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

[ARLO J BENSINGER JR]

Part II

[Mark]
Government funding of all literature and the removal of for profit publishers.

[Arlo]
You caught me completely off-guard with this one, you commie bastard. But I am
not sure what "literature" you mean, academic publications? Textbooks? Novels?

[Mark]
Equal distribution of grants despite that research may be contrary to the
current Government position; grants that are provided through the general
publics acceptance, rather than some old network somewhere.

[Arlo]
Well this is a criticism of the government, which is the body that determines
whether or not someone receives a government grant. 

[Mark]
The restriction of the use of science by politics.

[Arlo]
You mean political science classes are not able to refer to, say, genetics
research, in their classes? Maybe you can explain this better?

[Mark]
Removal of silly disciplines such as economics and sociology from the public
sector.  You don't need college education to understand these.

[Arlo]
What do you mean removal "from the public sector"? You mean removing them as
programs from institutions? Or as degrees?

[Mark]
Are you an insider or just a critic?  What do you know about Academia, are you
a professor? 

[Arlo]
I am not a professor, but I've worked within the Academy for the past fourteen
years, doing mostly instructional design but with a strong emphasis on
information technology.

[Mark]
There are many things wrong with it, and many things right.  

[Arlo]
Of course.

[Mark]
It is no longer the leading edge of knowledge, that happens in industry. 

[Arlo]
What is?

[Mark]
College is just a training ground.

[Arlo]
Well this gets at my recent comments to John about the function of the Academy
as an accreditation agency for employment. How would you suggest we change
this?