It is said that Euclid once demonstrated a beautiful mathematical theorem, after which a young man asked, "But what do I get by learning these things?" Euclid famously replied, "Toss that man a coin since he must make a gain out of what he learns." Maybe one could summarize much discussion about the contemporary university by suggesting that like that young man, many critics of American higher education want their coin, and they want it now.
For a different perspective, I have another installment in my "save the university" series at Public Discourse today entitled Medieval Wisdom for Modern Universities. (Previous chapters included The State of Higher Desperation, Postmodern Pythagoras, and The Useless University.)
On the other hand, you might be equally edified by browsing the pleasant comments on my response video (where my beloved viewers seemed to miss the fact that I was intentionally overdoing it in response to this).
Update: Also, for those interested in seeing that friendship window at the PU Chapel, I uploaded some photos on flickr. They're tough to shoot, but if you flick through my stream you can get some details. If anyone can crack all the scenes let me know. Some have stumped us.
For a different perspective, I have another installment in my "save the university" series at Public Discourse today entitled Medieval Wisdom for Modern Universities. (Previous chapters included The State of Higher Desperation, Postmodern Pythagoras, and The Useless University.)
On the other hand, you might be equally edified by browsing the pleasant comments on my response video (where my beloved viewers seemed to miss the fact that I was intentionally overdoing it in response to this).
Update: Also, for those interested in seeing that friendship window at the PU Chapel, I uploaded some photos on flickr. They're tough to shoot, but if you flick through my stream you can get some details. If anyone can crack all the scenes let me know. Some have stumped us.