From Your Mouth To God's Ear: Roger Kimball Makes The Case For Simply Closing American Universities

Most of us can rant endlessly about the evils of the academy, and a cursory reading of any newspaper will reveal some absolutely batshit crazy event on some college campus. In spite of the ocassional flash of rational thought, the trend in American universities is clear; they are descending into madness. No thoughts of education, just a mad rush to the next mile marker on the road to a perfect idea-free hive of rigid orthodoxy.

Is there a solution? Yes, but maybe not the one many envision:

PC insanity may mean the end of American universities

The economist Herb Stein once observed that what cannot go one forever, won’t. In the coming decade, we will see many so-called liberal-arts college close their doors. We will also see more alternatives to traditional colleges. Many of these will be on-line. Some will be local, ad hoc ventures. All will be rebelling against the poisonous hand of identity politics.

Thoughtful citizens will want to hasten this process. Their best bet is to pursue strategies to starve Academia Inc. of funds. No public monies should be feeding institutions that claim to be educating students but really are simply indoctrinating them. Parents and alumni, rightly disgusted by what these institutions have done to their children, should refuse to subsidize their perversion.

Just take a look at the many and varied options on the internet, and you will see the future of learning. As an example, I wanted to tune up my understanding of some basic chemistry, and I discovered to my delight that Kahn Academy was absolutely perfect. Easy to use, the problem sets were clear, the progression made logical sense, and I learned a lot in a very short time.

As universities add more administrators and decrease the number of instructors, while simultaneously making it more difficult and expensive to graduate on time, the utility of traditional college educations will decrease. Perhaps in the future some enterprising college will provide the opportunity for testing out of the entire four-year program, and for a fee will grant a degree based on examination alone.

Imagine; working as an apprentice plumber for several years, making an adequate living, while studying for your degree at night and on the weekends, in the comfort of your own home, and without the explicit threat of a rape charge for making a pass at a girl at a party. adjudicated by three Lesbian Studies professors and the assistant senior vice-president of inclusion and outreach!

posted by CBD at 02:15 PM

| Access Comments