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MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”

tech.mit.edu

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Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”

#231

Post by melted »

crpatino wrote: post #226
melted wrote: post #212

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would argue even if they do rent "slave labor", if the tasks are appropriate to the chosen specialization, and the cost to the student is lower overall (ideally zero for tuition), it'd be an improvement over the status quo.

What I am hearing is that, as long as you do "something with computers" and it does not cost any extra money, you'd be happy to exchange 4 years of your time for a Bs in CS? What about getting - gasps, the horror - and actual job as a data entry clerk? You know... something that pays you money instead of making the dean richer with your efforts?

Compared to what, though? To paying tens (up to over a hundred for top schools) of thousands of dollars for the same thing but without practical skills? Ideally, people would be leaving school with something to show for it: open source code, launched projects, co-authorship on research papers, stuff like that. Or better yet, leave as cohesive teams, ready to rip in the public sector. Or even better: leave as a part of a startup with their own product (accelerator model), while school would retain minority interest.

Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”

#232

Post by rhino369 »

cmurf wrote: post #216
tzs wrote: post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why are you lumping Iraq and Afghanistan together? Those were vastly different situations. Note to down voters: do some research. First of all, there was widespread support for invading Afghanistan in both the US (over 90%) and in Afghanistan (also in the 90% range). This was not the case for Iraq. Second, Iraq was based on questionable intelligence that there might be things going on there that could potentially lea…

Well you can make a low intelligence claim for Afghanistan because of how many others have tried that in the past and failed miserably. But history and constitutions are just pieces of paper, he wanted to do what he wanted to do because he wanted to do it, even though neither country attacked the U.S. and therefore attacking both of them was a U.N. Charter violation, which we are of course signatories to. So I prefer…

How is invading Afghanistan against the constitution?

>even though neither country attacked the U.S

Afghanistan attacked the US by allowing an terrorist group who declared war on America plot an attack on the United States from their country.

>and therefore attacking both of them was a U.N. Charter violation, which we are of course signatories to.

The UN Charter allows for self defense AND the UN authorized the attacks. In fact the ISAF is a UN operation.

Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”

#233

Post by ajslater »

Sounds similar to Hampshire College in western Massachusetts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hampshire_College

The College is widely known for its alternative curriculum, socially liberal politics, focus on portfolios rather than distribution requirements, and reliance on narrative evaluations instead of grades and GPAs. In some fields, it is among the top undergraduate institutions in percentage of graduates who enroll in graduate school. Fifty-six percent of its alumni have at least one graduate degree and it is ranked 30th among all US colleges in the percentage of its graduates who go on to attain a doctorate degree (notably first among history doctorates).

Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”

#234

Post by baudehlo »

melted wrote: post #185
kaishiro wrote: post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I could not possibly agree with you more, having basically lived through this. When I look at the current tuition rates for my alma mater, Northeastern University, it makes me cringe. However, the fact that the default experience at Northeastern requires a student to undergo multiple "co-ops", 6 month paid internships, is genuinely a smart thing in my mind. By the time I had graduated, I had work experience in embedd…

Another thing that could be helpful is not forcing kids to go to school when they're 18. They have no clue whatsoever what they want to do with their lives and by and large motivation to truly learn something is very much lacking. Or at least I lacked it. My MSc with honors is a feat of willpower more than anything else, I ended up using maybe 10% of the knowledge I acquired in those years. Now if my career started i…

At 18 most kids have extremely strong passion about what they want to do. I know I did. I was wrong (maths vs computer science). But persuading them to take a break from that is going to be hard.

Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”

#235

Post by tedmiston »

waterlesscloud wrote: post #119
tedmiston wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I find that crazy. Both teach basically the same thing. If they are both accredited, then it is almost indistinguishable. Speaking just on computer science here, but the depth of CS courses varies radically across universities. Sure they all might follow the ACM model curriculum, but how much of the book you're actually reading (and which book you're using in the first place), the number and difficulty of practice…

An interesting thing about OCW and some of the moocs is that they allow us to see what different schools are like, to some extent. Even with the semi-watered-down versions of classes from Stanford and MIT, I definitely feel those schools in particular are more challenging than most others. Other ivy league schools, not so much, at least from the watered down versions, and with some exceptions from notables (Financial…

That's really cool. It would be interesting to see a list that highlights those courses that are the notable exceptions.

Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”

#237

Post by WalterBright »

mietek wrote: post #96
david927 wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's surprising that it's taking so long. The wealthiest have always found ways to preserve their wealth and Ivy League institutions have played a role in that. Take some smart people, a lot of people that are good at fitting the mold that looks best, mix your rich kids in there and call the paint one color. Remember, George W. Bush (all politics aside, just looking at him in terms of intellectual prowess) graduated…

What do you really know about George W. Bush? http://keithhennessey.com/2013/04/24/smarter/

I've met a couple politicians I considered dumb, and was very surprised at how smart they were in person. I'd be very careful concluding any President is a dimwit.

Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”

#238

Post by jimmaswell »

gravypod wrote: post #138
jimmaswell wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know what you mean but the soda analogy doesn't really make sense to me. How is Coca-Cola more "prestigious" or something than Pepsi?

I use it to describe the "name brand" that everyone wants although the two are essentially the same.

Is Coca Cola really more popular though? I never got that impression.

Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”

#239

Post by WalterBright »

shawndumas wrote: post #142
david927 wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love it. For everyone who believes a study that gives him an IQ of around genius level (and for every US president -- look at that!), I actually own the Brooklyn Bridge and I'm looking to sell it. I used the wrong example: nothing creates cognitive dissonance faster than politics or religion. But, that said, it's not a show. He's quite consistent in the types of grammatical mistakes he makes, such as simple subject…

I am not in anyway endorsing the man. But I will point out that he flew a fighter jet... 'Upon its completion, Bush was promoted to the officer's rank of second lieutenant required for pilot candidates. He spent the next year in flight school at Moody AFB in Georgia from November 1968 to November 1969. The aircraft Lt. Bush trained aboard were the T-41 Mescelero propeller-driven basic trainer, T-37 Tweet primary jet…

Yeah, the Air Force tries hard to wash out dimwits before they get behind the controls of an advanced jet fighter.

Re: MIT dean to start new university: “No majors, no lectures, no classrooms”

#240

Post by cushychicken »

kaishiro wrote: post #181
melted wrote: post #159

I think what we need are apprenticeships. I.e. a prominent research group hires kids after the remedial first two years of traditional college curriculum (or something like it plus a couple of years in an entry level job), and has them work on the actual problems at hand, filling the knowledge gaps as needed. It is no longer possible to know much of anything, so we should specialize and diversify at the same time, me…

I could not possibly agree with you more, having basically lived through this. When I look at the current tuition rates for my alma mater, Northeastern University, it makes me cringe. However, the fact that the default experience at Northeastern requires a student to undergo multiple "co-ops", 6 month paid internships, is genuinely a smart thing in my mind. By the time I had graduated, I had work experience in embedd…

I've had a hand in hiring no less than three people from Northeastern University, and every single one of them has hit the ground running in their role. I can't speak highly enough of their program's co-op requirement. It's one of the smartest curriculum moves I can cite.
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