Some kind words (and national props) for HW and Wright’s Great Books programs (which, by the by, aren’t the only ones of recent note) arrive on the scene today courtesy of Adam Kotsko of Shimer, as posted in today’s Inside Higher Ed:
I’ve spoken of the lack of faculty buy-in at other institutions, but I think this points to an even more important factor: student buy-in. If students don’t care, if they’re enrolled for utilitarian reasons and have no intrinsic love of learning, they will most likely wind up failing — and dragging the class down with them. Hence it seems to me that less-selective institutions could offer an optional program for interested students, much like those at two of the City Colleges of Chicago (Harold Washington and Wilbur Wright Colleges). Shimer has worked with Harold Washington in particular for many years, and several of their Great Books students have ultimately finished their four-year degrees at Shimer as a result.
Click HERE to read the rest. And here’s a companion piece from a Chicago State faculty member.
h/t to John Hader on the Chronicle Letter pointer
The Harold Lounge 