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[bstevens]

Re: So Much for the Information Age

Your frustration is shared by many, including Jay Leno.  You have the solution in your statement of the problem.  If these items and other current events were on the SAT or on the tests that are required for No Child Left Behind, the students would be much more likely to know the answers. Their driving motivation is, "Is this going to be on the test?"  But in the Information Age, there's so much information that nobody can decide which "factoids" to put on the test, so they put none.  Even in the stated course outcomes that I have seen as a part of many colleges' assessment programs, "knowing facts" is a very rare desired outcome.  I'm curious: is this in your own course outcomes?

[daniel_von_flanagan]

Two comments:

(1) If undergraduates took more traditional courses (like World Civ), instead of boutique courses like "Secrecy: Forbidden Knowledge", they might be better prepared for broadly understanding the world around them.

(2) The writer acts like lack of world knowledge or current affairs is a new thing among college students.  Shortly after Mao Tse-Tung died, I was in a conversation about his death at a Very Selective college known for its political activism.  One student had no idea that he had died; another had no idea of who he was.  I think that a spotty understanding of the world is fairly typical for 18-21-year-olds, and has been for many many years. - DvF

[hmaria1609]

Alas, the symptom of overemphasized standardized testing!
When I was high school sophomore, my US History teacher would discuss current news as part of class.  I liked it.

[fritzc]

Given a choice between Professor Gup's obvious 'rank partisanship' and that of Bill O'Reilly, I think most students would prefer to watch the latter - at least he's entertaining.