A Modest Proposal To Abolish Universities About Time

fredoneverything.net ^ | July 25 2006 | Fred Reed

[wintertime]

You sure hit the nail on the head! Why does tuition at most Universities keep shooting up? It's because they have a steady supply of government funding in the form of low interest loans, tuition assistance, and grants.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^6

This is exactly what we will see if voucher and tax credits ever fund K-12 education.

[k omalley]

Not to mention that a lifetime of religious and moral values are trashed within about one semester. And what goes on in the average dormitory is not pretty.

[JamesP81]

I agree with much of it and disagree with much of it as well, but let me say that this:

See, first you learn that you have to finish twelve years of grade school and high school. The point is not to teach you anything; if it were, they would give you a diploma when you passed a comprehensive test, which you might do in the fifth grade. The point is to accustom you to doing things you detest.

is absolutely, 100% true.

[JamesP81]

Good luck finding doctors, dentists, lawyers, engineers, writers, programmers, etc etc :)

Hey, my dad knows more about most equipment he works on than the engineers who designed it. But he can't be an engineer, you see. Didn't go to college. So instead of making 60 dollars an hour for engineering work, he makes 14 per hour for the engineering work that is part of his job.

[JamesP81]

To be fair to universities, however, my program was notably un-politicized. Not so for many other programs.

[durasell]

It boogles the mind how Fred can be so wrong, so often on such a variety of subjects. You would think that the law of averages would kick in and he'd be right on something at least once or twice.

[JCEccles]

Most of the leftist garbage is absent from engineering, science, and math courses.

Physical sciences and math, yes. Biological sciences, no.

Biological sciences were long ago coopted and converted into providing a "scientific" foundation for marxism and loopy leftist secularism. Abortion, euthansia, PETA-style moral equivalence between humans and bacteria (just to name a few), are all built on that corrupt "scientific" foundation which the left's most distingushed professors of biological sciences have labored mightily to establish and maintain.

[JCEccles]

Most of the leftist garbage is absent from engineering, science, and math courses.

Physical sciences and math, yes. Biological sciences, no.

Biological sciences were long ago co-opted and converted into providing a "scientific" foundation for Marxism and loopy leftist secularism. Abortion, euthanasia, PETA-style moral equivalence between humans and bacteria (just to name a few), are all built on that corrupt "scientific" foundation which the left's most distinguished professors of biological sciences have labored mightily to establish and maintain.

[P8riot]

Good luck finding doctors, dentists, lawyers, engineers, writers, programmers, etc etc :)

Heh, heh, heh. I've been working as an engineer for the last 12 years, and all I've got is a BA in "Performing Arts", and an MS In "Criminal Justice."

If you can act, you can do anything.

[Sergio]

and you can use the shotgun on any tenured intrusion who offers advice. They tend to be spindly. A twenty-gauge should be sufficient.

LOL!!!

[Darkwolf377]

You're right, it was a good rant. What's funny is how this article will no doubt be pointed to by weepy libs as an "attack" on education or something. I am amused by the university mentality, and how those living within the system are so damned scared of that dirty, smelly thing the rest of us call "real life". It's one of my favorite hobbies, watching "intellectuals" squirm (because of course they're not intellectuals; they merely hold onto a specific orthodoxy, and refuse real challenges to it, the exact opposite of what they claim to be doing).

[MoochPooch]

While I don't think colleges & universities should be abolished, I think they should be restricted in terms of who is truly college material.

I always felt that these places were oversold. Everyone & his mother is encouraged to spend 4 years there -- and for what? Training that is better acquired on the job. Or a liberal arts degree which, with $2.00, gets you a ride on the subway in NYC.

College is fine if you either need a professional degree (i.e. law, medicine) or you truly love scholarship. Otherwise, the debts racked up in tuition costs will cancel out any anticipated financial gains.

Hopefully the U.S. might adopt the European university system, which was far more restrictive in its choice of students. The majority of ones I've seen here seem to have majored in booze, like this professor.

[traviskicks]

Wow... thanks for posting that. Never heard of this guy before, will read more about him.

[eleni121]

Agreed! What a waste for the most part. What a scam for the most part.

[traviskicks]

If anyone's interested, there are similar type articles and stories collected here:
http://www.neoperspectives.com/college.htm

Fred Reed's piece has been added to it.

[kalee]

ping

[Xenophon450]

Sounds a lot like a show I used to watch called “The Pretender”, good show imo.

[traviskicks]

bump!

[pray4liberty]

Abolish Universities? No, no, no....turn them into Trade Schools. We need more of those.