College Gives Credit for Obama Campaign Volunteers, None for McCain
-By Warner Todd Huston
Is our children learning? It seems they are learning at least one thing; their college supports Barack Obama. Students at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, are being presented with a new opportunity to indulge in what is being called a “gap year.” An idea popular in Europe, the “gap year” is a year taken off from studies between high school and the first year of college. That year is supposedly spent traveling or doing volunteer work. To regulate this, the college gives credit to the students for approved “gap year” activities, one of which is volunteering for the Barack Obama presidential campaign. No mention of allowing the same benefit for a volunteer to John McCain’s campaign is made, naturally.
Projects of the past year and the coming fall include study in Florence, Italy, and London, volunteer work on Barack Obama’s campaign, travel to Israel, and a mountaineering course. The school stays in contact with the students during the fall, helping them maintain ties to the college, register for classes, and hosts a special orientation for them before the spring semester begins.
To explain what this time wasting “gap year” is, an article from the Patriot-News reports that Europeans love this concept. The paper says that, “…slowly but surely, an old standard in European education is starting to catch on across the United States, giving some college-bound students an opportunity to catch their breath.”
Popular throughout Europe, gap years allow students the chance to defer their admission to university, and take a semester or a year off in between high school and college. With the time off, students travel, undertake volunteer projects abroad, or embark on working holidays. In 2007, 7 percent of university-bound U.K. students opted to take a gap year, according to the Universities and Colleges Admissions Services.
Why American’s would want to emulate any such practice as appears in Europe is beyond me, but it appears that some students would rather sit around and do nothing, wasting valuable time, instead of starting the next leg of their education as soon as possible.
But, I guess neither this lazy practice, nor the undue focus on Obama’s campaign, should surprise anyone where it comes to Franklin & Mashall college. If the attitude of Kabi Hartman, an advisor at the college, is any indication, American ideals aren’t something that motivates them.
“We’re more isolated, and we may not value learning other languages and cultures in the same way,” she said. “We have two weeks vacation here; over in Europe, they have six.”
Naturally, this “advisor” imagines American ways to be “isolated” and backward. And, laziness is on the menu as this woman advocates for more vacation time… and it being mandated by government, too, obviously, since that is what occurs in many places in Europe.
Oh, they are all about the need for “reflection,” easy “transitioning,” and taking “a break.” But, I wonder what they are taking a break from? Our high schools aren’t teaching much of anything anyway. What is so hard about their high school regimen that they need a break?
In fact, we are teaching so little to our high school kids that many colleges are finding that they need to institute remedial classes for incoming freshmen so that they are even able to understand the college classes they are signing up for. We fail to teach math, science, English skills, writing and history nearly across the board, so our kids aren’t being taxed very much as it is.
What could they POSSIBLY need a break from?
So, not only are we failing our children in high school, NOW we are teaching them that they deserve a break from the nothing that is their high school “education”! On top of that we are telling them that working for Obama is good for college credit but not bothering with the Republican side of the aisle. Not too partisan there, eh?
No wonder our schools are universally worthless.
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Stumble It!
June 16th, 2008 at 8:21 pm
I do not think a ‘gap’ year is lazy at all. If anything it is way too short.
Barely any 18 y/o is capable today of undertaking an old fashioned University education. Indeed America led the way in fatuous university degrees, and other countries have followed suit, dumbing down in a variety of modes.
Feminism isn’t alone in indoctrinating crap into kids but it has led he way for many other disciplines to let go of any semblence of ‘discipline’. The search for Truth has completely disappeared as it is now seen as too hard to pin down. One person’s ‘truth’ is not anothers for the first time in History. A University-level ‘paper’ can get marks for simple assertion. Whatever crap can be tempted out of immature minds is good enough for a pass. Whatever crap can be force fed into them is seen as ‘cutting edge’.
A three year degree starting at 18 is so basic these days and is a breeze for an active mind. It is a slow drip of crap mostly, interspersed with boozing and playtime. Strike that. It is playtime and boozing with an occasional burst of reluctanly undertaken and indolently completed ‘work’ on pre-cast AgitProp. Even twenty five years ago a three year degree could be completed with ease by a 25 y/o in 15 months, part time, while doing a full-time job. Today, any kid who puts in more than 12 hours study a week is considered ‘uncool’ or worse, suspected of being dim.
A basic degree in 1960 would be worth a PhD today.
No one is allowed to fail. Universities are ‘measured’ by quantity. Marking is a laugh. Plagiarism is rife. Lecturers are graded by popularity. The ‘hard’ lecturers get fewer students and their programs are dropped. Managerialism dictates mind and intellectual curiosity is suppressed. PC rules (to touch ever so gently on your Obama point).
“Be shown crap; chant it in Rap” is lauded as a modern teaching method. Its avant guarde. Its Post whatever.
I would restrict University education to those over 25. Let the idle little buggers get a real job in the real world for the years between 18 and 25. And bring University education back up to what it was. Challenging and rigorous. As it is now it is challenging only to a ten y/o.
June 17th, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Here’s an idea. Give the high school graduates a “gap 2 years”, and have them spend it in the military.