tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-657778252610307364.post1019181380958399488..comments2024-01-27T07:19:16.259-08:00Comments on Kim Antieau: Certified: ThreeKim Antieauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07327488174129777103noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-657778252610307364.post-53911153805612865122010-06-19T13:03:05.090-07:002010-06-19T13:03:05.090-07:00Besides, dear bro-in-law, you missed the spirit of...Besides, dear bro-in-law, you missed the spirit of the piece while you got bogged down in pet peeves perhaps? It was not a diatribe against textbooks or dead white philosophers. It's just part of a larger narrative of my experiences. My observations aren't particularly new: Textbooks are expensive for people who have little money. Philosophical studies can be deadly boring. The philosophy I was taught was irrelevant to me. (I didn't mention that it was patriarchal *stuff* that had no meaning in my life, which I could have done. But that's a different essay.) And yet when someone with heart and enthusiasm had a dialogue with me about philosophy--while agreeing that some of it was too esoteric and practically useless--I was quite fascinated.Kim Antieauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07327488174129777103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-657778252610307364.post-20053133317056109022010-06-19T09:28:36.155-07:002010-06-19T09:28:36.155-07:00Hey Guy, if the professors had actually assigned u...Hey Guy, if the professors had actually assigned us to read any African philosophers that were as boring as the ones I read, I would have felt the same way. But they didn't. I don't think my opinion is denigration. It's my opinion. And like I said, once I had a "teacher" who was interesting the old dead white guys weren't quite as uninteresting.Kim Antieauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07327488174129777103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-657778252610307364.post-44045814161917792272010-06-19T02:13:28.361-07:002010-06-19T02:13:28.361-07:00You know I have to defend my profession.
College ...You know I have to defend my profession.<br /><br />College textbooks have always been expensive, and scientific/engineering texts are amongst the most expensive. Partly because the actual cost of producing them is very high, and partly because today's faculty demand so much free stuff along with a text before they will adopt one. All the web sites, CDs, test banks, and desk copies (it is not unusual for a professor to demand four or five desk copies of a text) have to paid for, and the one that pays for them is the student.<br /><br />Like I said texts have always been expensive. In 1965, my freshman year, my texts cost $48 for my first semester, which sounds very reasonable until you remember that at the time I took home about $36 a week from my full time job. (Minimum wage was $1.10 an hour.) Dad only made about $100 a week.<br /><br />This last August and January when I was working the first week of school it seemed to me the average kid, well his or her parent really, was paying about $425 for their books. In Washington the minimum wage is $8.55, or about $342 a week. <br /><br />There is, in fact, a slight increase in the cost of the books as a percentage of wages. In 1965 it took me 45 hours (figuring it at gross pay) to earn my books; and this year it took the average student 50 hours to earn their books. I think the five hour difference can be safely blamed on the internet/multimedia materials that must come with almost all books.<br /><br />In 1983 there was an architecture text I dearly wanted. I dreamed of it. It was $125. Architecture is a very expensive course of study. On top of all those books there's all those pencils. Or at least there used to be.<br /><br />Finally, I know the company I still sometimes work for is exploring lower cost alternatives. This fall they will be starting a rental program, and every semester more books are available online. Instead of paying $150 for a hard copy they will pay $30 to $50 for the password to the online version. So things are changing. Perhaps even for the better.<br /><br />And last (see I saved my complaint for last) why is it always acceptable to denigrate, dismiss and ridicule men who happened to have Northern Europeans for ancestors. You would never think of saying something like "With philosophy I felt like I had to read supposed wisdom written by a bunch of African men who sat around trying to figure out how many animal spirits could fit on the head of a lance." I find it a bit offensive that my ideas can be dismissed as worthless simply because my parentage is Caucasian and I am male<br /><br />And by the way did you hear what Michelle did with her student loan? We had the resources to pay for her to get her Accounting degree, but she took out a student loan anyway, being very careful to get one that could be paid off upon graduation with very little or no interest due. She then invested it for the two years. When she graduated she paid the loan off and was left with a nice little profit.<br /><br />Take care, I know I'm argumentative tonight. I think she's been gone way too long for my sanity.gbhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14595626710253429721noreply@blogger.com