Wilting Ivy

Here's an interesting article on why even Harvard doesn't offer much of an education anymore. At the risk of cutting off the branch that I'm sitting on, this comment is spot on:

"In practice, moreover, a significant number of the courses in Harvard College are taught by graduate students, not as assistants to professors but in full control of the content. Although they are called 'tutors,' evoking an image of learned Oxbridge dons passing on their wisdom one-on-one, what they are is a collection of inexperienced leaders of discussion or pseudo-discussion groups. The overwhelming majority of these young men and women, to whom is entrusted a good chunk of a typical undergraduate’s education, will never be considered good enough to belong to Harvard’s regular faculty."

I'm certainly not at Harvard. But, to be blunt, I don't believe that I should have my job either. Three days of instruction isn't nearly enough to equal the skills of a seasoned lecturer. The students get limited contact with those experienced scholars, and more contact with those of us who have no qualifications aside from the fact that we've taken the course before and are a cheap source of labor. It's no way to run a business, even if we're talking about Mall University.