To My College Alumni Fundraising Groups
Please put me on your do-not-call list. I've never given a cent to the school since I stopped paying tuition, and I don't plan to start giving now.
Obviously I am not a proud alumni. Yes, in-state tuition is a great thing, but definitely a reason I am glad I have moved away from the state I was raised in! I am glad to have different choices for my boys!
I always got the impression that my colleges (undergrad and grad) were not focused on producing responsible, educated graduates.
The school was very large, and as a result, so were the classes. Can you imagine having 200 students in one calculus class? That certainly leaves little room for personal interaction. It shouldn't be surprising that only 10 people passed the final exam. That class size was typical at the school, and it wasn't even my largest class!
Then there is the athletic department. I love spectator sports. I probably spent as much time at football and basketball games as I did anything else. But the students have gotten more and more inappropriate. Greg and I have been back to a couple football games, but won't be going to any more. At the last game we attended, students were wearing t-shirts that said, "F--- Duke" (although it used the full word). The organized cheers contained curse words.
The fans tend to get really out-of-control. There have been numerous riots in the streets of the town following big basketball games. It doesn't matter if the team wins or loses. There will be riots. There was even question for a while if the basketball games could continue to be televised. There were so many curse words in the cheers, that the broadcasters were concerned they might miss one and get fined by the FCC.
Yep, now those are young people to be proud of. HA.
Then there are the professors. Yes, I did have some excellent professors, but there are also a lot of real losers. There was my freshman-comp professor who didn't show up half the time. When she did, she reeked of alcohol. There was the calculus professor who always had his back to the classroom. You could hardly hear him, and there was no opportunity to ask questions.
Finally, here is a "quality professor" scenario for you. Imagine taking an online class. You email your professor about some concerns about how you're doing in the class. The professor then forwards your email to their friends. Complete with the header from your original email, including your name and email address. (I was the recipient of such an email.) So much for student-teacher confidentiality. But what makes it worse is that this same professor went on to teach an Ethics class at the school. I can only assume that the class is based on the Enron School of Ethics.
Perhaps I sound bitter. Maybe I am. I know I was far from the perfect college student, and I take full responsibility for that. But parents put out hard-earned money for their kids to go to college, and I think the schools have an obligation to do a better job at turning out responsible, mature, educated adults. The future depends on it.
In the meantime, I won't be donating to my alma maters. And my boys certainly won't be following in my footsteps at those schools. Thankfully there are a lot of quality educational institutions in this country. And if they need to follow in someone's footsteps, there's always Daddy's school.
Obviously I am not a proud alumni. Yes, in-state tuition is a great thing, but definitely a reason I am glad I have moved away from the state I was raised in! I am glad to have different choices for my boys!
I always got the impression that my colleges (undergrad and grad) were not focused on producing responsible, educated graduates.
The school was very large, and as a result, so were the classes. Can you imagine having 200 students in one calculus class? That certainly leaves little room for personal interaction. It shouldn't be surprising that only 10 people passed the final exam. That class size was typical at the school, and it wasn't even my largest class!
Then there is the athletic department. I love spectator sports. I probably spent as much time at football and basketball games as I did anything else. But the students have gotten more and more inappropriate. Greg and I have been back to a couple football games, but won't be going to any more. At the last game we attended, students were wearing t-shirts that said, "F--- Duke" (although it used the full word). The organized cheers contained curse words.
The fans tend to get really out-of-control. There have been numerous riots in the streets of the town following big basketball games. It doesn't matter if the team wins or loses. There will be riots. There was even question for a while if the basketball games could continue to be televised. There were so many curse words in the cheers, that the broadcasters were concerned they might miss one and get fined by the FCC.
Yep, now those are young people to be proud of. HA.
Then there are the professors. Yes, I did have some excellent professors, but there are also a lot of real losers. There was my freshman-comp professor who didn't show up half the time. When she did, she reeked of alcohol. There was the calculus professor who always had his back to the classroom. You could hardly hear him, and there was no opportunity to ask questions.
Finally, here is a "quality professor" scenario for you. Imagine taking an online class. You email your professor about some concerns about how you're doing in the class. The professor then forwards your email to their friends. Complete with the header from your original email, including your name and email address. (I was the recipient of such an email.) So much for student-teacher confidentiality. But what makes it worse is that this same professor went on to teach an Ethics class at the school. I can only assume that the class is based on the Enron School of Ethics.
Perhaps I sound bitter. Maybe I am. I know I was far from the perfect college student, and I take full responsibility for that. But parents put out hard-earned money for their kids to go to college, and I think the schools have an obligation to do a better job at turning out responsible, mature, educated adults. The future depends on it.
In the meantime, I won't be donating to my alma maters. And my boys certainly won't be following in my footsteps at those schools. Thankfully there are a lot of quality educational institutions in this country. And if they need to follow in someone's footsteps, there's always Daddy's school.
posted by Susan | 6:41 AM
2 Comments:
A professor teaches an ethics class and acts like that? um, gee, did you forward that email back to the class for an assignment, - RATE YOUR TEACHER? Ah, Yes the Enron School of Ethics - and oh, well all know what happened to Ken Lay!
easiatty@bellsouth.net
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