Wednesday, August 25, 2010

A letter to my students

The following "Letter to My Students" was written by Michael O'Hare, professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley.

Welcome to Berkeley, probably still the best public university in the world. Meet your classmates, the best group of partners you can find anywhere. The percentages for grades on exams, papers, etc. in my courses always add up to 110% because that’s what I’ve learned to expect from you, over twenty years in the best job in the world.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that you have been the victims of a terrible swindle, denied an inheritance you deserve by contract and by your merits. And you aren’t the only ones; victims of this ripoff include the students who were on your left and on your right in high school but didn’t get into Cal, a whole generation stiffed by mine. This letter is an apology, and more usefully, perhaps a signal to start demanding what’s been taken from you so you can pass it on with interest.


The entire letter is linked here.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I assume that Michael O'Hare is working pro bono? Oh, well he must have at least rejected all raises he was offered over the last 30 years.....

Michael Rosen said...

Anonymous,
Ad hominem attacks reflect on those who make them. Your comment is as insipid as it is stupid.

Anonymous said...

I absolutely agree with Michael Rosen that the "working pro bono" comment makes no sense at all.

Anonymous said...

So why do you delete posts?

Do you delete all posts that challenge your positions? Or are only Kool-Aid drinkers allowed?

Anonymous said...

"If you can't answer a man's arguments, all is not lost; you can still call him vile names" Elbert Hubbard

Anonymous said...

I am not clear on what the "man's argument" is. Perhaps you can clarify his argument for me and how it is related to the original post.