days till Wednesday/Thursday

[graeme_qewe]

To catch up quickly on the last week, then I've started reading the French Revolution book I bought, but I haven't gotten far in it. I haven't event reached the revolution part of the book, ha! I still have not attanded a Latin class. This is partly because I studied the guide to the subject, and it seems, to study Latin, you have to have an A-

Comments

[fireghost]

Your classics department must be very small. I don't know how university funding works in Denmark, but I wonder if the university is intentionally discouraging applications to take Latin and Greek. You know, because classical studies aren't the 'useful' things that, say, economics and accounting and law are.

The university I attended either shrank many of its humanities (arts) courses when government funding was effectively reduced in the early 1990s (they got extra funding for extra students, but it was no longer enough to fund them them to the same degree). Small departments were merged; some were actually deleted.

The government's idea, like those of many around the world, was to get universities to focus on 'vocational' courses to turn out wage slaves - as opposed to those indulgent humanities ones that get people to think about useless things like culture and heritage.

[graeme_qewe]

that's pretty accurate for us too. Except it doesn't center around the classics studies, but actually that all of Humanities is loathed these days. And the board of the universities is led by business men rather than academics, because university should only get fuel for the business and working. The thing about learning something for the sake of learning something and mental growth, are evil thinking - or so it seems. Ah!

[gryphon3e]

Apparently england is concentrating on "useful" courses too

Read John Ralson Saul for the beef on modern education

[fireghost]

Same problem with sciences here in NZ. Part of the problem is fees; part because decent-paying science jobs are few here. Many grads fuck off overseas and don't come back. Narrow bullshit courses like those ones you mention are hugely popular. There seems to be this perception that the only education worth having is one you've paid for.

Most of this shit, if we must have it, should be covered by apprenticeships.

You can get a diploma in rugby in Auckland, you know.

Re: John Ralson Saul :-?

[fireghost]

Learning as I do...about everything and anything that interests me, is much more fun than sitting exams anyway. And at least this way when i have learned what I want I can give up and trundle off to another subject

That's what I do. I'm actually a failure at formal education.

Re: John Ralson Saul :-?

[graeme_qewe]

that fits me pretty accurately too