What's Wrong with University: And How to Make It Work for You Anyway PDF
Preview What's Wrong with University: And How to Make It Work for You Anyway
wrong what’s university with wrong what’s university with and how to make it work for you anyway jeff rybak ECW Press Copyright © Jeff Rybak, 2007 Published by ecw press 2120Queen Street East, Suite 200,Toronto, Ontario, Canada m4e 1e2 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any process—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, orotherwise—without the prior written permission of Jeff Rybak and ecw press. library and archives of canada cataloguing in publication Rybak, Jeff What’s wrong with university: and how to make it work for you anyway / Jeff Rybak. Includes bibliographical references. isbn-13: 978-1-55022-776-5 isbn-10: 1-55022-776-9 1. College student orientation—Canada. 2. Education, Higher—Aims and objectives—Canada. 3. Universities and colleges—Canada. i. Title. lb2343.3.r92 2007 378.1'980971 c2006-906800-3 Interior and back cover illustrations: Evan Munday Cover photo: A. Huber/U. Starke/Corbis Author photo: Kevin Wong Editor: Emily Schultz Development and typesetting: David Caron printed and bound in canada:Webcom This book is set in Sabon, designed by Jan Tschichold in 1964.The chapter headings arein Sackers Gothic, created by the Monotype Design Studio. The sub-headings are in Franklin Gothic, designed by Morris Fuller Benton in 1902,and redrawn by Victor Caruso in 1980. The book is printed on Legacy TB Natural, from 100%post-consumer-waste recycled pulp. The publication of What’s Wrong With Universityhas been generously supported by the Canada Council for the Arts which last year invested $20.1 million in writing and publishing throughout Canada, by the Ontario Arts Council, by the Government of Ontario through Ontario Book Publishing Tax Credit, and the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing IndustryDevelopment Program (bpidp). distribution canada:Jaguar Book Group, 100Armstrong Avenue, Georgetown, Ontario,l7g 5s4 united states:IPG, 814North Franklin Street, Chicago, Illinois 60610 First printing, 2007 TABLE OF CONTENTS FUNCTIONS OF EDUCATION introduction ix chapter one the functions of education 1 What Happens in a School 1 Why Go to University? 11 chapter two the modern university 23 How Does It Happen? 23 How Does it Get Measured? 34 What Do You Get? 43 When Things Go Wrong 49 What Comes Next? 65 chapter three getting more of what you want 75 What You Can’t Control 75 The Academic Student 79 The Vocational Student 95 The Certification Student 106 The Good Citizen 112 The Holding-Pen Student 126 chapter four internal contradictions 135 Things That Don’t Make Sense 135 Grading 136 Too Cool for School 147 Competing Agendas and Politicization 154 Private or Public, Consumer or User? 160 Eroding Value and Graduating “Everyone” 169 Why Does It Hang Together? 177 chapter five the big picture 183 Beyond the Personal 183 The Universality of University 184 The Scam 195 Further 205 chapter six the big investment 211 Financial Pressure 211 Silencing Dissent 222 chapter seven proposals for reform 231 AFew Modest Suggestions 231 Redefine “Of Age” 232 Separation of Functions 235 Break the Monopoly 240 Civil Service 244 chapter eight grassroots change 247 Shaking Things Up 247 Unofficial Classes 248 Clubs and Organizations 251 Participating in Governance 257 Asking the Big Questions 261 acknowledgements 267 references 269
Description:The list of books you might like
