Dan Viscariello
Professor Salkever
3/3/17
American universities have changed in many ways since Harvard first opened its doors in 1636. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, practically all other American universities were using the liberal arts model Harvard began with. This liberal arts model took a classical approach, with curriculum focusing on English, science, history, philosophy, and theology. A liberal arts education sought to shape well-rounded individuals by growing both their minds and character. Institutions were small, and faculty and students lived in a tightly-knit community. This changed when the Land Grant Act of 1862 was passed, allowing universities to expand with relative ease. New areas of study came along with this …show more content…
Universities began to obsess over readily observable results, like research productivity, over intangible benefits, like a student’s grasp on justice. Considering today’s differences in educational policy, it should be no surprise German universities were the ones to cause this change. Germany’s education system is much more result-focused whereas the US is much more growth-focused. So, to answer the question presented at the end of the first paragraph: it depends on how you look at it. Germany’s early determination method may be very efficient, but it is easy to see how people could suffer as a result. To me, it is sad to reduce a human being to essentially a piece of machinery for life at just ten or twelve years old. A curriculum model focusing on growth is not only more rewarding, but also more practical. The German education definitely has some appealing characteristics, primarily that students gradate ready to work in the real world. This is certainly an upside at first, but what about when the methods in that field change? These students have only been taught how to do something, not why, or how they are actually doing it. An individual that receives a more thought provoking education with classes teaching them to think differently is much more inclined to see things in new ways, and solve problems more
Professor Salkever
3/3/17
American universities have changed in many ways since Harvard first opened its doors in 1636. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, practically all other American universities were using the liberal arts model Harvard began with. This liberal arts model took a classical approach, with curriculum focusing on English, science, history, philosophy, and theology. A liberal arts education sought to shape well-rounded individuals by growing both their minds and character. Institutions were small, and faculty and students lived in a tightly-knit community. This changed when the Land Grant Act of 1862 was passed, allowing universities to expand with relative ease. New areas of study came along with this …show more content…
Universities began to obsess over readily observable results, like research productivity, over intangible benefits, like a student’s grasp on justice. Considering today’s differences in educational policy, it should be no surprise German universities were the ones to cause this change. Germany’s education system is much more result-focused whereas the US is much more growth-focused. So, to answer the question presented at the end of the first paragraph: it depends on how you look at it. Germany’s early determination method may be very efficient, but it is easy to see how people could suffer as a result. To me, it is sad to reduce a human being to essentially a piece of machinery for life at just ten or twelve years old. A curriculum model focusing on growth is not only more rewarding, but also more practical. The German education definitely has some appealing characteristics, primarily that students gradate ready to work in the real world. This is certainly an upside at first, but what about when the methods in that field change? These students have only been taught how to do something, not why, or how they are actually doing it. An individual that receives a more thought provoking education with classes teaching them to think differently is much more inclined to see things in new ways, and solve problems more