<p>This article was written by a Babson Prof and her take on her students. For those who did not get a chance to read this…</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/833657-my-lazy-american-students-boston-globe.html?highlight=babson+students[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/833657-my-lazy-american-students-boston-globe.html?highlight=babson+students</a></p>
<p>All discussion on the article is on the Thread that I posted. I was very surprised a Prof wrote this. It also said she wrote some comments about her article and why she wrote it.</p>
<p>Lazy Americans…it really is an uniformed professor.</p>
<p>Here is another great response to the article responding to the Globe article. </p>
<p>WELLESLEY
Lazy American students? Uninformed professor!
E-mail|Link|Comments (97)Posted December 31, 2009 11:37 AM
By Lauren Garey, Guest Columnist</p>
<p>As an American student at Babson College, Kara Miller’s article “My Lazy American Students,” published on December 21st in the Boston Globe, left me flabbergasted.</p>
<p>Initially I responded with anger as I viewed the article as a personal insult, an undoubted detriment to Babson’s reputation. With time, I recognized this article to be an opportunity to share my experience as an American student at Babson and ultimately, to research the assertions made regarding the differences between international and American students in an academic setting.</p>
<p>I respectfully disagree with Miller’s viewpoint of the way in which American students approach learning. Miller writes, “Teaching in college, especially one with a large international student population, has given me a stark — and unwelcome — illustration of how Americans’ work ethic often pales in comparison with their peers from overseas.”</p>
<p>Miller utilizes her individual class results as a means of validity for her assertions; however, these classes represent far too small of a sampling to be either appropriate or indicative of student bodies at US colleges as a whole.</p>
<p>In fact, Miller’s spring teaching schedule comprises of three introductory liberal arts courses at a business-specific college. Therefore, although I do not dispute her individual class results, I believe that a larger, better-rounded perspective needs to be analyzed in order to prove the validity of the assertions made regarding American students.</p>
<p>Miller incorrectly believes “too many American students simply lack the basics.” She supports this belief with findings from a 2002 National Geographic-Roper survey that “found that most 18- to 24-year-olds could not find Afghanistan, Iraq, or Japan on a map, ranking them behind counterparts in Sweden, Great Britain, Canada, Italy, Japan, France, and Germany.” Not only is the survey dated, but there is also no proof that the 510 individuals surveyed were college students or graduates. Therefore, this survey is not indicative of the mental capability and level of intelligence of American students at US colleges.</p>
<p>As an American and a sophomore at Babson College, I hold my academic performance to be of the utmost importance. I attend Babson, a prestigious private college, because I know the school fosters and encourages an ever-expanding community that values academics, diversity, and intellectual stimulation.</p>
<p>Miller’s assertion that students from China, India, Thailand, Brazil, and Venezuela “respect for their professors — and for knowledge itself — is palpable” because they “listen intently to everything I say, whether in class or during office hours, and try to engage in the conversation” directly implies that Americans do not engage in the active work of learning to the same degree. In fact, she continues on to say “Americans, meanwhile, text one another under their desks (certain they are sly enough to go unnoticed), check e-mail, decline to take notes, and appear tired and disengaged.” This vast generalization portrays Babson in an entirely wrong light.</p>
<p>Babson boasts a motivated student body that focuses on the future and in doing so, views their professors and chosen curriculum as assets, as ways to gain valuable knowledge for future endeavors. My experience in the classroom has proven to me that not only the students energetically and effectively engage in the active work of learning, but also the teachers.</p>
<p>One important lesson Babson has taught me is the importance of identifying a problem and a solution before presentation, something that Professor Miller failed to do. In fact, in Babson’s well-renown freshman course FME, Foundations of Management and Entrepreneurship, students are taught to approach a business idea by moving through the following stages: Rocket Pitch (identifying an opportunity, a target market, and a business model), Proof of Concept (qualitative and quantitative research and preliminary conclusions), Feasibility (pro-forma financial statements, marketing strategy, and defined target markets, and business goals).</p>
<p>Professor Miller has entered into the first stage of this process by identifying a perceived problem; however, she has not delved far enough into the idea. As a result, people not only do not believe her assertions, but are also offended by them. If Professor Miller truly feels that American students neither respect their professors nor the acquisition of knowledge, then what does she believe should be done to remedy this problem?</p>
<p>In an attempt to assuage the impact of the allegations, Miller writes “At their best, American students marry knowledge and innovation, resulting in some astoundingly creative work. But creativity without knowledge — a common phenomenon — is just not enough.” With all due respect, I believe that this aptly categorizes the article at hand.</p>
<p>Miller wrote a creative op-ed piece without the necessary knowledge, research, and factual evidence to support her generalizations and assertions, and as she states, this is just not enough. As evident from the subsequent commentary and follow ups, this topic clearly interests a plethora of individuals and college campuses. In response to the public reaction, I believe Professor Miller should be held personally responsible for the completion of a thorough, well-researched analysis of the academic differences existing between American and international students. By completing this work, Miller will, at her best, be able to marry creativity and knowledge by using tangible data instead of over generalizations.</p>
<p>Here is a great response from the Dean of Babson regarding the Boston Globe Article. It is on the web on Babson’s blogs by the Dean.</p>
<p>Dean’s Digest | Home
Musings from the mind and travels of Babson’s undergraduate dean Dennis Hanno
The Boston Globe Column
Posted December 23, 2009 at 10:03 am by: dhanno
A column penned by journalist (and Babson adjunct professor) Kara Miller has generated much conversation on Boston.com and filled my inbox with more emails than I have ever received on any one topic. Miller reportedly develops the premise of her piece, loosely captured by the title “My Lazy American Students,” from her recent experience in the classroom here at Babson. There are a few important points I’d like to make about this piece.</p>
<p>First, remember that this is not a fact-based article, but rather an opinion piece that appeared on the op/ed page of the print edition of the Globe. We are all entitled to our opinions and I would steadfastly defend Miller’s right to express hers. However, it is also important to remember that the views expressed are only her own and not those of the institution, the faculty as a whole, or even some recognized subset of the institution such as a division or department. As such, her personal opinions as they relate to Babson are based only on her limited and brief experience here.</p>
<p>The public expression of an opinion always invites debate and discussion, and I am confident that Miller would welcome this. Opinions can be shaped by experiences and facts. As experiences are shared and data is analyzed, opinions will shift and stronger arguments will be formed to support existing opinions. Certainly the experiences that have been shared in the responses to the original piece suggest that there are strong opposing views. For my part, having worked in higher education for over twenty years, it would be easy for me to produce anecdote after anecdote – and real data derived from the performance of students at Babson and elsewhere – that would illustrate the folly of ascribing the term “lazy” to any one category of students.</p>
<p>But this leads to the more important point that Miller’s piece raises for me. While Miller notes that, “…it would be wrong to suggest that all American students are the same,” it is apparent that she makes (and is perceived by others to be making) broad generalizations about individual students on the basis of membership in a certain group or category. That is not the way that Babson operates, and the outcry suggests that many people understand the need to treat students (people) as individuals and evaluate each on his or her own merits. Do we all often fall prey to drawing easy conclusions about others based on the few characteristics that might be readily apparent to us? I’m sure that the answer is “yes” for most of us, and Miller has succeeded in creating a spirited dialogue about the need to stay away from developing stereotypes and lumping people in categories. It may be an unintended positive consequence of the generalizations she draws in her piece, but Miller has clearly struck a nerve and helped us to engage in an important dialogue. We cannot have this dialogue enough – recognizing and reaffirming our commitment to an inclusive community will only strengthen us.</p>
<p>The original piece and the many resulting comments on it cannot change one irrefutable fact: Babson is one of the most diverse academic communities in this country, with dedicated students, faculty and staff who are highly motivated and driven to excellence. This is supported by fact after fact and anecdote after anecdote: highly selective admission, one of the highest percentages of international and U.S. multicultural students in the country, phenomenal success in the job market, Fulbright scholars, student service projects in all corners of the globe, and the list could go on for pages. To achieve this kind of success, we have actively sought out the best and brightest from all corners of the globe and from many different backgrounds. What we have at Babson is truly unique – one of the most diverse and talented groups of students in the world. You can’t find another group like it anywhere.</p>
<p>I’m fortunate to have a big picture view of Babson that is developed from the opportunity I have to get to know and work with almost every undergraduate on this campus. It is clearly not a place for lazy students – American or otherwise. It is a place where students are challenged and a place that values the diversity of opinions and experiences that individuals bring to the community. This is what makes Babson strong, exciting and thriving. While I certainly don’t agree with the conclusions reached by Miller, I’m excited to engage in the important dialogue her opinion has spurred. The dialogue will be hard work and must include the entire community, but I know we are all up to the challenge!</p>