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If what one most cares about (12 February 2009)

If what you're most concerned about is getting smart, creative kids, you might want to direct them to school themselves by going to itunes u. It's all lectures, unfortunately --which are never as truly educative as the back-and-forth. (But many Harvard undergrad classes are just large lectures, too, though: some significant education takes place in inadequate settings.) Anyway, not just putting money into the old system but finding different ways to think of education, should be the agenda. If the next few years look like just more and more spending cuts to education, maybe just say to hell with it, and get your kids hooked on itunes U. Berkeley's there! So too MIT! They want to reach you, not wait 'til you reach them! Plus, though it's slow in motion, true, it's part of a beginning trend to challenge the for-to-long unchallengeable surrection of the institutional degree as Saint, as assured transport to respectability and the middle class.

Maybe check out Ehrenreich's damning (but also very fun) article on higher education:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/barbara-ehrenreich/the-higher-education-scam_b_47287.html

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