Universities and the Next Generation

One of my favorite rss reads is the Telegraph Opinion page. The British really know how to write. And they write in that witty, self-effacing way I find particularly agreeable. I can't say I always agree with their opinions, which tend to be really, really opinionated, to say the least. But here's an interesting piece on the direction that the University ought to be heading. Again, much to disagree with here, but much to think about, too.

The gist of the article is that universities should be thinking about offering a few practical trade degrees--degrees in plumbing and how to be an electrician and the like. It's an interesting proposition--one that has come up in Cal State, at least, before. In its earlier manifestation at the Cal State the proposal seemed to be to let the UCs do the "traditional" academics while the Cal States became the "trade schools"--a particularly abhorrent idea for those of us who already work in the Cal State system in traditional fields. (After all, I have my job to think about here.)

But the idea of offering a few more practical degrees and classes may not be so bad. There is always the possibility that such a sea change might "dumb down" the university: the instigation of the opinion piece in the Telegraph, in fact, was the introduction of some lame-brained course called "Surfing Studies" into some southern British university. But it doesn't have to be that way.

The problem is adapting one's classes to practicality. What is practical about literature, after all? Should it be practical?

More to think about, I guess.