Posted by: Vindicator
Posting time: 1.7 years ago on
Last edit time: never edited.
Archived on: 6/11/2019 10:00:00 AM
Views: 77
SCP: 3
3 upvotes, 0 downvotes (100% upvoted it)
~1 user(s) here now
This Subverse allows anonymized submissions.
NSFW: No
Authorized: Yes
Anon: Both
Private: Yes
Type: Default
view the rest of the comments →
[–] Vindicator [S] ago
Write a controversial book praising the powerful, get promoted by the powerful
The American College
In 1908, Flexner published his first book, The American College. Strongly critical of many aspects of American higher education, it denounced, in particular, the university lecture as a method of instruction. According to Flexner, lectures enabled colleges to "handle cheaply by wholesale a large body of students that would be otherwise unmanageable and thus give the lecturer time for research." In addition, Flexner was concerned about the chaotic condition of the undergraduate curriculum and the influence of the research culture of the university. Neither contributed to the mission of the college to address the whole person. He feared that "research had largely appropriated the resources of the college, substituting the methods and interest of highly specialized investigation for the larger objects of college teaching."[6]
His book attracted the attention of Henry Pritchett, president of the Carnegie Foundation, who was looking for someone to lead a series of studies of professional education. The book consistently cited Pritchett in discussions of views on educational reform, and the two soon arranged to meet through the then-president of Johns Hopkins University, Ira Remsen. Although Flexner had never set foot inside a medical school, he was Pritchett's first choice to lead a study of American medical education, and soon joined the research staff at the Carnegie Foundation in 1908. Although not a physician himself, Flexner was selected by Pritchett for his writing ability and his disdain for traditional education.[2]
What a surprise, Johns Hopkins became the model of his later report!