Editorial: Calif. higher education needs to evolve
Publisher’s note: This editorial is from the Oct. 22, 2013, Los Angeles Times.
The California Master Plan for Higher Education decreed that it was the job of the state’s community colleges to train students for technical careers and for the sort of semi-professional occupations that generally require a two-year associate’s degree. Those who wanted a bachelor’s degree — and the sort of jobs that go with one — could move on to either California State University or the University of California.
But the master plan was written during the postwar baby boom, and like many of us who were born back then, it’s beginning to develop wrinkles. In 1960, the year the plan was approved, office manager jobs required only a high school diploma. Now most employers require a bachelor’s degree for this job and others like it. At the same time, fewer Californians are able to afford a four-year education. Many don’t live within commuting distance of a Cal State or UC campus, and living expenses are the greater part of college costs.
So it makes all the sense in the world to expand the degrees that community colleges are allowed to confer. A proposal now under consideration by the chancellor’s office, for instance, would allow community colleges to grant bachelor’s degrees in nursing.
” In 1960, the year the plan was approved, office manager jobs required only a high school diploma. Now most employers require a bachelor’s degree for this job and others like it”
Maybe that’s because back in 1960, people graduated from high school knowing how to read, write, and compute. Now they are given a diploma that means nothing. The number that need to take remedial classes at UNIVERSITIES, for goodness sake, is ridiculous! The kids can tell you all about the evils of plastic bags and global warming, but they don’t know how to write a standard business letter or balance a check book.
The lowering of standards that has occurred in our schools since 1960 is shocking and directly attributable to liberalization and teachers’ unions.
Dogula … “The number that need to take remedial classes at UNIVERSITIES, for goodness sake, is ridiculous!” What is the number? What is your source? Blame the teacher unions? Really? Fact please.
Julie, don’t get all worked up. Dogula’s comment on this article is ironic. They don’t know they are being ironic. And they can’t identify good sources. Last week they were telling us that a group of baboons was called a Congress. And was darn sure about it. Quite condescending actually. And she never gave up her sources, which she claims are superior to Fox News.
Notice how Dawg put their thesis statement at the end of their comment. When I graduated, we had to know how to write a thesis paper. Kids today can’t graduate without writing a thesis paper.
OH THE IRONING!
IN SUPPORT OF DOGULA. I routinely go into retail stores and the people at the checkout stands are often amazed with my ability to add up the prices and arrive at a total, in my mind, without use of a calculator. I’m only using basic math skills. It’s not me that has gotten smarter, it’s the young people getting out of high school, that have not kept up with the standards of education in earlier years. And I notice things like this very often.
Here ya go, Julie:
http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_19526032
and another:
http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/5189336-418/college-can-be-a-rude-remedial-awakening.html
And just one more:
http://www.pe.com/local-news/riverside-county/corona/corona-headlines-index/20110210-more-college-students-require-remedial-courses.ece
If you google college remedial classes, you’ll find a ton of this stuff.
Dawg, a lot of what the articles discussed were 2 year colleges and schools that are not highly competitive. 2 year schools are remedial schools in many ways.
I would like read your attempt at defending your thesis statement.
5 paragraphs. With sources.
Annnnnd. GO!
teacher’s unions are the core of the ‘relative attainment’ basis of this country’s public schools, as opposed to the standards and/or merit based system prevalent in educated countries. grading on the curve does not require much effort from our ‘educators’…
Grow up, Fish. This isn’t high school.
Take your comments seriously and attempt to support your thesis or don’t bother to comment.
Gosh, Fish, I didn’t realize this was YOUR page and we had to play by YOUR rules.
Must be fun to have such delusions of grandeur.
Let’s see if we can stick to issues, shall we?