now, how to convey that institutions of higher learning might, in some aspect, be of didactic significance
It amuses me that one note of feedback I got on this draft of my essay on how Humboldtian ideals are largely forgotten in the actual practices of modern academia is that I do not specify how this relates to the overall subject matter of the course: adult learning. more specifically, that I do not specify how the notion of adult learning is relevant to the institution at play
there is something beautifully recursive about it
I still remember that survey
it asked why I chose that uni in particular, and listed a wide range of options, most of them flattering and strategically useful to be able to say the students said were the reason
I wrote in "because I live here, and it's a big plus not having to move to get an edumacation"
still makes me chuckle, it sure does
For a moment I thought it was some sort of "hey, we noticed you've written five theses within the confines of our pedagogic practice, do you, like, have any input on it?" line of inquiry
It never is
Today I got a big letter from the university. The envelope boldly proclaimed it came from the top brass, the VCs office itself, and thus had to be important, maybe even life changing. Why else would they send a letter to lil' old me?
alas
It contained a commemorative plastic tray, as a thank you gift for filling out the alumni survey
Me: ah yes, another course where the main goal is to write an essay. I can safely postpone efforting until the deadline looms closer
Course: in this module, we will focus specifically on the gradual refinement of an essay from idea to finished text, with many & frequent check-ins along the way
Me: ...bismillah noooo!
some fun philosophical time travel shenanigans
what if Aristotle's name was given in jest, as an act of mockery?
https://longersky.com/2020/11/11/the-virtues-of-living-memory/
how to be actively non-productive
I vaguely remember posting this here a while back, but I reckon the combo of new users and water under bridges might make for a renewed relevance. thus:
how to avoid accidentally graduating, a cavalcade of weaponized self-sabotage strategies
http://streetremix.blogspot.com/2019/04/how-to-avoid-graduating-guide-for-phd.html
I am become the skateboard academic, surveyor of words