To find out that Kemba Walker, admittedly a great basketball player, obtained his Degree from UCONN in three, yes 3 years, without ever having read a book until he read "Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete" for an independent study class to obtain his UCONN Degree in Sociology?

Walker confirmed this was true, and said quote "You can write that. It is the first book I've ever read."

How in the hell does a kid get out of High School, no make that Middle School, no make that elementary school, without reading a book? Much less getting a college degree in three years! Even with the official dumbing down of America of Bush's No Child Left Behind, that would seem to be impossible! What about basic English classes? Are you kidding me?

Is anyone surprised? Sports fans don't care how you do it, as long as you WIN!

(04-19-2011 07:22 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  Is anyone surprised? Sports fans don't care how you do it, as long as you WIN!

You are absolutely right about sports fans. However, one would think that the University of Connecticut would have at least some pride about their academic standards. Nah!. Silly me to think that even minimum academic standards might stand in the way of winning football or basketball games!

They are all for academic$, as long as it doesn't get in the way of $port$man$hip.

I can almost guarantee you that there are many college students, not just athletes, who have never read "a book". Yes. I'm sure they read their assignments, probably on the computer, but books as we knew them, probably not. A sign of the times. When you see and hear some of the people running for political offices, it makes you wonder if any of the voters ever read a book, or anything else for that matter. "Don't need to read the book. I saw the movie".

(04-18-2011 10:52 PM)PTJR Wrote:  To find out that Kemba Walker, admittedly a great basketball player, obtained his Degree from UCONN in three, yes 3 years, without ever having read a book until he read "Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete" for an independent study class to obtain his UCONN Degree in Sociology?

Walker confirmed this was true, and said quote "You can write that. It is the first book I've ever read."

How in the hell does a kid get out of High School, no make that Middle School, no make that elementary school, without reading a book? Much less getting a college degree in three years! Even with the official dumbing down of America of Bush's No Child Left Behind, that would seem to be impossible! What about basic English classes? Are you kidding me?

I've never been a fan of the "no child left behind program," but the dumbing down of America started long before you ever heard of George Bush. It started with the feds getting involved in the public schools. Anything the feds take over are ****** up forever.l

(04-19-2011 10:35 AM)LRTrojan Wrote:  

(04-18-2011 10:52 PM)PTJR Wrote:  To find out that Kemba Walker, admittedly a great basketball player, obtained his Degree from UCONN in three, yes 3 years, without ever having read a book until he read "Forty Million Dollar Slaves: The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Black Athlete" for an independent study class to obtain his UCONN Degree in Sociology?

Walker confirmed this was true, and said quote "You can write that. It is the first book I've ever read."

How in the hell does a kid get out of High School, no make that Middle School, no make that elementary school, without reading a book? Much less getting a college degree in three years! Even with the official dumbing down of America of Bush's No Child Left Behind, that would seem to be impossible! What about basic English classes? Are you kidding me?

I've never been a fan of the "no child left behind program," but the dumbing down of America started long before you ever heard of George Bush. It started with the feds getting involved in the public schools. Anything the feds take over are ****** up forever.l

Kemba Walker is Exhibit "A" that it is possible to get out of High School without ever reading a book. But LRTrojan, as a former educator, aren't books still required to be read for an English class? Even if required it doesn't mean that a "student" will read them, but isn't that still at least a part of standard English courses?

And you are right about when bureaucracies get mixed up with education, etc. Things just go to the toilet. I guess No Child Left Behind just made dumbing down official policy.

It is a sad trend that very few youngsters today read, period. They watch.

(04-19-2011 11:24 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  It is a sad trend that very few youngsters today read, period. They watch.

And what is just as sad is that they don't talk, they text. And since the largely use abbreviations for text, they don't know how to write either.

(04-19-2011 11:12 AM)PTJR Wrote:  aren't books still required to be read for an English class? Even if required it doesn't mean that a "student" will read them, but isn't that still at least a part of standard English courses?

Yes.

Our modern brains are atrophied.

(04-19-2011 12:28 PM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  Our modern brains are atrophied.

Amedaled, maybe.

I am one to talk but you have to be able to write because 3 hours a day is probably email and responsing to email.

(04-19-2011 09:11 AM)MICHAELSPAPPY Wrote:  They are all for academic$, as long as it doesn't get in the way of $port$man$hip.

Michaelspappy, you hit the nail on the head. Looks like Calhoun and UCONN are getting concerned about this, not because of academics for academics sake, but because of $$$$$$. It might personally cost Calhoun $100,000 and UCONN another basketball "scholarship".

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=6439464