Tom Robischon (pictured) writes:
“My enthusiasm is fired in large measure by my history of pursuing educational alternatives over the 47 years of college teaching. College had been such a transformative experience for me–at a state college derisively called a cow college because of its agriculture specialization. But I had the unusual opportunity to choose about 65% of my courses, and I came to love learning–for its own sake. That’s what led me to go into academic life after I received my doctorate from Columbia. (It was in philosophy, and “philosophy bakes no bread,” we were warned in grad school.) I wanted the institutions where I taught to produce opportunities for students to also go through self-transformations. Some of my students did, but I wanted every student in the school to go through it, but higher education, I was to discover, was more thought than action. I used to think a warning should be posted outside faculty meetings: “Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter Here!”"
And a college counselor at a private high school writes:
“I concur that higher ed has been undergoing a sea change and will continue to do so for a number of years. As somebody who has worked inside and along the ivory tower since 1986, the never-ending transformation has been very interesting.
For the past couple of years, I’ve advised my students (I’m currently employed at a private high school) that it is not so much where you go but what skill set you develop during your time in college. Internships, research and study abroad are the experiences I push for each and every student. Of course, they look at me and say, “Nice, but I just want to get in and THEN I will figure it out.” So much for planning ahead. Sigh. . .”
