The endless, ongoing debates about admissions to elite universities have had many unfortunate effects. One is that they have focused attention so squarely on a small number of ultra-rich universities, rather than on the less well-endowed institutions that actually educate a large majority of American college students. Another is that they distract from the more important questions of what, and how, universities—all universities—should be teaching their students in the twenty-first century. Here is one suggestion. If there is a single mandatory course for undergraduates that American universities should be considering introducing in the year 2023, it is a course in public speaking.
Your argument supports if not outright proves the underlying problem of the ChatBot revolution. Students use it to hide. To efface themselves vis a vis an authorless text.
Too many folks scold such students as cheaters. Fair enough. But the deeper problem is that these tools encourage students to forget (or maybe they never knew this) that excellence--at least in the humanities--depends upon the singularity of one’s mind one’s questions one’s voice.
I actually told students, “if you want to succeed at anything you’ll need to make an impression. To standout. Otherwise you’re no more valuable than another version of Google.” But they are not getting this message enough. Sad and scary
David
Your argument supports if not outright proves the underlying problem of the ChatBot revolution. Students use it to hide. To efface themselves vis a vis an authorless text.
Too many folks scold such students as cheaters. Fair enough. But the deeper problem is that these tools encourage students to forget (or maybe they never knew this) that excellence--at least in the humanities--depends upon the singularity of one’s mind one’s questions one’s voice.
I actually told students, “if you want to succeed at anything you’ll need to make an impression. To standout. Otherwise you’re no more valuable than another version of Google.” But they are not getting this message enough. Sad and scary
Agree!