AKA Review– April 8, 2022

From The New York Times:
College Became the Default. Let’s Rethink That.
By John McWhorter
This columnist extends the argument of Bard College President, Leon Botstein, that our current model of high school is from a time when teenagers were less intellectually mature than now, and childhood education can stop at 10th grade, when, he believes, students are ready for the richer content of an “early college” education. McWhorter elaborates that “we should also understand that just as some kids at 16 are ready for a college education, many that age are ready to take their places in the working world.” He acknowledges that we think of four years of high school and four years of college as normal because it’s what we know, before asserting that, “we could be a society of solidly educated people if we improved and bolstered public education while reclassifying a college education as a choice among many.” Read this article

From The Chronicle of Higher Education:
The University in Ruins
By Johann N. Neem
Although a terrible title, this article is interesting and provocative. It places Johns Hopkins University President Ronald Daniels’ book, What Universities Owe Democracy, on a “third path” between handwringing over the demise of the 19th century university that once spoke with cultural authority, and today’s much-heralded “rise of anytime, anyplace, consumer-driven, unbundled, personalized education.” In Daniels’ view universities must “have four essential functions: providing access that encourages social mobility; educating democratic citizens; creating expert knowledge; and encouraging dialogue across difference.” Only by pursuing these ends, Daniels argues, will universities reconnect to their higher civic purposes and rescue themselves “from a skeptical public, tight-fisted policy makers, and culture warriors on and off campus.” Read this article

From Foreign Policy:
Americans Have Never Wanted the Truth
By Vivian Schiller
While fake news feels like a recent plague on legitimate journalism, history tells us that readers have been far more titillated by fiction than truth since the first American newspapers in the 1690s. Whether embellishing a mundane story to gin up readership or disseminating a scandalous story for political gain, journalists have long had an unsteady relationship with facts. There are no simple solutions. Some argue that if journalists relinquish their claim of unbiased reporting, call out false facts and outright lies, and even make their own opinions known, readers will more than capable of drawing their own conclusions. Read this article

From Psych:
Engaging with an artwork leaves you and the art transformed
By Miranda Anderson
In this deep dive into the human experience, the author explores how art can alter one’s perceptions and interactions with the world while simultaneously impacting the art itself. Whether performance art, video, literature, or fine art, each viewer draws different conclusions about and associations to a piece of work, changing it to fit their perception. New ideas brought forth from art can lead to unique trajectories and association networks enabling further thoughts and values to come forth continuing the creative cycle. Read this article