Santorum Steps In It...........Again

[dgs49]

The germ of truth inRick Santorum's rant:

“A Crisis of Competence - The Corrupting Effect of Political Activism in the University of California” (April 2012), a report prepared for the Regents of the University of California By the California Association of Scholars, a Division of the National Association of Scholars. Relevant excerpts:


[referring to the University of California] “…The findings of these studies match all too well the specific complaints that are now commonly heard about the manifestations of a politicized higher education: that requirements for coursework in American history and institutions have been dropped , that writing courses often stress writing far less than tendentious political topics…”

“The California State University system (CSU) is a laudable exception to this generalization. All but three of the more than twenty campuses of the CSU system require American History and Institutions as an essential part of their curricula. But the situation in UC is very different: not a single UC campus has such a requirement. In fact, on four of the nine general campuses, a student can achieve a bachelor’s degree without doing any coursework in science, mathematics, a foreign language, economics, literature, or the history and institutions of their country. Those four include the Berkeley campus. By contrast, every single one of the CSU campuses requires coursework in science and mathematics. To be sure, UC requires a year of U.S. history in high school for undergraduate admissions, but University of California level instruction ought to be on a completely different level – why otherwise would students need to go on to a university at all if high school coursework is equivalent?”

So where Rick said that the courses are not available, what he may have read is that the courses are generally not required in the University of California system. If you even gloss through this 87 page report you will find that though Rick was factually in error in what he said, if he had taken one of his leisurely afternoons to read and assimilate this report, and articulated its findings better, his statements would have been even more poignant, but not substantively different.

These UC schools are teaching a lot of politically correct, vacuous, anti-American bullshit.

But of course we all knew that anyway.

Carry on.

[Scooter]

So what he said was complete bullshit, and you are defending him by pointing to something that bears no resemblance to what he actually said.

[dales]

Having a niece who is about to obtain a BA in the CSU system, what you claim is flat out wrong.................dgs/49.

Apart from wrong-headed narrow opinions concerning the CU and CSU systems, do you have any first-hand knowledge about higher education in CALIFORNIA?

Thought not.

[Grim Reaper]

So where Rick said that the courses are not available, what he may have read is that the courses are generally not required in the University of California system. If you even gloss through this 87 page report you will find that though Rick was factually in error in what he said, if he had taken one of his leisurely afternoons to read and assimilate this report, and articulated its findings better, his statements would have been even more poignant, but not substantively different.

There is a very big difference between saying the courses aren't available at all and saying that they're simply not required.

Mr. Santorum is making a mountain out of a molehill and you're defending his mistake.

[dgs49]

Those of you who speak English fluently would probably understand the expression "a grain of truth." UC grads, perhaps not.

The expression is used to describe a statement or other communication which is largely wrong, but which has some tangential relationship to something that is true, or contains a particle of truth amidst a generally false statement. The expression is normally used in disparagement of the original statement or communication.

To point out to me that the original statement is incorrect is...well...idiotic, as my posting does not claim that Rick was correct, merely that there was a real basis for his incorrect statement - he didn't make it up, he simply got it wrong.

I was once told that motocross was the most physically demanding sport in the world. I later found out that the speaker had read an article (which I later read) that said that motocross is the most physically demanding MOTOR sport in the world. This is what is meant by "a grain of truth." The statement was wrong, but traceable to a (arguably) true source.

Did I read correctly above that there is a poster who has a niece who is about to graduate from a college in the CSU system, and based on this one, almost totally unrelated fact, concludes that criticisms of the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA are invalid?

Nice thought process. Must be a UC grad.

One does not have to attend a UC college or a Cal State college to read an authoritative article on them and draw rational conclusions, based on the data and the cources cited in the article. I have the impression that MIT is a pretty good school for math, science, and engineering, yet I've never set foot on its campus. I could be wrong, I suppose.

[Scooter]

It's like the difference between saying "the U.S. does not require its citizens to practice any religion" and "the U.S. does not permit its citizens to practice any religion". The latter does not contain a "grain of truth" just because both of them mention the U.S. and religion. It is simply flat out wrong. Yet when Santorum makes an equally ridiculous statement, you point to a complete different statement which is (allegedly) true, and conclude that he was "sort of" correct after all.

[dales]

Did I read correctly above that there is a poster who has a niece who is about to graduate from a college in the CSU system, and based on this one, almost totally unrelated fact, concludes that criticisms of the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA are invalid?

Nice thought process. Must be a UC grad.

Yes, I realize you were discussing the UC system.

The point I made still stands, unless you HAVE FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE OF HIGHER EDUCATION IN CALIFORNIA (via the CSU system or UC system) better to shut one's pie hole.



The following statements might have a "grain of truth" or not.

"All people from CA are dope-addled misfits who have taken navel gazing to a high art."

"All people from PA are insufferable, heartless snobs"...................comes to mind.

[Grim Reaper]

To point out to me that the original statement is incorrect is...well...idiotic, as my posting does not claim that Rick was correct, merely that there was a real basis for his incorrect statement - he didn't make it up, he simply got it wrong.

What Mr. Santorum had wasn't a grain of truth. It wasn't even a badly photocopied picture of a grain of truth. It was an outright lie that required a complete restructuring in order to barely match up with reality.

[Rick]

To point out to me that the original statement is incorrect is...well...idiotic, as my posting does not claim that Rick was correct, merely that there was a real basis for his incorrect statement - he didn't make it up, he simply got it wrong.

Sorry Dave I speak English however this makes no sense to me...

[BoSoxGal]

“The California State University system (CSU) is a laudable exception to this generalization. All but three of the more than twenty campuses of the CSU system require American History and Institutions as an essential part of their curricula. But the situation in UC is very different: not a single UC campus has such a requirement. In fact, on four of the nine general campuses, a student can achieve a bachelor’s degree without doing any coursework in science, mathematics, a foreign language, economics, literature, or the history and institutions of their country. Those four include the Berkeley campus. By contrast, every single one of the CSU campuses requires coursework in science and mathematics. To be sure, UC requires a year of U.S. history in high school for undergraduate admissions, but University of California level instruction ought to be on a completely different level – why otherwise would students need to go on to a university at all if high school coursework is equivalent?”

If I go to UC Berkeley to major in Art History and received credit for my high school AP courses in Calculus, Biology and French, I don't need any math, science or foreign language. I've already taken American history in HS (and likely middle school & grade school, too) and my general requirements could be chosen from psychology, sociology, philosophy, history, etc. I don't have to take literature, but in the vast majority of universities nationwide, I'd be required to take a College Composition course unless I placed out during orientation. Economics is irrelevant to most bachelor's degree courses of study; I know people major in that field and even obtain PhDs, but IMHO, it's a bigger load of bullshit than psychology or sociology.

Your outrage is mystifying, dgs.

[Crackpot]

You're limiting it to outrage? just about the whole of what he writes here is mystifying to me.

[rubato]

The germ of truth inRick Santorum's rant:

“A Crisis of Competence - The Corrupting Effect of Political Activism in the University of California” (April 2012), a report prepared for the Regents of the University of California By the California Association of Scholars, a Division of the National Association of Scholars. Relevant excerpts:
...

Carry on.

The "National Association of Scholars" is a tiny fringe right-wing crank group. The report was not prepared at the request of the UC regents it was written and given to them like a flaming bag of excrement on the porch and is pure crap.

The type of useless lies you can dredge up online if you don't care what the truth is.

yrs,
rubato

[rubato]

If someone wanted to know the truth rather than lies it is easy enough to find:

http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/a ... index.html


Graduation requirements

All UC students — whether they enter as freshmen or as transfer students — must fulfill certain requirements outside their majors to graduate. Many students are able to satisfy the requirements in high school or at their community college.
Entry-level writing requirement

______________
Students must satisfy the entry-level writing requirement to graduate in any program at UC. They may meet the
requirement in any of the following ways:

Score 680 or higher on the Writing section of the SAT Reasoning Test;
Score 30 or higher on the ACT Combined English/Writing test

Score 3 or higher on the College Board Advanced Placement Examination in English
(Language or Literature)
Score 5 or higher on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Examination in
English (Language A only)
Score 6 or higher on the International Baccalaureate Standard Level Examination in
English (Language A)
Complete with a grade of C or better an acceptable college course in English composition
worth 4 quarter or 3 semester units
Achieve a passing score on the UC Analytical Writing Placement Examination, given
in the spring every year (freshmen who are admitted to UC will receive detailed information in April about the exam; nonresidents may take the exam in the fall
after enrolling)
Complete an appropriate English course at UC with a grade of C or better.

We offer the Analytical Writing Placement Examination each spring at test centers throughout the state for freshmen who plan to enroll the following fall. California-resident freshmen must take the exam if they have not satisfied the requirement by the first or second method above.

Students receive detailed information about the exam in April. Students must pay a nonrefundable fee of $90 to cover test administration costs. They may pay by credit
card, check or money order. Those who received admission application fee waivers
will automatically have the fee waived for the Analytical Writing Placement Examination.

Students who are not from California may take the exam in the fall after enrolling at UC.
Look at Samples

Review past Analytical Writing Placement Exam essays with your students.

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_______________________________

Review the various ways students can satisfy the writing requirement.

more
American history and institutions requirement

Learn how students can fulfill this requirement even in high school.
________________________________
American History and Institutions Requirement

All undergraduate degree programs at UC require study in American history and institutions. This requirement may be met through examination or enrollment in specific courses. Each campus decides how its students may meet the requirement.

Satisfactory completion in high school of a one-year course in U.S. history or a half-year course in U.S. history and a half-year course in American government, fulfills this requirement at all UC campuses except UC Santa Barbara. (At UCLA, students must also have earned a B average in these courses.) UC Santa Barbara requires students to complete a college-level course.

Satisfaction of a community college's history and institutions requirement will also meet the requirement at most campuses. It is highly recommended that students complete this requirement before they transfer.
________________________________
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Language other than English requirement

Understand what campuses and programs require.

_________________________________
Language other than English

A language other than English may be required or recommended at the college, school, major or program level.
Who needs it

Most non-language undergraduate majors require or recommend that students demonstrate competence in at least one language other than English.

Study of a language other than English is also appropriate for students considering graduate study, even if their undergraduate major does not have a language requirement. Many graduate programs require students to demonstrate proficiency in at least one language other than English, and in some programs students are expected to be able to study documents in the original language.
Meeting the requirement as a freshman

The "e" subject requirement for freshman admission requires two years of a language other than English. In some cases, this will satisfy a student's foreign language requirement. In many cases, however, additional study is necessary at the college level.
Meeting the requirement as a transfer

When appropriate, students should at least begin study of a language other than English before entering UC.
_________________________________

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yrs,
rubato