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Background in Product Development - Custom Software
and in Higher Education |
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Have
worked with companies developing products in custom software for about 9
years, primarily in the areas of geographic information systems,
petroleum exploration, and data management. Also can place that experience in
the context of other industries. For example, worked for 4 years with mass
market hardware and software. Background
in higher education includes teaching in diverse community colleges in
Virginia and Texas full time for 10 years and for many years part-time.
Selected for programs at the University of Virginia (focusing on the
community college) and at Texas Tech University (focusing on the management
of change). Wrote a dissertation on the development of the junior college in
the early 1900s, applying Raymond E. Callahan's "cult of
efficiency" in the public high school to the development of the junior
college. Have been collecting and examining varied sources in education,
especially on the changes that seem to be happening with our students. |
Although many textbooks
cover the development of the nation at the turn of the century just after 1900,
two long-used sources are useful in understanding the context for the beginning
of the standards movement, the beginning of the regulatory system in the United
States and its connection with the standards movement in industry, the rise of
experts, and the focus on efficiency:
·
Raymond E.
Callahan. Education and the Cult of Efficiency: A Study of the Social Forces
that Have Shaped the Administration of the Public Schools. University of Chicago
Press, 1962.
·
Robert Wiebe. Search
for Order, 1877-1920. Hill and Wang, 1966
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On the scientific method “The theory’s advocates
were convinced that the process of becoming an expert, of immersing oneself
in the scientific method, eradicated petty passions and narrow ambitions,
just as it eradicated faults in reasoning.” (p. 161) |
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On the rise of the expert
in the “new framework of politics” “It was the expert who
benefited most directly from the new framework of politics. The more
intricate such fields as the law and the sciences became, the greater the
need for men with highly developed skills. The more complex the competition
for power, the more organizational leaders relied on experts to decipher and
to prescribe.” (p. 174) |
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On scientific management “[A]nother young
specialty, scientific management [associated with Frederick Taylor], had been
born in the mist of modern industrial complexity. It sought the largest output
from workers with the least waste and cost.” (p. 151) |
Click here for the chart showing all 7 systems from
storefront retail to higher education.
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Applies to… |
Overview of the Issue Plus a Link to Sources |
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The issues are frequently
identified as general problems in our students. Click on the link for the
source of the quotation:
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Chart item 1 on literacy and chart item 10c on how literacy has
changed over time. |
Replaced with the current 2012
Presentation link on change overtime in literacy |
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Chart item 1 on literacy and why a decline in literacy could have so
many consequences |
Replaced with
the current 2012
Presentation link on how reading and learning are connected Example:
side by side with
the source they said they used, 3 common examples of what students
believe is evidence (proof). The 3 examples show students who cited pages of
the source and apparently expected high points for: §
Detailed
description of things that do not
exist §
Statements
about one subject but the source is about another subject §
Statements
that are not only inaccurate but also the opposite of the cited page |
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These recent
articles reflect some of the issues:
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For another example, see “Q&A: College Anyone? City seeking
$1 million prize,” published online 5/20/2011 and in the print edition
5/21/2011. The article covers how the “nonprofit CEOs for Cities is
sponsoring the Talent Dividend Prize to
boost college graduation by 1 percentage point nationally, which, in turn, is
expected to spur economic activity.” The interview with Catherine Clark
Mosbacher who heads the Center for Houston's Future included that 28.3% of
“Houston-area adults age 25 and older have a four-year degree.” The “issue is
that most of those are not homegrown. We're importing a lot of talent. What
we want to do is to allow the kids who are here to gain those degrees and
then keep them here.” Click here for
the article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7574729.html
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Multiple sources over the
last five years have raised concerns for our nation’s future, focusing on 2
broad problems:
For a link with multiple
sources, including of the quotations above, and how to find them, click here. In the last years, Justice
Sandra Day O’Conner added to those expressing concerns: “’We face difficult
challenges at home and abroad…. Meanwhile divisive rhetoric and a culture of sound bites threaten to
drown out rational dialogue and debate. We cannot afford to continue to
neglect the preparation of future generations for active and informed citizenship.”
Entering the bolded phrase in an Internet search results in many websites
quoting Justice O’Connor. For more on the National Assessment of Educational
Progress, click here: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/.
For information on her efforts to reduce the problems, see http://www.icivics.org/ |
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For
information and sources on measurement and mismeasurement of change over
time, click here. |
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Several sources examine
evaluation of faculty by students and its consequences. Click here
for quotations from two sources, including the historian William O’Neill’s
referring to faculty evaluation by students as a “faculty/student
nonaggression pact.” |
For
information or problems with this link, please email using the email address
below.
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WCJC Department: |
History – Dr. Bibus |
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Contact Information: |
281.239.1577 or bibusc@wcjc.edu |
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Last Updated: |
2012 -06/04 |
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WCJC Home: |