[MD] The Academy is Evil! Here's what I'd do instead...

[118]

Hi Arlo,
Thanks for the new subject.  The academy serves to provide a venue for
assimilating information and progressing.  In many ways, the strength of the
academy hinders progress, but it also serves to combine ideas.  It is a
tricky balance.  Static v Dynamic.  Newton held the academy for a long time.
 It was up to technology to provide further creativity.  It is
all interrelated in a dynamic way.  The point is to not stop questioning.
 Mavericks hold the potential for change, but become institutionalized
requiring new mavericks.

Mark

On Thu, Dec 2, 2010 at 8:59 AM, Arlo Bensinger <ajb102 at psu.edu> wrote:

> [Arlo had asked Mark]
> If YOU were suddenly President of Academy University, what changes would
> you put into place.
>
> [Arlo]
> I had mentioned a similar question to John recently, that for those who
> condemn the Academy what would they propose that's better? For now, let's
> keep this contained to the University level, but we can slip into general
> educational pedagogy, if necessary, as Crawford does in his book.
>
> I'll comment on Mark's answer below, but invite all who hold the Academy in
> disdain to answer the question.
>
> [Mark]
> The only thing that I would suggest is to remain flexible.
>
> [Arlo]
> How flexible? I can easily demonstrate how disciplines have evolved over
> time as new and better information becomes available. But what measures
> would you suggest to improve the flexibility? Let's say a "loose changer" or
> a "flat-earther" comes to you and asks for inclusion in the history and
> geography programs respectively. Do you accommodate? What criteria would you
> suggest the Academy relies on to determine what gets in?
>
> [Mark]
> See the Academy for what it is, a repository of old information creating
> new.
>
> [Arlo]
> I agree. The Academy is about access to old information and thinking about
> new ways to re-envision that information. A part of its mission is certainly
> dissemination, to get as many exposed to these ideas as possible. But that
> is simply the first step in what is best seen as a taxonomic endeavor, which
> (to use Bloom) also includes analysis, synthesis and evaluation of that
> knowledge, which includes the creation of that something new.
>
>
>
>
>
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