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Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Harvard To Focus Less On “Academic” Subjects, Teach Kids How To Be Less American

Oh wonderful…

BOSTON (Reuters) - Harvard University announced on Wednesday its biggest curriculum overhaul in three decades, putting new emphasis on sensitive religious and cultural issues, the sciences and overcoming U.S. “parochialism.”

The curriculum at the oldest U.S. university has been criticized as focusing too narrowly on academic topics instead of real-life issues, or for being antagonistic to organized religion. Revisions have been in the works for three years.

One of the eight new required subject areas—“societies of the world”—aims to help students overcome U.S. “parochialism” by “acquainting them with the values, customs and institutions that differ from their own,” said a 34-page Harvard report on the changes.

So, less “academic” studies like math and science and more studies of world culture.  So that we can overcome our stupid, redneck, backward American stupidity, apparently.

Comments

First of all it’s a private school and they can do what they want.

But it seems to me that if they go through with this it will turn Harvard from an institution that turns out leaders to an institution that turns out irrelevant people.


What’s going to happen to US industry when the global warming extremists like John McCain double the price of electricity?  I would think all these factories will close and set up in countries where they aren’t scared of technology.


The Whistler's signature
The Whistler on February 8, 2007 at 06:49 am

Maybe it’s so we can be more understanding of the folks from other countries when they take all our high-tech jobs?


"No Sane man will dance.”—Cicero

Daniel on February 8, 2007 at 08:11 am

If we’re losing high tech jobs it’s either because our high-tech workers are not worth what they’re getting paid in the world-wide market or that there aren’t enough qualified people being turned out of our schools.

I don’t see Harvards actions helping either of these.


What’s going to happen to US industry when the global warming extremists like John McCain double the price of electricity?  I would think all these factories will close and set up in countries where they aren’t scared of technology.


The Whistler's signature
The Whistler on February 8, 2007 at 09:04 am
Avatar for Andrew

Things like this pain me so much. Part of the reason America was able to be so successful is the fact that we took pride in being different. We didn’t look to the rest of the world for all the answers, but paved our own destiny. Now it seems we want to be anything but American. What has the rest of the world done recently that’s worth emulating? Europe hasn’t meant shit for close to a century now. The Middle East has been stuck in the dark ages for two thousand years. It seems Asia is the only area making any progress.

And when the hell is academia going to wake up and realize we need more scientists and engineers, not degrees in areas where the only use for them is to become college professors and teach more useless information.

Andrew on February 8, 2007 at 12:45 pm
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