[lit-ideas] Re: Physics and Philosophy
- From: JimKandJulieB@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 07:15:21 EST
You're starting to sound a lot like Doris Lessing -- both a frightening and
hopeful thought.
Julie Krueger
(oh, and add Tom Wait's King of the World to that mixture)
========Original Message======== Subj: [lit-ideas] Re: Physics and
Philosophy Date: 2/7/2007 11:12:42 P.M. Central Standard Time From:
_atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx (mailto:atlas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) To:
_lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
(mailto:lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) Sent on:
If I were king of the world, I'd make education compulsory and free through
grade 22. I'd model all elementary and high schools after Summerhill (for
those who remember) except those for special students who for neurological
or psychological reasons need more rigid structures (what, 10 percent at
most?), all schools would have a maximum enrollment of 200. There would be
no grades, just evaluations from teachers whose main job would be to know
the students and structure their individual lessons according to their
needs. I would abolish all athletic programs, but provide a plentitude of
footballs and baseballs and basketballs for the students' own devising. All
students would be compelled to go to college, even the retards (as we used
to call them). College would continue without grades, just evaluations by
professors whose purpose was to teach, not publish, not produce research,
just follow their students closely and evaluate their educational needs.
There would only be 5 subjects studied over the first four years:
philosophy, literature, math, music and art. Philosophy would be taught as
the history of ideas, literature would be taught purely as language play --
any teacher caught teaching content in a literature course would be shot in
front of his students -- math would be taught as a way of experiencing
existence, music and art would be from an appreciation and DIY approach.
Colleges would be limited to an enrollment of 1000 students. No one would
know what an athletic department is or what a fraternity was for. After 4
years of learning what it means to be a human being, then all students, even
those wanting to be philosophers and writers and musicians and artists would
have to go through a two year apprenticeship program in any manual trade
they chose -- I'd choose air conditioning! All students would have to learn
how to use their hands as well as their brains. Once they've passed their
apprenticeship -- first graded course -- they would then be free of
compulsory education but still have 4 more years of free education to pursue
any career they chose in graduate school -- even business. After that, they
could get married and have children or just go fishing.
Aren't you glad I'm not king.
Mike Geary
Memphis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Robert Paul" <rpaul@xxxxxxxx>
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 4:19 PM
Subject: [lit-ideas] Physics and Philosophy
Inside Higher Ed
Feb. 7
A University Without Physics and Philosophy?
Is a university without philosophy and physics really a university?
That's the underlying question that faculty critics at Indiana State
University are asking in the wake of a recommendation by the
institution's provost that undergraduate degrees in those two fields -
which are core elements of most liberal arts curriculums - be
eliminated as part of an overarching plan to reduce the number of
programs the university offers to 150 from 214.
"This is almost a move to become a vocational school that is not only
disturbing to people in physics and philosophy, but to people in other
departments as well," said Rocco Gennaro, interim chair of the
philosophy department. "We're outraged by this."
Karen Schmid, associate vice president for academic affairs at the
11,000-student public university, said that the general plan for
eliminating and combining various departments and programs had been
thoroughly vetted with the faculty and comes after a multiyear process
that culminated last September with a list of priorities from a campus
task force. The final recommendations were released last week by the
provost and must be approved by the Board of Trustees, who will meet
in April.
Schmid said that the reduction is a response to criticism from the
Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of
Colleges and Schools, the university's regional accreditor. "When they
last did our accrediting review, they said that we have too many
programs for a university of our size and too many programs with low
enrollment," she said. In fact, the university has found that about
8,800 students are enrolled in 107 programs, and another 1,800 major
in the remaining 107.
The physics program has only two tenured faculty members and three
non-tenured professors, and only nine undergraduate majors. Philosophy
has 19 majors and four faculty members.
Eric Preston, an assistant professor of physics, said his department
is an average size for a physics program that offers only bachelor's
degrees. And getting rid of physics, he said, "makes a pretty serious
statement about the direction the university is going in." He added:
"Can we really call this a university without physics and philosophy?"
David Schrader, executive director of the American Philosophical
Association, said that dropping core programs like philosophy and
physics "can't help but reduce the academic quality at Indiana State."
He said that philosophy always attracts a small number of majors but
that many students in other programs take philosophy classes. "So the
contribution from a program like philosophy should be measured in
overall enrollment in courses, not just the number of majors."
The elimination of the physics program comes at a time when numerous
reports such as the National Academies' "Rising Above the Gathering
Storm," call for increased investments in physical sciences, said Ted
Hodapp, director of education and diversity at the American Physical
Society. "So this institution is going against the grain of the
national movement," he said.
Schmid said that students could still pursue an interest in both
disciplines by majoring in liberal studies with a concentration in
physics or philosophy. "Other institutions do not have these as stand
alone programs," she said. "We are not alone."
Schrader disagreed with this assessment. "I've not heard of something
like this at a major institution. Maybe at a community college, but
for a major public university, I think that this is pretty much
unprecedented."
- Paul D. Thacker
The original story and user comments can be viewed online at
http://insidehighered.com/news/2007/02/07/programs.
© Copyright 2006 Inside Higher Ed
---------------------------------
Forwarded by Robert Paul rpaul@xxxxxxxx
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