I just lost all faith in the American public.

Well duh. Thats the difference between Calc 101 and Calc 200. Classes with the same material and level number should be identical to ones at other colleges. And not everyone has the opportunity to make that education choice under the current US system. If public education K-12 were universal, we would have some quality control. Colleges should allow you to pick and choose what quality of education you want. You want lower quality? Take lower level classes. It should be that simple. At higher levels of education (upperclass and graduate), transferring shouldn't matter. Odds are you know what you want by then.
 
some universities cant afford to offer lower levels. it would also bring down the schools reputation. some schools would offer what is 2nd year calculus at other universities to 1st years. or high school calculus, like at athabasca university. it would completely complicate course numbering systems
 
By the way, the title of this thread is complete bullshit. This is a small sampling of Americans. Think of the ratio of people in this video to people in the nation.

Also, America has some great minds. Where the hell would we be without some of America's inventions? Other countries have had some great strides in science and technology, but a lot of things Americans did first or better.
 
1. It wouldn't lower schools' reputations if all schools had to have the same class setups.

2. Funding = we can afford it

3. By contrast, some universities offer programs that others don't due to regional interest. There is a greater interest in aboriginal studies in the PNW for example than in... I don't know, Ohio or somewhere like that. So not all universities can be equal.

I don't have much of a problem with the uni setup as it is, to be honest, at least in terms of educational quality. You seem to get out of it more or less what you put into it.
 
Then the colleges should cater to the people they specifically want. Academic performance would be better overall if school needed to compete more for students. And I should mention that the emphasis on school reform should be on K-12. Not college, thought I think it could use some tweaking. Its not higher education thats the real problem, it's the crap that comes before it.
 
Balance is what you need in schools. Personal management and rational thought are neglected in public schools. Its all repetition and fact memorization. I am eternally tankful for the highschool education I received. I was forced to take things like philosophy and ethics. Rudimentary classes like math and English were tied into current evens. As a result, 90% of the stuff I learned actually gave me some relevancy I could tie into the real world. I decided to go to a second tear college purely for the lifestyle, despite the academic level being mostly below my potential level. But I'm and adult, and sitting in a classroom is not my top priority. I still have exceptional grades and plan on going to graduate school.
 
No, I'm not trying to brew up trouble, though it seems as if that's what I've done.

I can say, however, that while many say "Oh yeah, this video is rigged, they only showed the stupid people," the sad truth is that a majority of our country is just as ignorant as those depicted in this video. It's sad how far astray our generation has gotten from the important global issues, focusing instead on sensationalized Hollywood celebrities. Intelligence has come up short in American society, especially in the younger generations. More people can probably name five Britney Spears songs than can name five countries in the Middle East.

I realize that most of the people in that video were older, I was just making an observation on the youth of today, for we are what our society will become. And yes, while that video probably is edited to show the stupid people, the fact is that much more of our society than you would think is just that oblivious. Hell, over half of America still believes the world was created 4000 years ago as depicted in the bible.
 
no offense to the person who made this thread but....you are kinda stupid for posting that video..i mean it does show some stupid, ignorant americans, but thats the thing.. those people were RETARDED so you cant act as if thats the entire "american public" ..they were asking people about countries in which the people they were asking had no idea of the countries where abouts...in conclusion, that is showing some of the worst of the american republic and isnt a very good represenative for the american public
 
you want to be paying tuition going to teachers who teach "biology for the social science student"?

and there arent enough teachers to standardize class setups. at the upper levels, in specialized departments, there arent enough experts to teach , say, astrophysics at a 4th year level.
 
...then you would transfer out to a college that does. All the classes you took before also count at your new college so you don't have to take the same crap over again. This isn't nearly as complex as you make it out to be.
 
bring in on, you invade canada we'll sick polar bears on ya to take out the infantry, then release the beavers to chew out tank tracks then maybe a yeti or two to twist up some artillery, then we will release the real gem of the Canadian military, our suicidal sea hawks! they crash into everything
 
Girl who sits behind me: "My dad's been to every country in the world."

Kid she was talking to: "There's no way he's been to all of them."

Girl: "Well he's been to like 15 of them."
 
We have Bill Unruh! He can teach your astrophysics.

Anyway, I don't actually see a need for biology for arts students or whatever, those courses are a tad ridiculous. If you can't take mainstream science courses, then don't. Dumbed down ones are a pointless waste of time meant to fulfill requirements. And besides, there are sci courses arts students can take. I took a 3rd year acoustic physics class... not easy, per se, but I got a 79 with a bit of effort. Again, pointless in retrospect, because I have little to no use for that knowledge, though someone might, so the class should be there... but that ain't intro.

I think specialization was a key point. You're into diversity in uni, and that's cool and all at a first year level. But once you get up into the upper years, it's just not possible to excel in any given area (or it shouldn't be) without a hell of a lot of basis in that area. In other words, in order to maintain 3 areas of expertise throughout your undergrad, you'd have to take summer courses and a full load every term. If you can say "Well, I managed it", then something's wrong with the way those classes are being set up... higher level education REQUIRES specialized knowledge. A double major within one faculty should be about your limit on a regular course schedule, realistically.
 
the central problem with that theory is that, teaching (especially upper level courses)cant be standardized. there is a reason why a student from say mit or harvard comes out more well educated then say u of utah. The teachers at the top level schools are not abundant. it would be impossible to create a system where even a basic level course isthe same at every school. Plus it would take away fromteachers freedom of teaching. College isnt high school, many professors are at the top of their field. and should be able to give that knowledge to their students. standardizing college courses would only limit colleges in how they teach.
 
Thats exactly why I said standardized education is really for K-12. But at the lower levels of college, it might be a good idea to have easily transferable credits for public institutions, but it might not be necessary. Lets say if you took a basic business law class at a small public college, and you later decided you wanted to major in that but the current program you are in doesn't offer the specialization you want. So you transfer to a larger university with a more diverse business program. Don't you think it would make sense those same basic BA 100 classes count for as much at the university and they did at the little college? Also, your exemple of higher education does not even apply to my point. Harvard University and MIT are private institutions, so they would be unaffected by any rules for public institutions.
 
yeah, youre the 4th most educated country and THATS ALL THEY KNOW?! people in africa don't know lots of shit because they dont have the money/opportunity/life fucking expectancy to be able to go to school. try teaching something else in your schools besides fucking us history.

ok im sorry i love lots of americans, but that made me fucking mad.
 
i hate ignorant dumbasses like that, like how in the fuck is it possible to be that fucking stupid?

its like you'd have to fail grade 5 or some shit.
 
do you think america was like POP money? They made it themselves, it was built to where it is on this government, so you are saying we have so much, because this government has maintained the country so well that its not fair to say that. Move the African People hear and they will live the same, they won't create a good government at all. Thats the point.
 
are you the one to decide what needs policing and what doesnt? there are probably more people out there who would rather blow up the US than not. Doesnt the majority have the power to decide? The state of world affairs seems to be a theocracy rather than a democratic process, the only attempt (the UN) doesnt seem to hold much sway.
 
^ exaclty, the majority didnt decide for the States to sya they have Weapons of mass destruction, they just went in guns blazing, then they asked " Do you guys relally have WMD"

And then they have to pay for it because they lost i think around 2500 americans in the war, i meen c'mon, the U.N didnt want them to go to war, and there are 190 countries, around, in the U.N and the majority didnt want them to go to war
 
i believe when that video was on collegehumor.com, they listed those people as being in sarnia or windsor. theres such a high influx of americans there, theyre probably american by birth
 
You're missing the point. Which is that I'm not condoning the kids in that video AT ALL, both groups look like idiots.

Like I said...There are idiots everywhere...
 
I think we can all agree that there are idiots everywhere, but ESPECIALLY in the boonies of Ontario.
 
did anyone see Rick Mercer, Talking to americans?

he went around asking people and telling things like

-Did you know Canadas first Mcdonalds opened up in Toronto

-Did you know they just legalized VCRs
 
*teenage pregnancy rates

(theyre really really high. haliburton, horseshoe, and hamilton all claim to have the highest rate in canada)

(despite hamilton's being a city, you should see the downtown core. 'tis the boonies alright)
 
I like it when Quinny said "highly laughable". You really think your the shit, dont you? Not that I disagree really with anything your saying, you should just make a conscious effort to not come off like a pompous prick. K?
 
I will choose my wording in a conversation as a damn well please. Usually my goal when posting is to get a point across, not to over concern myself with what other people think of me. NS forums are largely anonymous, so it really doesn't matter to me if you think I'm a pompous asshole. K?
 
exactly...they were just making good television. if they showed the response of the people that they questioned who actually got out of high school, it may have been a bit different.
 
Thank you. I'm just wicked pissed off at the ignorance that's going on with the responses of people in this thread that in my mind doesn't seem any difference than the dumb fucks shown in that video. GO TO ANY COUNTRY and you will get the same result if you just ask enough people and edit the video. Check out some of the people they are asking and then ask yourself, do they represent the general population of America? One dude they asked looked like he just moved into America from Mexico and a few others looked like they could barely afford food, forget about a proper education. That video is just another shining example of propoganda influencing major ignorance in other countries and the people who believe this video are just the feeble-minded fucks who would fit right in with those people on the tape.
 
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