

'Why I am not canceling class tomorrow' - ramnikarora
http://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/just-in/2013-11-21/cal-lecturers-email-students-goes-viral-why-i-am-not

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jmduke
This is incredible, and I'm happy to have read it. The whole thing is worth
closing out of a few BuzzFeed tabs for, but the ending lines are my favorite:

 _In order for you to navigate the increasing complexity of the 21st century
you need a world-class education, and thankfully you have an opportunity to
get one. I don’t just mean the education you get in class, but I mean the
education you get in everything you do, every book you read, every
conversation you have, every thought you think.

You need to optimize your life for learning.

You need to live and breath your education.

You need to be obsessed with your education.

Do not fall into the trap of thinking that because you are surrounded by so
many dazzlingly smart fellow students that means you’re no good. Nothing could
be further from the truth.

And do not fall into the trap of thinking that you focusing on your education
is a selfish thing. It’s not a selfish thing. It’s the most noble thing you
could do.

Society is investing in you so that you can help solve the many challenges we
are going to face in the coming decades, from profound technological
challenges to helping people with the age old search for human happiness and
meaning. _

~~~
_delirium
Imo the end is quite dangerous, and in many cases ends up being incorrect.
It's the classic view of: _I 'll put on blinders and not worry about the
consequences of my actions now, because I need to ruthlessly push forward so I
can get into a position where I can do good for society... later_. But often
later never comes.

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justin66
Oddly, none of that brought me any closer to understanding why he's crossing
the picket line. I can visualize a prof on the other side of the line writing
the same thing. (hopefully a prof somewhat more fond of brevity)

~~~
nutball
Yeah! Math Prof has definitely chosen a side. He obscures that move in a fluff
of "politics is complex, decisions are difficult." But politics is everything,
and he's engaged in politics knee-deep while pretending not to be. "All I care
about is education" calmly states the unwitting Math Prof as education is
destroyed to become a hollow commodity for those who can afford it. He's
obscuring his politics and hiding that fact that he wants a continuation of
the current state of things.

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jedberg
This is why educators get crap wages despite having a union -- because they
refuse (rightly or wrongly) to allow the student's education to suffer by
striking.

Which means their strikes are never effective.

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sanskritabelt
don't cross picket lines dammit.

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sscalia
This is a huge, huge goddamn yawn.

These students are no more "special" than any other students at any other
university.

Even more-so, the students that "made it" to UC really, really don't need yet
another person telling them that.

~~~
toki5
Come on, really? Out of all that, THIS is the message you take away, and yet
manage to misconstrue?

He didn't say any of that. He didn't compare his students with others; he
compared them only to _themselves_. He didn't mention other schools, or in
fact other people altogether.

~~~
chris_wot
Really?

 _I’m telling you this because you all need to know that there is not some
great pool of amazing people in some other place who are going to shape the
way our species navigates the coming decades._

