Two weeks ago I wrote about the Khan Academy free educational website. Ten million people are said to be enrolled per month from 200 countries and have the possibility of receiving a world class education.
If the means for all of these students to be accredited does not yet exist, it is logical to assume that it will be developed.
During the past 10 days, The PBS Newshour has been lit up discussing various aspects related to this subject.
For one, the Chicago Community Colleges have been reorganized so that proficiency in a subject has taken precedence over classroom hours to determine qualification for passing a subject and acquiring a degree.
It was also discovered that many students had enough credits for a degree but too many of those credits did not qualify them: useless credits. This has been reorganized so that it fits the needs and purpose of the individual student.
Being that the studying is done online, class time is being better used for asking questions about matters that were not clear instead of listening to lectures. Fixing these unclear aspects would improve the online material.
Students are also able to discuss their work online amongst themselves.
It was my experience that some professor’s lectures were off on a tangent and were really confusing so that one would wonder what was the purpose: what the heck were they talking about?
The cost of education in the foregoing manner is much less and the results are better with a higher graduation rate. Some faculty organizations are furious about this new way and are freaking out.
Times are changing however and new and better ways are being discovered and implemented. It is just too bad if their cushy and expensive lifestyle is going the way of the dinosaur. It is also good equal opportunitywise. No one need be barred from achieving their goals.
As I recall, in the old ‘Star Trek” movies, the ladies knew their stuff about space travel as well as did the men. These days, just to live in the world, so much more knowledge is necessary.
A good example is the high-tech automobiles we drive. They do require much less maintenance than those of bygone days which has resulted in many repair shops having gone out of business. Those remaining are hungry.
Of course, to them, an ignorant public is a con man’s heaven. It could be as little as an electrical slip-on connector having become loose. “Oh, you need a new starter or a new fuel pump” they will say and that is big bucks. I have heard stories from people I know.
Enough said for now.
In the other news of the day is the insanity and violence in the world.
On top of that is the unrestrained, radical rambling of some making a bigger mess in a situation that is already out of hand. The subject is too big to go into here.
Fortunately, those in charge are staying calm and doing what can be done to protect the innocent. Others who should know better should check where they are pledging their allegiance.
The silent majority are watching. They all have their one vote when the time comes which is all any of us are supposed to have.
Some think otherwise and are bent on coercion.
Charles Samek
Mineola
