An anonymous donor cashes in a $30 donation to ask: Homework solutions from intro physics through grad school physics are available online, and while working through Jackson and Goldstein problems can be miserable without some guidance, the temptation is there to plagiarize. When you teach, do you use book-problems or write your own? Do you… Continue reading DonorsChoose Payoff: Homework vs. Google
Category: Academia
Secrets of Committee Work
Over at Unqualified Offerings, Thoreau has encountered the dark side of academic life: I was assigned to the curriculum committee, so I went to the meeting today. (I don’t go to committee meetings for my health.) I learned that one of the tasks before us was demonstrating that we have assessments to show that introductory… Continue reading Secrets of Committee Work
Announcing the Uncertain Principles Physics Scholarship Program
In the spirit of the newly clarified regulations governing the Academic Competitiveness Grant and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant Programs administered by the Department of Education, I am pleased to announce the Uncertain Principles Physics Scholarship Program. Under this program, I pledge to personally pay the full tuition for any… Continue reading Announcing the Uncertain Principles Physics Scholarship Program
Politics of the Professoriate, Again
There are a great many reasons to hate David Horowitz, but near the top of the list has to be the fact that his constant harping on “liberal bias” in academia has spawned a thousand studies of the politics of academics, complete with chin-stroking analysis peices about What It All Means. The latest, from Neil… Continue reading Politics of the Professoriate, Again
Accountability for Educators, If Not Op-Ed Writers
Inside Higher Ed has a puzzling opinion piece about science and math education by W. Robert Connor of the Teagle Foundation. It’s not his arguemtn that’s puzzling, though– that part is perfectly clear, hard to disagree with: Public and private funders have spent billions of dollars — sometimes wastefully — on education initiatives like those… Continue reading Accountability for Educators, If Not Op-Ed Writers
Research Early, Research Often
Inside Higher Ed has an article about a HHMI initiative to encourage more students to pursue science careers: Until now, calls for action to bolster Americans’ science aptitude and increase the number of graduates who move on to scientific research have focused on nurturing individual students, improving teacher education and collaborating with industry, among other… Continue reading Research Early, Research Often
Terrible Ideas in Higher Ed: Hizzoner Da Mayor Edition
Via Inside Higher Ed, a brilliant new approach to the problem of high tuition costs, coutesy of Chicago Mayor Richard Daley (whose highly impartial Wikipedia entry is a hoot): The runaway cost of a college education has been on the mayor’s radar screen for some time. Last year, Daley suggested a fifth year of high… Continue reading Terrible Ideas in Higher Ed: Hizzoner Da Mayor Edition
College Sports: Perspective, Please
I missed the New York Times article about Rutgers professor William Dowling, who is campaiging against college sports, and has written a jeremiad on the subject and gotten it published by– slight irony alert– Penn State University Press. There are a lot of things to dislike about big-time college sports, starting with the rank hypocrisy… Continue reading College Sports: Perspective, Please
Guilty Pleasures
Sean Carroll is disappointed with academia, at least as revealed through the Chronicle of Higher Ed’s article on guilty pleasures of academics: As it turns out, compared to my colleagues I’m some sort of cross between Hunter S. Thompson and Caligula. Get a load of some of these guilty pleasures: Sudoku. Riding a bike. And… Continue reading Guilty Pleasures
The Academic Physics Job Market, Part 2
It’s job-hunting season in academia, which also means it’s talking-about-the-job-market season. After writing the previous post, I noticed a post on the same topic by Steve Hsu, who was interviewed for a Chronicle of Higher Education article (temporary free link, look quickly!) about the lousy job market in science. Steve has most of the relevant… Continue reading The Academic Physics Job Market, Part 2