Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!apple!oliveb!ames!amdcad!sun!pitstop!sundc!seismo!uunet!ssbell!mcmi!amperif!unocss!fg038 From: fg038@unocss.UUCP (Sharon O'Neil) Newsgroups: news.admin Subject: Re: posting privileges Message-ID: <711@unocss.UUCP> Date: 12 Mar 89 19:29:53 GMT References: <7502@pyr.gatech.EDU> Distribution: usa Organization: U. of Nebraska at Omaha Lines: 82 In article <7502@pyr.gatech.EDU>, gus@pyr.gatech.EDU (gus Baird) writes: > > Undergraduates should not be allowed to post articles. > > They are not yet able to *contribute* to the discussion, but they > may learn from it. > > We need this net as a forum for adult, often professional, discussion. I agree that the net should be "a forum for adult, often professional, discussion." I, however, disagree that undergraduates are unable to contribute intelligently to discussions. I am an undergraduate student, myself, of course, but I think that I, and others, are just as capable of making a worthwhile contribution to the net. For one thing, we are the next generation of professionals. We should be allowed to interact with those already involved in "the real world" and in "academia" because this can only broaden our scope. I don't think that this would be possible if we were to sit, silently, watching those who "have already paid their dues." The ability to post, the ability to carry on dialogues with the highly educated individuals on the net helps the bright undergrad see new perspectives and polish his or her own arguments. I do believe that the net is a place where ideas can be exchanged and people can carry on debates and dialogues and give their insights. For the graduate, it is valuable to discuss things with others in his field. For the undergraduate, it is valuable to learn what others are doing in the fields he or she is interested in, and being able to make a contribution. The undergraduate contribution might not be as "sophisticated," but it might very well be a worthy contribution. > Were you like me, when you first got on the net? > I must have read news for six months before I posted anything. Working > stiffs tend to be similarly considerate (or timid!) here and in > conversation. They'll usually listen quietly for a while to get the > drift of the dialog and to find what points have already been made, > before putting in their own oars. That's an attribute of an adult. I, too, read news for months before I actually got up the nerve to post. I didn't want to post anything stupid. I wanted to make a worthwhile contribution. I read and got a feel for what was going on. But I don't criticize those who just jump in and get their feet wet right away. They might very well have just as much to say as anyone else. Just because they are impulsive does not mean that their ideas are any less valuable. > Undergraduates tend not to act that way. Part of the mission of colleges > is to get them matured to the point where they will. Meanwhiles, they > shouldn't be encouraged to trash the conversation. The mission of college is to help foster the formulation of ideas. It is to teach students to think critically. One has to think critically on the net and make an intelligent contribution or he or she will be flamed unmercilessly. The mission of college is the transmission of thought from master to protege. This does not mean that the student sit idly back and have education DONE to them. Education requires interaction between post graduate, graduate, and undergraduate. Undergraduates must be encouraged to formulate ideas, think critically, and express themselves. One major criticism that many of my professors have expressed time and time again is that they are not there to spoon feed students. The student has to go out there and grab education. The student must think for himself. Astoundingly enough, undergraduates are quite capable of carrying on intelligent and worthy discussion here on the net. I do not use the net to "do my homework for me." I am a humanities major. I can't very well try to get my answers from other people on the net. I have to come up with my own. A masters degree or a doctorate does not give one a monopoly on the truth. Truth might very well not be contained within the individual's thesis. I have met undergrads who are more capable than some professors. Of course, it is true that a lot of undergraduates could care less. But for those that do care, the net is an exceptionally excellent way of discussing things with people that they could not possibly interact with because of distance, both geographically and educationally. -- ---------------------------------+-------------------------------------------- Sharon O'Neil | Internet: oneil%zeus@fergvax.unl.edu Who reads these, anyway? | Bitnet: oneil@unoma1.bitnet Univ. of Nebraska - Lincoln | "Lord, what fools these mortals be!"