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Curtailing high school is a bad idea
The Off the Tower column by Bard College President Leon Botstein ("Curtailing high school: A radical proposal," April) is quite "radical," indeed--just not, or not only, for the reasons the writer gives. While the time students spend in high school may very well be wasted (at least for some) for a variety of reasons, and the time may be ripe to revamp our system of secondary and postsecondary education, this is not, as Botstein argues, because of the increased maturity of high school graduates and seniors. Our high school seniors may be more physically and sexually mature than their predecessors just a generation or two ago, as well as more jaded--but this does not imply, and in fact starkly contrasts with, their lack of intellectual, personal, and psychological responsibility and maturity.
Perhaps those dealing with student bodies at elite, prestigious institutions such as Bard have not found the above to be true, but, if so, their experiences are the exception, not the rule, and are far from representative of most of today's high school seniors and graduates, or first-year college students. Therefore, while some alternative solution is in order--and let us not forget the need to correct the problems plaguing many of the nation's primary and secondary schools--if anything, those teaching first-year college students should expect less, not more, maturity.
--Maria L. Plochocki-Williams
Queens, NY
Where are the adjuncts?
I was pleased to see the cover article on faculty organizing at the University of Vermont in the March issue. However, I was very disappointed that the sole reference to contingent (non-tenured or tenure-track) faculty was in reference to the loss of tenure-track positions, surely an important issue. The only comment quoted referred to the increasing reliance on contingent faculty as a trend that undermines "academic freedom and teaching and educational quality." While these are certainly threats, where is the discussion of the wages and conditions of these contingent faculty at the university?
Are they the majority teaching there--as they are elsewhere? Are they even being included in the proposed bargaining unit? If not, why not?
Without more context, your article could easily be read as an attack on contingent faculty themselves rather than a criticism of the system that is working to degrade our work and the education of our students throughout higher education. Non-tenure-track faculty are our sisters and brothers, in great need of organization and solidarity, not some faceless "pattern" threatening traditional standards.
--Helena Worthen
Chicago
Editor's note: The state labor board does not define adjunct faculty as part of the full-time faculty unit at the University of Vermont, and, thus, the current campaign does not include them. Rest assured, they'll be the next wave.
The positives of online learning
The inference by Mr. Schein that online education is inferior to the conventional classroom because it is asynchronous did not apply to my experience ("Should online courses be flagged in transcripts and the catalog?" Speak Out, April 2001). I recently completed my first online course at the Fashion Institute of Technology where I also work.
The course was a photography class geared toward successfully launching images on the Internet. It dealt with traditional subject matter, in addition to developing and learning fairly sophisticated technical skills related to visual images and Web design.
Technical skills that were achieved through completion of the class did not in any way diminish the value or skills obtained by studying the more conventional aspects of layout and design and developing cohesive, and well thought-out, homework assignments and projects. In fact, the virtual classroom, being set in a "forum style" environment, is a place where assignments and questions can be clarified in a manner that can be more direct than the conventional classroom setting. It provides a place to ask questions, regardless of the number of students or restraints of the class-allotted time and offers more opportunities to compare notes with other students and the teacher. It creates a place to focus on problems in understanding material that is often overlooked in the classroom because of the synchronous nature of conventional courses.
Mr. Schein states that there are significant positive and negative ways in which online education differs from the conventional classroom but fails to state any of the positive aspects. I found my first online course to be extremely challenging and demanding. I successfully completed the course with proficiency in the goals set by the professor.
I have to agree with Mr. Schroeder from the University of Illinois that "...it is the faculty member not the delivery medium that determines the quality of the course."
--Tom Irizarry
New York, NY
