----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Taylor" <jodokaast@hotmail.com>
To: <moq_discuss@moq.org>
Sent: Monday, July 09, 2001 2:50 PM
Subject: Re: MD The Education System (What the problem?)
> > >Pirsig's former self in ZMM, Phaedrus, conducts an experiment while
> >teaching
> > >on getting rid of the whole degree-and-grading system. This system is
> > >intriguing, and appears to work very well, however it exists
independent
> >of
> > >the world, in a little vacuum, which wouldn't ever work.
> > >
> > >Let's presume that we want to incorporate his idea of abolishing grades
> >and
> > >degrees from education so students are getting an education for purely
> > >education's sake. With no degrees, a company will not know of any
> > >creditentials with which to discriminate prospective employees.
> > >
> >Ok all the rest of the post was based on this assumption so I'll start
> >here.
> >The credentials that would be used would be projects showing the
student's
> >ability to apply what they learned in school, a practice that is allready
> >very common. Hopefully the student has had oppourtunities in school to
do
> >this. Getting rid of the degree-and-grading would actually benefit the
> >employers since it would put more focus on the students ability to think
> >and
> >apply their knowledge and in the process provide employers with the
> >oppourtunity to judge various examples and hire the employee
demonstrating
> >the most desireable skills. This cannot be accomplished with a degree
and
> >grading system.
>
> That's a very good response to my query! I had hoped something like this
> existed and was employed, and that the business world was not just based
on
> a degree-and-grading system.
>
> I think getting rid of the degree-and-grading system would benefit
everyone.
>
> Which brings me to another thought... Much emphasis is put on the
> intellectual level nowadays, and it is the reason that the
> degree-and-grading system got out of control in the first place (people
> concerned with grades because they were supposed to reflect your
intellect).
> So is it moral put emphasis on the intellect as much as society does? Is
it
> moral for society to tell individuals to strive to achieve intellect? Is
> this the natural upward progression of evolution as society breeds
intellect
> which in turn will eventually overpower society (if that hasn't happened
> already)?
There's 2 parts to intellect. The ability to know (static) and the ability
to think (dynamic) Right now society puts a high value on the ability to
know, but in my experience the ability to think is just thought of as the
ability to say something that has been said in a new way. Truely original
thought is assumed to be something that will just happen once one acquires
enough knowledge. That's the main problem with the degree and grading
system. Students are expected to learn loads and load of facts in order to
be smart when all it's doing is teaching them to be tape recorders. This
isn't the upwards progression of evolution, it's a society whose members are
working harder and harder just to remain static simply because no one knows
how to move ahead.
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