DEI driven community college curriculum, argh!

[SkepticThinker]

False:

noun​

1. Education beyond the secondary level, especially education at the college or university level.
2. University education or higher.

you can have higher education on culture that can challenge your position... but that is just one.

This does nothing to address the poster's point.

 

[Valjean]

False:

noun​

1. Education beyond the secondary level, especially education at the college or university level.
2. University education or higher.

you can have higher education on culture that can challenge your position... but that is just one.

Yes, that's how it's used in common parlance, but I see a difference between educated and skilled. An educated person sees the big picture; the connections between the puzzle pieces. A technician sees one or two pieces in great detail.

 

[sayak83]

In California, community colleges are now meant to make their cirruculums DEI friendly. Below is a link to the 7 page paper outlining how administrators and teachers are encouraged to comply. (At least this isn't legally compelled.. yet.)

As far as I can tell, these guidelines are meant to apply to all community college classes. So, pulling phrases from the document, it seems teachers ought to be teaching ideas like:

- culturally sensitive Ohm's law
- gender fluid trigonometry
- collectively derived calculus
- Islamic electrical engineering

And apparently avoiding textbooks that perpetuate the colonizer mindset, which of course chemistry textbooks are just chock full of...

Call me skeptical, but I'm not interested in driving on bridges designed by engineers who spent much of their precious classroom time learning DEI concepts instead of materials science.

I guess the good news is that RF won't be affected because apparently the internet and digital computers run on magic, not math.

There is nothing objectionable about what has been written and none of the absurd insinuations you are making is actually there in the document.

 

[icehorse]

Not this student. I gave honest reviews. As did my friends. That was in a university setting with professors.

Do you think you might have had any biases at the time?

Do you think you had a broad enough background to offer meaningful assessments?

 

[icehorse]

There is nothing objectionable about what has been written and none of the absurd insinuations you are making is actually there in the document.

Would you be willing to respond to the new DEI thread?

 

[SkepticThinker]

Do you think you might have had any biases at the time?

I've been teaching adults in professional settings for more decades than I like to admit. In those circles, the joke is that post-course evaluations are "smile sheets". In other words, anonymous or not, students strongly tend towards giving good reviews. In my world of teaching, we recognize that a far better way to assess a course is to do retention testing months after the class was completed.


I didn't have a bias toward "smile sheets," I can tell you that. My bias was towards giving the most honest assessment possible.

Do you think you had a broad enough background to offer meaningful assessments?

Yes. Especially by third or fourth year university.

 

[Kenny]

This does nothing to address the poster's point.

It corrected her viewpoint.

 

[Kenny]

Yes, that's how it's used in common parlance, but I see a difference between educated and skilled. An educated person sees the big picture; the connections between the puzzle pieces. A technician sees one or two pieces in great detail.

I suppose anyone can create their own definition.

I find there are sine bhigh school graduates that can see the big picture.

 

[anna.]

Not this student. I gave honest reviews. As did my friends. That was in a university setting with professors.

So did I. There were a couple I recall griping about, but overall my professors and instructors were stellar. Wish I could go back and sit in their lectures again. Good memories.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

I've been teaching adults in professional settings for more decades than I like to admit. In those circles, the joke is that post-course evaluations are "smile sheets". In other words, anonymous or not, students strongly tend towards giving good reviews. In my world of teaching, we recognize that a far better way to assess a course is to do retention testing months after the class was completed.

I had several peers who were open about giving certain teachers (they had higher expectations than most) bad remarks. Like one wanker who felt the teacher who was too hard on him, but it was no secret he was harder on you if you took his editing class amd this particular wanker did take it (same session I was in). I myself complained about the same one twice, once because he took off points over something that was grammatically correct and style preference, and again when he made hobble all over campus on crutches (I recently had knee surgery) to print and deliver to his office a paper that could have been emailed. Amd unlike what RW ideas may lead you to believe, his race in no way shieled him.
And there was a complaint I overheard from a conservative student who was offended and infuriated the teacher showed a documentary that showed the FBI, CIA and the police in am unflattering way and highlighted the destruction of the War on Drugs has brought.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

No. Medicine, engineering, and robotics are trade schools, not higher education. They teach a useful skill, not cultural literacy. They don't increase your appreciation of the world. They don't generate sophists or polymaths.

Im curious on your claim of medicine. A good practice in medicine mandates cultural literacy, and is in dire need of sharpening the critical thinking skills of students.

 

[Valjean]

Im curious on your claim of medicine. A good practice in medicine mandates cultural literacy, and is in dire need of sharpening the critical thinking skills of students.

How well would physicians do on Jeopardy (US quiz show)?

Are physicians generally conversant with Roman history, the factors leading to the authoritarian regimes in Russia, Germany and Italy in the early 20th century, or the Powell memo and rise of Neoliberalism in the US? Can they find Taiwan, Myanmar or Syria on a map? Do they know the difference between the special and general theories of relativity? Do they know the difference between Monotremes, Marsupials and Eutherians? Do they know what Lagrange points are? Do they know what the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is? Do they know the difference between flathead and OHV engines? Can they tell fauvinism from cubism? Can they discuss how small group of conquistadors managed to topple the Aztec and Incan empires? Can they tell a strawman from a red herring, or consequentialism from deontology??

This is what real higher education is about; appreciation of the world through familiarity with its many facets.

 

[Shadow Wolf]

How well would physicians do on Jeopardy (US quiz show)?

Are physicians generally conversant with Roman history, the factors leading to the authoritarian regimes in Russia, Germany and Italy in the early 20th century, or the Powell memo and rise of Neoliberalism in the US? Can they find Taiwan, Myanmar or Syria on a map? Do they know the difference between the special and general theories of relativity? Do they know the difference between Monotremes, Marsupials and Eutherians? Do they know what Lagrange points are? Do they know what the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis is? Do they know the difference between flathead and OHV engines? Can they tell fauvinism from cubism? Can they discuss how small group of conquistadors managed to topple the Aztec and Incan empires? Can they tell a strawman from a red herring, or consequentialism from deontology??

This is what real higher education is about; appreciation of the world through familiarity with its many facets.

How many people in higher education can actually talk about it. Fauvinism and Cubism, even I know not a whole lot of academics are really going to have the art appreciation to have that knowledge. Philosophy classes are for nerds. And this is America; even many academics live up to stereotype when it.comes to finding countries on a map.
Amd ultimately that stuffs all in the humanities department. And yes, healthcare providers must absolutely have exposure to that and be competent when dealing with other cultures. But knowing the difference between a marsupial and eutherians? You know people forget things they don't use right? The physician may have known it but doesn't use that information due to working with humans and forgot shortly after graduation. But knowing the concept and ideas behind things like the Wharf hypothesis and logical fallicies will be used and remembered, even if the exact names are forgotten because language barriers and information evaluation are things healthcare providers must be able to work with.