Harvard sciences and engineering

[sakky]

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Sakky, Harvard is not High School. (could not resist, since you mentioned HS twice!

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<p>Sure, college isn’t high school. One could consider that to be a good or a bad feature: I know plenty of people who did very well in high school and then did terribly in college because they fit poorly in the environment of the college they chose. </p>

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What works best for most may not work best for all. So maybe the question should be “Are lectures good enough?” to which the answer seems to be yes.

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<p>I think that’s a telling statement in and of itself. Is the real goal to just be “good enough” or to be the best as possible for as many students as possible? I prefer the latter (although obviously most schools operationalize the former). </p>

<p>Hence, one could consider a setup where large lecture classes are available to those who want them, and small lecture courses are available to those who want that. In other words, you wouldn’t need to have a one-size-fits-all system.</p>

<p>Barring that, I could envision a system where Harvard students could cross-reg with some smaller, teaching-oriented LAC’s. Lest you scoff at such an arrangement as unworkable, allow me to point out that MIT has a full cross-reg arrangement with Wellesley. Hence, I am sure that Harvard could do the same. </p>

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To the degree that more “resources” are invested in teaching these former large lecture courses, there will be fewer “resources” to invest in other activities. In other words, the issue is a resource allocation and optimization issue.

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<p>With a $36 billion endowment, somehow I don’t think that Harvard is resource-constrained. </p>

<p>But like I said, if you want a quick fix, Harvard doesn’t have to build anything. It would just have to strike up the same cross-reg arrangement with Wellesley that MIT has, and I doubt that would be very hard or expensive to do. It could even take advantage of the existing “infrastructure”. For example, it would not be much of an extra burden for the MIT-Wellesley bus to make an additional stop at Harvard Square as it’s obviously already going to Cambridge anyway. </p>

<p>Now, is that proposal as good as if Harvard were to also run a bunch of smaller classes? No. But, hey, it’s better than the current arrangement. Those Harvard students who really really hate large lectures would be able to cross-reg. </p>

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Your last paragraph is really about learning styles, and that is a topic far broader than what we speak of here. But I think it fair to say that a student who understands oneself, and 18 year olds should have some understanding, should know enough to decide whether the teaching style of a particular university’s course of study of interest to the student matches the student’s learning style. In other words, if the kid can’t learn in lecture settings (for which size is not the issue, BTW), then that kid should look for schools that don’t use lectures. (maybe St Johns?)

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I agree with newmassdad – it’s ultimately up to the student to figure out which school is right for him. The school’s job is to be as up front as possible about what it offers so that the student can make an informed decision. Harvard doesn’t do a perfect job at that, but the existence of big lecture classes is no secret. Plus, every applicant gets one-on-one time with an alum to ask questions.

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<p>Look, nobody is denying that the student bears some responsibility for determining which environment is right. Of course that is true.</p>

<p>But what I am saying is that the school also bears some responsibility. It is unfair to lay it all on the shoulders of the student. That would be like telling a guy who joins the Army and is wounded in Iraq that, hey, you should have known that being a soldier is dangerous and now that you’re hurt, too bad for you, that’s your problem, so now you don’t deserve good medical care because you shouldn’t have joined in the first place. I believe it is the duty of the Army to provide the best possible care of each of its wounded soldiers. Similarly, I believe that Harvard should be responsible for providing the best possible education for each of its students. Either that, or just don’t admit all of those students. {Just like if the Army can’t provide high quality care for all of its soldiers, then maybe it shouldn’t bring in so many soldiers.}</p>