Monday, April 8, 2013

In Which A New Feature Is Perhaps Introduced

In a recent analogy Contingent Cassandra wondered which edgy comic strip might be a good representation of this blog, in contrast to another, tamer blog she compared to "Family Circus."

The following immediately came to mind:


I have long held that this would totally work

Be sure to hover so you see the Easter egg.

Wondermark explores a wide variety of topics. If Miserians like, I could mine the archives for episodes relevant to higher education and occasionally post them here.

And what do you think? Is it possible to get an education by auditing?

11 comments:

  1. Well it amuses me, happy to see an occasional feature.

    You can get an education by auditing IF you have the self-discipline to do the follow-up reading, practice problems etc. consistently without the support structure of classes, discussion, seminars and deadlines... but most people can't do that, especially most young adults.

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  2. IMHO participating in a massive online course is essentially education by auditing. I know that doesn't answer your question. Sure, bring on the comix!

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  3. Do any of the older folks recall a very short-lived NBC show in the 60's where the main character couldn't afford college (deceased parents, taking care of sibling) so he attended college classes in disguise?

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_(1965_TV_series)

    Yes... it was pretty foolish and, even though I was fairly young, I thought it was worse than "My Mother The Car".

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  4. OMG Dr. D. You beat me to it. I even remember the last part of the theme song.

    He'll get his degree
    His Phi Beta key
    And he'll get it all for free!
    That's Hank!

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  5. "Education," yes. Isn't it more about the "credential" than the "education"?

    On the subject of TV shows/characters, Jeff Winger on NBC's "Community" was a practicing lawyer that had apparently passed the bar exam but didn't have a degree from an accredited school. Hence the premise/backstory for the character.

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  6. I love the idea of a comic feature. From this or other strips that are relevent. I do think you can become educated just by your active presence. My father is a huge fan of The Great Courses (.com) and he and I have listened to quite a few of them. I feel like I probably know more about those topics (Aristotle, Global Warming to name just two) than I do about things I studied in college (only because it has been sooooo long since I studied anything not literature related). As Sawyer correctly noted, I am not credentialed; I am not an expert. But do I feel like I am a bit educated on those topics? I do, actually. In a broader, more pedestrian sense of the word. Does this kind of thing replace credentialed college education? No.

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  7. Sometimes I'm convinced that my entire course could be taught by well-timed videos.

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  8. Replies
    1. Yes, Bubba, I miss Samantha Folkchurch too. She would just post her brilliant cartoons without asking permission. But I'm not the creative genius writing this one, and I figured that by asking, I might -- MIGHT -- save the moderators from getting Real Goddamned Email decrying the occasional Wondermark post.

      @Bella: Yeah, Doonesbury is often relevant to CM, as was Calvin and Hobbes (but it's a copyright violation to post the latter).

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  9. I have always said that students are paying for the credential, not the course. I'm perfectly happy to let anyone sit in as long as there are enough chairs for everyone. If you aren't registered, however, you don't get evaluated; I don't mark your exercises. You might be able to persuade me to read a paper if it's on an interesting topic you wanted to discuss; but I won't do it during term time.

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