '90s to get my BA, etc. So I don't doubt that things have changed and not for the better. It's more of a paper mill factory these days. Even the Ivy League institutions have not fared so well. I have heard it said that many students feel cheated out of their undergrad classes because they are very large (seminars) and/or taught by TAs (grad students).

HH Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Define "liberal." What exactly does that mean? Has
> long hair? Doesn't shave armpits? Sleeps with
> people of different races? Supports social welfare
> programs? Doesn't like competition? Oh, but that
> can't be possible because they're in college, that
> institution of vicious competition and groomer of
> the irrational little league parents of the
> future.
>
> If someone's mind gets manipulated in college,
> that's their problem. College is comprised of
> adults, not children. This is the same reason why
> I try not to criticize people for selling things
> like $6000 earthing beds. It's not their fault
> that there are fully grown adults who actually
> fall for that nonsense. They're actually just
> giving them what they want. By the same token, I'd
> say that people who allow themselves to be
> "brainwashed" are also getting what they want.
> They can't think for themselves and are dying for
> someone to come along and tell them what to think.
> They're fully aware of what's happening. No spells
> are cast on them. It's an agreement by consent.
> The student forks over tuition, the institution
> provides a structured set of ideals, etc. However,
> as I've tried to convey many times, a good school
> will not punish students who want to think for
> themselves. It will encourage them as long as
> they're good at thinking for themselves. That's
> the key. Capiche?


Actually, now that you ask the definition of 'liberal' I guess it really means that one is open-minded and a free thinker, a free spirit. But I think I've read that today's liberals are not the 'classical liberals', who may have been more Libertarian. Not sure on all that - I should look it up.

And my daughter's Political Science professor - to her credit, she did teach her class without a noticeable bias. We couldn't figure out if she was on the liberal or conservative (or libertarian?) side for the longest time because she did seem to present both sides.

BTW, my husband just bought a $200 earthing sheet. I've tried it out for about a week and I don't feel any different so far

The difference betweeen me and the others is that my barbs go directly to the recipient whereas theirs are passive-aggressively issued. I guess that makes me the villain, again. Don't worry. It's just the internet.

The vast majority of people who pursue higher education are better than the vast majority who don't. They earn more, are healthier, and in general live better lives. I tend to fight pretty hard when I get around people who try to claim otherwise. They can't see the big picture. Yes, there are some heavy problems with our university sytem, but that doesn't mean that it's time to trash the whole thing. Reform would be a much better step. I would hate to live in a world with no formal, communal learning. All of us sitting alone in front of our computers seems pretty dystopian to me.

veganjuice Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Good grief HH...
>
> Why are you lashing out in such a negative/nasty
> tone? Seems out of character to beat a person over
> the head for simply for posting their personal
> opinions or beliefs.
>
> You seem to be carrying on this trend in several
> threads...
>
> Ever hear of the "compliment sandwich", lol?

Well, I know you are not accusing me of being passive-aggressive. In the first place, all I stated was my opinion about MAs being a waste. I didn't know who on here has one and who doesn't so it was nothing personal. If you think you are justified in your personal attacks, then think again. And for the record, you come across as incredibly thin-skinned and not secure in your position. This lends the impression that you secretly think that I am right, LOL

The Internets is the great equalizer, like death. It's the one place that true democratic exchanges exist. Those little wine and cheeze parties thrown by those in academia where everyone can try to out-do one another in pretentious obnoxiousness are not very diverse. I prefer relating to down-to-Earth people who don't have anything to prove and are not judging others based upon external standards.

I can't wait for all those people who tsk tsked me for a mild retort to someone a while ago to leap to my defense. Methinks I will be waiting a looongggg time...

Toodles!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/30/2013 12:23AM by banana who.

Eric,

How many time have I said that you ASSUME TOO MUCH???

The answer is 3 and this makes the 4th and it’s really getting old. Perhaps if you didn’t have a Master’s Degree, this wouldn’t be happening so often.

The word for today is...

"Dystopian" -

A dystopia is a community or society, usually fictional, that is in some important way undesirable or frightening. It is the opposite of a utopia.

Just sayin...'

I was never so haughty, so well-off, that I could turn my back on any education. I've had to fight for every advantage I could get. The thought of wasting precious time and resources on a Master's and then la-dee-da dropping out because it didn't meet my narrow expectations is completely foreign to me. Not only because I wanted to elevate my standard of living and improve myself, but also because I loved being there and doing what I did. You don't seem salt of the earth at all to me. Do you know anything about the S. Side of Chicago? That's the place I dug out of. Would it have been better if I stayed there and drank my life away at a bar in Beverly after working on a road crew all day? School, hard work, and smarts were my ticket out. Until you come up with a better ticket for kids who grew up like I did, you will never get any agreement from me. I remember the people who spoke like you when I was growing up. The kids who listened to them live regretful lives, to say the least.

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, I know you are not accusing me of being
> passive-aggressive. In the first place, all I
> stated was my opinion about MAs being a waste. I
> didn't know who on here has one and who doesn't so
> it was nothing personal. If you think you are
> justified in your personal attacks, then think
> again. And for the record, you come across as
> incredibly thin-skinned and not secure in your
> position. This lends the impression that you
> secretly think that I am right, LOL
>
> The Internets is the great equalizer, like death.
> It's the one place that true democratic exchanges
> exist. Those little wine and cheeze parties thrown
> by those in academia where everyone can try to
> out-do one another in pretentious obnoxiousness
> are not very diverse. I prefer relating to
> down-to-Earth people who don't have anything to
> prove and are not judging others based upon
> external standards.
>
> I can't wait for all those people who tsk tsked me
> for a mild retort to someone a while ago to leap
> to my defense. Methinks I will be waiting a
> looongggg time...
>
> Toodles!

Ooo...the mean streets of Beverly? You're joking, right?

<<I remember the people who spoke like you when I was growing up. The kids who listened to them live regretful lives, to say the least.>>

If you are blissfully happy, then why are you freaking out, dewd? Seriously, what is your problem? Are you a professor? You're doing a lousy job convincing me of anything, just to let you know.

Really, I mean this: have a good evening and a happy life. When you look back at how this all started, it was because your ego took offense at something that was not intentionally directed at YOU. And you showed your true colors when you ASSumed that I must not have had any chance at grad school and that's why I was bashing it.

I don't believe we have to justify our existence. If you love doing whatever it is you do, then you are the luckiest man in the world because you get paid for doing what you would do for free. But all of us are worthwhile right at this moment. No one has to attain a certain level to be deemed worthy of existence.

If you have the time and inclination, watch this video on the topic. Teal Scott is amazing. As she states, "joy is the purpose of your life."
[www.youtube.com] Blessings.