Saturday, January 25, 2014

Glenn Reynolds

C-SPAN2 BookTV. Forty minutes. "The New School" How the Information Age Will Save American Education from Itself" at Manhattan Institute for Public Research. New York City Harvard Club.

For the video you might need to type in [glenn reynolds] into their search box upper left, then a small window opens.

It was neat-o seeing Glenn Reynolds on television today speaking to serious people and pleasantly without contention or animus. He delivers a very good talk, better than his brief videos, I bet his vocal coach told him bring it down an octave. I sure enjoyed listening, and the questions were good too at the end, he handles that all very well, but they are not saved here. He has his tour down pat. He opens and closes with "something that cannot go on forever will not go on forever."  It is positive, and it is helpful and you will be smarter by listening. Who am I kidding? You already heard it several times over, it's just fun seeing him say it again like that all at once. He is getting very good at this book promotion regimen.

I like his ideas and his organization of them because he provides positive solutions. He is describing more so than criticizing, although his criticisms about administrative bloat are harsh, and from a personal standpoint he validates a few of my own ideas about good shortcuts and provides a lot more positive material when talking about these things, beyond, "Oh man, I sure am glad I'm not your age facing all this." So lame when unaccompanied with possible answers.  Glenn Reynolds has helped me  in talking to people on this subject and to feel more positive and hopeful about their own future without taking on ridiculous debilitating debt.

8 comments:

deborah said...

Very effective speech.

deborah said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Lem the artificially intelligent said...

"Change can be pretty frightening, especially for those of us who are doing all right as it is, and, a lot of lives get lashed to pieces as the distribution curve flails around desperately seeking a new equilibrium."

Arthur Allen Leff

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I made a clip of what seemed to me to be the most "frightening" part of his presentation.

Creative destruction.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Couldn't these schools expect to be bailed out by the federal government just like wall street and the banks.

Hospitals will probably be in line for bailouts too.

deborah said...

Glenn talked about administrative bloat in colleges, and mentioned Benjamin Ginsberg. His book, The Administration Ate My Tuition, is mentioned in this article:

Bloomberg

"Trustees at the University of Connecticut’s flagship campus in Storrs, known for its NCAA champion Huskies basketball teams, said last year they were reviewing the level of administrators’ pay. The move followed a controversy over the then campus police chief, who received $256,000 annually -- more than New York City’s police commissioner.

UConn has a $312,000-a-year provost and 13 vice, deputy and associate vice provosts, including one overseeing “engagement” who makes almost $275,000 a year. The university has seven vice presidents and 13 deans. President Susan Herbst, who receives a $500,000 salary, has a $199,000 chief of staff.

UConn’s police chief had broad responsibilities, and he was replaced with a $165,000-a-year official with a narrower job, said Stephanie Reitz, a spokeswoman for the campus."

chickelit said...

I think online teaching is poised for incredible growth. I'd like to be part of it. I think accreditation will be the big hurdle. The bricks and mortarboard schools will do what the can to assure that anyone not associated with an established pricey alternative is not accredited or recognized, even as they used the tools. What it will take will be examples of success stories.

deborah said...

I think online colleges like Western Governors University are already established as non-diploma mill schools with good reputations. But I'm not sure that's what you meant.