Scott Brown (R) to replace Ted Kennedy in MA

[We-the-People]

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The liberal stranglehold on academia is why I have resisted, until now, going to college for an "education". I'm going now because my VA benefits were about to expire and my wife insisted I use them.

I've learned absolutely nothing that is useable in the real world though this is only my second quarter.

The math has been mentally challenging but I managed better than 95% there. However, in the real world, you hire a CPA and a financial advisor to do "math" unless you're an engineering student (I am not).

English is a joke as previously discussed.

Public speaking was a joke (for me, valuable for those who need it) as I have been a politician, instructor in the military, etc. No challenge method in place, I got 99+% with a couple of "missed" questions on quizes which I disagreed with the instruction and refused, on principal to put their answer.

This quarter I'm in Business law, with 99.13% at this point with ZERO study as I've been working with contracts, torts, and such for many many years. Not a lawyer but well educated in the ideas and methods of business law (certainly not the minute details for which a lawyer is required).

I'm also in "Office 2007" which is nothing more than creating fax transmittal sheets, letters, did a tri-fold today (oh wow, kinda like an OC handout huh?). Funny thing is, we download all the pretyped text and just do some formatting changes wtih step by boring step book instructions. Gee perfect score there as well and, AGAIN, no viable challenge method in place.

It is an enjoyable experience though. I love how the liberal teachers (all but one so far) respond to the empty holster. It's also fun to see the steam come off their heads and hear the gears grinding and knashing trying to figure out "where is the gun". Oh and the discussions in English class.....such fun. The looks of horror when, as we discussed national security and the Islamic militants, I stated that we needed to wipe them from the face of the earth,reduce our nuclear arsenal, and bring peace to the middle east, allat the same time.

Yeah, it can be fun, even if class is mostly a waste of time and energy just to get a little piece of paper.

 

[cloudcroft]

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I'm a vet, too, (2 different services) and went to the univeristy on the GI Bill after I got back from the RVN...but for various reasons, I didn't graduate, ALMOST, but not quite. And my GPA was all over the map...not good as it follows you for the restof your life!

Some advice to you, if I may be permitted, is since you're THERE now, do the best you can (not like Idid, but you're doingMUCH better). Get as high a GPA as you can, and GRADUATE on time so you're doing it on the VA's dime. Sure wish I had done those two things! Yeah, I went back 13 years later, got my BA and then MA -- and a much higher GPA --but it was on my dime.And I STILL had to explain the earlier "less than stellar" GPA every time I applied for some scholarship, grantor some other grad school academic program. Not good.

As for giving the profs what they want, I did that too...especially in biology classes such as Evolution (which as a Christian, I had big problems with). But play the game, given them what they want...and get the piece of paper at the end! ;-)

Good luck to you in your endeavors,

-- John D.

 

[We-the-People]

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cloudcroft wrote:

As for giving the profs what they want, I did that too...especially in biology classes such as Evolution (which as a Christian, I had big problems with). But play the game, given them what they want...and get the piece of paper at the end! ;-)

Good luck to you in your endeavors,

-- John D.

Ahhh but that's the best part. Giving the profs my conservative views on the issues. My first English prof was so far left I think Marx would be to her right. She didn't like my papers but I managed a B out of her class. I'm working ona formal complaint now as I just got my final paper back. Her comments onmy papers cross the line of education and falsely say that my comments (vetted by multiple unbiased contacts) are "hate filled and prejudicial" yet they are nothing but facts and common identifications. As an example my saying "anti-smoking special interest groups" was identifiedby her as"prejudicial and finger pointing". So I ask, what else do you call a special interest group that lobbies against smoking?

There were a lot more but I don't want to ramble forever here.

 

[Alexcabbie]

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Frank Zappa once said: "go to the public library and educate yourself if you have any guts". He had a point i think.

 

[slowfiveoh]

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I could not agree more about the College atmosphere, than I do with those who describe it as a "liberal institution".

Currently I am attending school utilizing my GI Bill (Post 9/11) as well, and actually have had one hell of a hard time understanding the ambiguous teaching style that most of the professors I have followed have been using.

Here is a story that I will attempt to keep short, that I hope hits home with a few of my fellow service members here:

As a Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine, one of the first things that are ingrained into your being, is the true understanding of integrity, and responsibility. After all, in a field of life and death, it is nice to know that in general, you may depend on the support of your brothers and sisters. Of course this does not always apply, but every apple tree has a few bad apples.

I was taking a course on Business Communication (default HR course pretty much everyone has to take at some point outlining *PC* communications in the workplace), and had admittedly made up my mind that the teacher was a bit full of himself after he delivered his initial greeting to the class. It seems that stating that he "currently makes over $150,000 a year", and that he has a full schedule on top of class wherein he goes out to companies for "$1900 per day" to give his sermon on Human Resources and Business Communication, is part of his regular introductory briefing. In a school where the vast majority of the students are former or current military, or are dependents, this obviously comes off as unnecessary, and frankly, a bit pompous.

No big deal though, I will do my best in the class to excel, and that will be that!

Then the Instructor calls in another Professor to be a guest speaker. This Professor, gave a speech about the business/consumer relationship, and how the term "customer" applied to almost everything.

The big deal came towards the end of his presentation, where he was making statements about interaction of a company and its customers, and closed it off with something very close to the following:

"...interaction at the teller is much the same. You even see the same customer based impact in the military. A Drill Instructor is the exact same as a business, and the instruction provided to the recruit is nothing more than a product pass on to the customer via the Drill Instructor. Therefore, soldiers are truly just customers..."

There were 6 vets in that class, and we all looked at each other and shook our heads...

So I raise my hand and say, "I'm sorry Professor but I am not understanding the reference that a soldier is in any way a "customer" in any regard. There are no fee's paid for physical product or services, and I think the majority of us who have served would disagree with your statement. I respectfully disagree..."

At this point the Professor literally leaned down on the table I occupied, pointed a geriatric finger at me, and simply said, "You're WRONG".

I suppose I didn't feel it to be scholarly of me, or appropriate to break his finger. So I asked him for the opportunity to speak after class. He said "Sure", and then was mysteriously unavailable afterwards.

I thought maybe I had misinterpreted his statements, and was going off the deep end, but I met up with my fellow prior service compadres afterwards, and they shared my frustration at his comment.

SO, the BIG question to you other vets attending school...

What do you do when your integrity won't let you accept erroneous commentary, instruction, or coursework? How do you move past that divide? I would love to hear some insightful thoughts on that...

Also, keeping in the theme of this site, I DID have a English report that needed to be done on current issues, of which I covered the 2nd Amendment. After hearing others voice their fears over stem cell research, abortion, and other constitutionally related topics, I gave my presentation which included heavy focus on the interpretable specifics of the very meaning (composition and structure) of the 2nd Amendment, compounded by some of my favorite quotes from Jefferson in particular.

What made me feel really good about this, was that the English Professor stated that she absolutely agreed with me that realistically it could not be interpreted any other way, and I know from prior conversations that she is anti-gun, as well as several other classmates. Makes a man feel warm and fuzzy inside...

Now, since all of this is tying on to the off-topic commentary that others have said, I guess I will move back to the original topic -

If Brown gets elected, is it absolutely true that it will provide enough votes to stop this obamacare crap?

 

[PT111]

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In a way the professor was correct in saying that a DI can me thought of as a teller and the soldiers as customers bu he was absolutely wrong in how he handled it by saying "you're wrong". A professor is absolutely a salesman or teller, the students are customers and he did a ####poor job of selling his product. Many years ago at the company I worked with we had to determine our suppliers and customers and if you ever have to do that it is an eye opening experience.

But as far as the college atmosphere I can only say thank goodness for physics, math and enggineering or I would never have finished college. When I went over to the liberal arts part of the university to take some of the required courses it was a different world with the BS being spouted off and lack of understanding of the real world for the most part. I did have one political science professor that was great. I was the only person in the class not a PS major or minor and the professor looked at me at mid-term and said you are the only person in this class that makes any sense.

The Brown victory is an absolute reflection of this as every Democrat from the White House to the local "wine" joint (can't use beer joint to describe Democrats) are doing their best to blame someone instead of looking in the mirror. The people have spoken and this election was not about a local issue or vacation during the campaign weeks but a shout from every person in this country. You are supposed to represent the people that elected you and not the Democratic Party. The whole issue of Obamacare and the economy has been about Democrats vs. Republicans and the people have been ignored. They need to remember that it isn't a ball game between two political parties but serious business and they are playing with people's lives. Some have been reminded of this but two many are just making half-time adjustments. Brown caught lightning in a bottle so to speak but that lightning is shocking every person in this country and hopefully can be harnessed.

 

[slowfiveoh]

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Thanks for the well thought out reply PT111!

With your reply you stated that, "In a way", he was correct. To me the term is still a vast undermining of what a soldier really devotes themselves to, and the role between pupil and student, or DI and recruit is far more of an involved process than the word "customer" could even remotely describe. I just feel you have to create quite a few bridges to sustain that type of commentary, but I can respect a situation that calls for agreement to disagree.



I think your statement about Democrats and Republicans is spot on sir. For the longest time I have felt the creation of separate parties, in and of itself, is an affront to liberty at the individual level. This is why I define myself as centrist. I'm just a silly dude who believes in the Constitution.

Have a great day!

 

[cloudcroft]

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A rhetorical question: If education is a "product," and you spend lots of $$$$ over 4-9 years to graduate with somedegree (BA, MA, Ph.D.) and get your diploma, but can never get a job in that particular field (lack of demand, dead-end technology, too many graduates in that field, whatever), shouldn't you be able to return said product to the "vendor" and get a complete refund as said product was defective, not as advertised or just plain fraudulent?At least that would make colleges/universites concerned about gladly takingconsumers' (students') moneyyet awarding degrees of no real use to their graduates. After all, shouldn't schools be at least SOMEWHAT responsible for what they are selling? ;-)

As for Scott Brown and his cute "I'm anew breed ofRepublican" retort, we shall see WTH THAT means and how he makes a dfference. MAYBE he will fulfill Obama's promise of "change" (!) but personally, I will have to see it to believe it.

As for now, I'm not expecting a whole lot from him (which I feel isa more-accurate-than-notposition to take when talking about most politicians anyway, no matter who they are).

-- John D.