Okay, maybe this is going to be just Stuff I've Been Reading, since I can't seem to stick to a weekly posting habit.
Harvard Admits That Grades Have Lost Their Meaning — The James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal I saw the one student saying that because Harvard had so many bright students, large numbers of A-grades should not be surprising. She misses the point and arguably demonstrates that she does NOT belong at an elite school. An Ivy League grade of A should be significant, not de rigeur. Of course, Ivy League education isn't all that elite any more, but more of a marker for right-think/right-speak and right-social-cues.
Read the conservative op-ed the Texas A&M student paper refused to publish | The College Fix You don't have to agree with it, though I think the author makes some good points. The journalism students at A&M are demonstrating that the board made a poor decision in resurrecting the journalism program. If the media doesn't get over this idea that they are the Cool Kids Club, they will eventually be pantsed by the jocks (figuratively speaking).
Students Line Up to Listen to Anti-Socialist Speaker on Campus - YouTube Okay, I was watching this and not reading it. Some of these folks are realizing that there are reasons why so many people want to be IN the United States, and only a very few (very wealthy, very entitled) individuals are trying to get OUT --and remarkably, they are reasonably free to do so (although I suspect they will be very unhappy to learn that the IRS considers them taxpayers for the next decade at least).
Smart cities will kill freedom - UnHerd There's a lot to unpack here, so get ready for a bit of a longer read. If only the planners could just know more, then THIS time they'll get it right...
The Evils of Capitalism › American Greatness Historians tend to know bunk about economics. Many of my colleagues took Piketty quite seriously. The entire "robber baron" line was basically started by a socialist grad student in the Thirties. And on and on and on. Oh well. Those who do not learn, must feel...
The New Definition of Blackness: When Race Stops Meaning Race – PJ Media Now this is a fun one. Race is such a fraught issue that no one can be honest with anyone about it, even amongst "each other." Groupthink is powerful. Pray us all that we can break this ideological linkage, on all sides. Identity politics leads to tribalism. Down that road lies madness.
Why America Is a ‘Creedal Nation’ - WSJ Gordon Woods, y'all!!! If we are not creedal, then we become tribal.
AI is Destroying the University and Learning Itself - Current Affairs And this one depressed me. A lot. If we're going to just throw up the white flag on this (I'm looking at YOU, Ohio State) then I say let the Orange Man kill ALL higher ed funding, and let schools return to their ancient roots of learning. Hell, I'll even go back to oral exams! If the students don't do any thinking, they deserve whatever befalls them.
