Reading the Times: Poor Quality College Education; Internet Censored in Turkey

Last updated on: March 13, 2015 at 3:39 pm by Guest Contributor

Reading the Times: Poor Quality College Education; Internet Censored in Turkey 2015-03-13T15:39:22-05:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Your So-Called Education

Sociologists Richard Arum (NYU) and Josipa Roksa (UVa) report on the discouraging findings from their study of undergraduate education. Parents, brace yourselves:

We would be happy to join in the celebrations if it weren’t for our recent research, which raises doubts about the quality of undergraduate learning in the United States. Over four years, we followed the progress of several thousand students in more than two dozen diverse four-year colleges and universities. We found that large numbers of the students were making their way through college with minimal exposure to rigorous coursework, only a modest investment of effort and little or no meaningful improvement in skills like writing and reasoning.

In a typical semester, for instance, 32 percent of the students did not take a single course with more than 40 pages of reading per week, and 50 percent did not take any course requiring more than 20 pages of writing over the semester. The average student spent only about 12 to 13 hours per week studying — about half the time a full-time college student in 1960 spent studying, according to the labor economists Philip S. Babcock and Mindy S. Marks.

Ouch!

So what is to be done? Arum and Roksa have suggestions for universities and for the federal government. I wonder if individual students can choose to make their education more effective. I wonder if they want to.

Internet Filters Set Off Protests Around Turkey

Free use of the Internet is soon to be denied in Turkey. Here’s what the New York Times reports:

Thousands of people in more than 30 cities around Turkey took to the streets on Sunday to protest a new system of filtering the Internet that opponents consider censorship.

The Information and Communications Technologies Authority, known by its Turkish initials as B.T.K., is going to require Internet service providers to offer consumers four choices for filtering the Internet that would limit access to many sites, beginning in August. . . .

The B.T.K., however, has said that Internet users will still be able to access all content if they choose the “standard” option for filtering. The other filtering options are labeled as “children,” “family” and “domestic.” . . .

For many people in Turkey, having to select a filtering option is just another form of censorship. Already thousands of Web sites are blocked by the state, mostly without any publicized reason.

I wonder if my website is blocked in Turkey. I wonder if it will be soon.

Reading the Times

Technology and Culture

Previous Post

May 18, 2011

"There Is No Heaven" - What the Faith of Stephen Hawking Misses

Next Post

May 19, 2011 Where is the Kingdom of God? Is It In Your Heart?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent Advent Calendar Alissa Wilkinson Archeology Art and Faith Ash Wednesday Bible Books Business Business and Faith Christian Year (Liturgical or Church Year) Christmas Christmas according to Dickens Christmas, Culture, and Christ Christmas: Keeping Christmas Well Church and Culture Church and Ministry Church and Technology Church Life Church: What is a Church? Cities Code of Ethics for Pastors Contentment Creativity Cultural Commentary Culture Daily Reflections Dallas Willard Deliberating on Digital Dignity Easter Education Ephesus and the New Testament Ethics Eugene Peterson Evangelical Existential Questions Faith Faith and Work Family Food Friendship Fun Good Reads Gospel Centered Christianity Grace Handel's Messiah Harvard University Health High Calling History Holidays Holy Spirit Holy Week Hospitality How Does God Guide Us? Hunger Games Insights for Leaders - De Pree Center Inspiration from the High Calling Jesus Jesus: Following Him as a Disciple Jesus: Seven Last Words Jesus: Was Jesus Married? Jesus: What Was His Message? Jesus: Why Did He Have to Die? Laity Lodge Leadership Leadership Conversation Lent Les Miserables Life for Leaders Linda's Advent Doodles Linda's Lenten Doodles Living Well Loving Neighbors Max De Pree Center for Leadership Mental Health Mission of God and Missional Church Money Moral Dilemmas Mormonism Movies Nature New York City Pastors and Churches Pentecost Photos to Share Poetry Police Blotter Politics Prayer Preachers Portal Preaching Presbyterian Church Quotations Reading the Times Recommendations Reflecting on Technology Religion and Culture Ruminations Sabbath Science Seven Last Words Sexual Harassment Social Media Something to Think About Spiritual Warfare Sports Stations of the Cross Stephen Hawking: Heaven and Faith Stories Technology and Culture Technology and Education Technology and Mental Health Technology Bits Texas Thanksgiving The High Calling Thin Places Uncategorized Vocation Women Words Work Worship

Select a Month November 2018 October 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 March 2017 February 2017 December 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 April 2015 March 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 November 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which book is known as the "Weeping Prophet's" book?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Isaiah Ezekiel Lamentations Jeremiah