gdp's Comments

Highereducationquestionmark : Buy the Book

Sun, 7 Oct 2012 18:13:24 +0000

Thank you, Charles. It\\\'s rather amazing how people sometimes line up about the book. Among adjuncts, there\\\'s clear support. Among the tenured, it depends....The head of an adjuncts union at a community college in California said something very smart to me. \\\"What we need is a few less rights for the tenured and a few more for adjuncts.\\\" Of course, the disparity isn\\\'t the only thing wrong with the American Way of Higher Education, but it is at the core of a lot of what\\\'s wrong. It always amazes me that people who can be so strong for all kinds of social justice around the globe, don\\\'t see what\\\'s happening on their own Quad.

Highereducationquestionmark : Andrew Hacker Writes In The NEW YORK TIMES: "Is Algebra Necessary?"

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 12:58:51 +0000

Thanks for writing. Andrew has certainly opened up a firestorm of debate on thie issue. We appreciate your open/thinking tone. Many who wrote us were quite hysterical about it. It was than saying maybe football should just be a club sport. Best, CD

Highereducationquestionmark : ANDREW HACKER SPEAKS OUT IN LOCAL QUEENS COLLEGE NEWSPAPER

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 18:23:33 +0000

Our own view, which we put forward in "Higher Education?" is that the four years of post-secondary education would best be spent in a liberal arts education. We think 18 year olds are too young to be making lifetime commitments; that they should be sampling different ideas and trying out the teachings of our elders. Graduate school is a better place for making career choices. That said, I should identify that I teach in a graduate school of international affairs. So I have a bias. Still, as far as undergraduate major goes, at least international affairs can include many liberal arts courses--languages, anthropology, economics, religion, political science, sociology, statistics. What troubles Andrew and myself is 18 year olds opting to be engineers or business majors or food science concentrators. That's turning college into a trade school and our society can afford to do better.

Highereducationquestionmark : Spring Update from Claudia and Andrew

Sun, 22 Apr 2012 17:56:15 +0000

Hello: Thank you for our note. What we're doing is a book that we're tentatively calling, "The Math Mystique," and we're looking at everything about the way math is taught in our high schools and colleges. We're just starting to research the book together now--though Andrew has been working on it, on and off, gathering ideas for about a decade. We might like to be in touch with you down the track for some of your thoughts. Meanwhile, thank you so much for being as kind as to review "Higher Education?" on Powell's.com. It is gratifying to still, at this late stage, get these kind write-ups and we're thrilled that the book is still out there and encouraging much-needed discussion. Best, Claudia Dreifus

Highereducationquestionmark : Queens College Honors Andrew Hacker for Fifty Years of Teaching, Creates Scholarship Fund In His Nam

Sat, 24 Sep 2011 02:15:51 +0000

I hope its not too late to thank you for your kind words, Joshua. Andrew loves to teach, enjoys his students. Both of us can't understand why so many of our colleagues regard teaching as almost a...punishment. It's life-affirming work, an absolute joy.

Highereducationquestionmark : Opinion Piece in Los Angeles Times: August, 2011

Sat, 3 Sep 2011 03:00:36 +0000

Dear Mr. Moravec: Those of us who've been watching the events in California are horrified with how things have gone there. Every negative scenario seems to have been played out in the worst possible way for students and teachers. It would help if citizens lent their voices in a stronger way to the idea of public higher education and if top administrators and senior faculty responded with greater generousity to the crisis. . We wish you our personal best. CD

Highereducationquestionmark : The Student Loan Crisis: Andrew and Claudia's Op-Ed On The Atlantic.Com

Thu, 1 Sep 2011 14:29:36 +0000

Dear Gyan Central: It IS a shame. As a society, we should not be indenturing the next generation. That's wrong. Claudia Dreifus

Highereducationquestionmark : JOIN THE HIGHER EDUCATION DISCUSSION

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 21:37:50 +0000

Thanks for your note, CD

Highereducationquestionmark : The Self-Exam That Higher Education Would Rather Not Conduct: Commentary in the Chronicle of Higher

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:04:30 +0000

Dear Jeff Waite: Thanks for your note. It made our day. Best, Claudia D.

Highereducationquestionmark : Springing Into a New Phase for "Higher Education?"

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:20:06 +0000

Thank you, Kevin. The book is now out and in bookstores and we're getting a lot of terrific feedback. Let us know what you think of it with the additional chapter and updates. Best, Claudia Dreifus, August 15, 20011

Highereducationquestionmark : THE HACKER CRACKS COLBERT

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 17:17:38 +0000

As they say, "from your lips to the producer's ears." Or is that a paraphase. Jon Stewart, please calll.

Highereducationquestionmark : Interview with Andrew and Claudia Appears in September, 2011 Edition of the Reader's Digest

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 14:51:23 +0000

Dear Swampwiz: Your story is proof of a lot of what we were saying--and when you were in school, tuition and fees were half what they are now. At that stage, it was somewhat possible, though difficult, to make your way through with loans. Now, it's over the line--unless you find yourself a super well paying post. Our point is that freedom after college is worth more than prestige and that there are good educations to be found almost everywhere, though some lack that prestige label. MIT happens to be a great school. I like a lot of what happens there. It may be a special case. Nonetheless, graduating with no debt should be every students goal and there are some ways to do it.

Thanks for writing. We hope you'll take a look at the book and tell us what you think afterwards. CD

Highereducationquestionmark : Interview with Andrew and Claudia Appears in September, 2011 Edition of the Reader's Digest

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 02:38:49 +0000

Sounds like you did the best thing. MIT is very good. No debt is very good too. It means freedom for the next step. Thanks for writing. CD

Highereducationquestionmark : Interview with Andrew and Claudia Appears in September, 2011 Edition of the Reader's Digest

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:43:28 +0000

Thank you, Kathryn. We think student debt is one of the most important issues facing contemporary higher education. We appreciate your support. Best, Claudia

Highereducationquestionmark : Barnes and Noble Has Chapters of "Higher Education?" For Sale As $.99 Nook Mini Books

Mon, 8 Aug 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Dear Jeff: Thanks for your note. Andrew and I are tremendously interested in new forms of publishing, including this one. So we're looking fowarding to seeing how well these new "mini-books" work. Best, CD

Highereducationquestionmark : Claudia Interviews Stephen Hawking and Is Interviewed by Diane Rehm

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 20:02:49 +0000

Thank you, Iormina. You are living near a school we write about in the book, the Evergreen State College in Olympia. It's a marvelous school. CD

Highereducationquestionmark : Springing Into a New Phase for "Higher Education?"

Tue, 26 Apr 2011 16:01:25 +0000

Dear Kevin, kind of you to say so. We've been very gratified with the book's long life. And a trade paperback will make it more affordable and more widely available. Our readership is mostly students, parents and concerned faculty and administration, of which there are many. Thanks for writing. CD

Highereducationquestionmark : Bowling Green, Kentucky Daily News Reviews 'Higher Education?'

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:14:23 +0000

Thanks for writing, Joe. Harvard could afford to be entirely for free, if they followed the Cooper Union model. It's more a matter of commitment. They'd have to become more efficient and that would mean getting rid of some of the professorial indulgences they regularly engage in. But if they wanted to be a true meritocracy, they could do it. We think they should. As for our politics, we think higher ed reform should be taken off the left/right axis and just discussed on its own merits. We hope you'll take a look at the book and tell us what you thought of it after you've considered some of our arguments. Best, Claudia Dreifus

Highereducationquestionmark : About

Tue, 4 Jan 2011 16:18:14 +0000

Thank you David Wilk, you\\\'re a marvelous interviewer.

Highereducationquestionmark : BIO

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 04:06:16 +0000

Andrew enjoyed being on your show.