Academics is Not a Priority!

From U.S.A. Today

Nearly half of the nation's college students show no gains in learning in the first two years of college.
A recent survey of more than 3,000 students on 29 campuses nationwide is revealing. After two years in college, 45% of students showed no significant gains in learning; after four years, 36% showed little change.
Students also spent 50% less time studying than students a few decades ago.

The average student earned a 3.2 grade-point average. It appears that students are able to go through the system with little effort. Other details in the research: 35% reported spending five or fewer hours per week studying alone.  50% said they never took a class in a typical semester where they wrote more than 20 pages; 32% never took a course where they read more than 40 pages per week.

Here is the typical week of a college student:
Socializing and recreation.....................51%
Sleeping..............................................24%
Working, volunteering, student clubs....9%
Attending class....................................9%
Studying..............................................7%

Who is at fault?
             Individual responsibility
             Parenting breakdown
             Work ethic "What's that?"
             The absence of good role models
             A lack of commitment
             Lack of moral responsibility
             Lowering standards of achievement
             Emphasis on self, or self-righteousness
             Cultural trends: blame someone else, expect a handout, laziness, etc.

What to do?
            Wake up
            Make learning a priority
            Gain wisdom from others
            Be a role model
            Be a better parent
            Be a better teacher
            Strive for excellence
            Set higher goals
            Establish moral principles
            Don't be deceived by feelings or emotions
            Learn about how we gained our rights and freedoms
            Be a student of history
            Be thankful and grateful that we have another chance
            Look up!
            Have faith!            

Give Credit Where Credit is Due

I titled the above blog "Academics is Not a Priority" however credit must be given to students and parents that believe that academics is a priority. A great majority of Americans are conscientious and concerned about the quality of learning. We are fortunate to have many great learning institutions.

We do have colleges and universities that provide quality education. One must avoid institutions of higher learning that are politically motivated desire to indoctrinate young people. We must give credit to those colleges that aspire to teach the ability to think, to reason, and to use common sense. There are students that are searching for truth and who desire quality education. Many have high standards and goals in life, and there are those who desire to develop character and look for purpose. This article reminds us that good and bad are in every field of endeavor.