Friday, January 18, 2013

Do colleges turn out bad employees?

My friend Bob Weissberg, a lifelong academic and sometime entrepreneur, makes the painfully persuasive argument that today's colleges and universities are making our workforce less effective by reinforcing traits that make for bad employees.

America lives in a fantasy world regarding education. We think that more years of schooling makes for more knowledgeable workers, when the truth is that we are promoting bad habits that are hard to reverse. Many business managers deal with that truth by hiring more motivated immigrants with solid work habits, giving their good employees more hours, or automating tasks.

As far as improving American education by turning out ever more graduates, the venerable Professor Pogo nailed it: we have met the enemy and he is us.

By all means read the whole thing. Oh, and Pogo, for the Philistines among you:

Pogo!

1 comment:

  1. I remember the cartoon. It came out during the Vietnam War.

    A few random thoughts:

    1. Is it the student's fault that the instructor is boring?

    2. Employers can't delegate employee training to schools.

    3. The key for bosses/professors: Create an environment where the employee/student wants to be at work/in the classroom with you more than he wants to be anywhere else.

    4. Professors should remember this quote from actor John Houseman's character in the movie "The Paper Chase": "You teach yourselves the law, but I train your minds. You come in here with a skull full of mush; you leave thinking like a lawyer."

    - DEC (Jungle Trader)

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