Superman attended our Macroeconomics 2(P) lecture!!!

An article from my Macroeconomic 2(P) lecturer,Timothy Kam

University decline results from a sense of entitlement

August 26, 2009
Article from: The Australian
THE reality of Australian higher education, clearly exemplified in the Group of Eight Australian research universities, is that undergraduate education is a mass product.This is no more obvious than in disciplines such as business and economics, commonly viewed as offering bread-and-butter degree programs. The proliferation of new degree programs, not unlike toothpaste variations that do not reflect improvements in knowledge and technology, reinforce the fact that education is simultaneously an export and a mass local consumption product.

Many have only blamed the decline in the quality and content of university undergraduate programs on higher education's export industry. I would submit that it is also a function of the fact that higher education is generally perceived as a right, or entitlement, for all Australians.

In my experience as an economics professor in a Go8 university, the complaints come almost exclusively from Australian students. Many of these students protest about the level of mathematical skill required in my courses, and demand that complete lecture notes and answers to problems be made available online.

Some of these students just want to debate "current Australian issues" as the main part of the course curriculum. This is not surprising, considering the decline of scientific and mathematical rigour in high-school education. The problem is compounded when university education committees pander to misguided student demands, and tell experts in their field how best to teach students and to make learning "flexible" (read "comfortable") for them; all they need these days is the internet, a laptop or iPod. Without sophisticated theorising, it should be obvious that when it comes to human behaviour, incentives matter, and badly designed education incentives matter for the long run.

For many international students who get into good programs, especially those from poorer backgrounds, there is an incentive to learn the "hard stuff" because either they or their families have worked hard to get them there, often mortgaging their lifetime wealth in the process. They want value for money. For many Australian students, this fact is taken for granted. Education is a right by construction, so mediocre students believe they deserve to have everything available to them at the click of a mouse button and do not like to be intellectually stretched.

If political leaders, university executives and parents remain myopic, then it is likely that we will continue to wade deeper into a cesspool of unscientific thinking that education policy and university executives have created in response to "idiocratic" demands. In the long run, we may lose out because we choose to snooze now. Kevin Rudd's education revolution may well just spin in circles and spiral down the tube.

Timothy Kam

Canberra

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25980726-21682,00.html

I'm back again!!!

Hello everyone, I'm back again!!! Sorry for keep u guys waiting for my update,'cause i'm being so so busy recently,plus my laziness to update my blog as well,hehe~~anyway,just a short update to tell u guys tat i'm going to hav mid-sem exam this tuesday n wednesday n another paper on 7th sep. Besides tat, I hav another 2 assignments which will be due in the end of sep. However, I haven't started to look at the questions yet....ok, i knw this post is getting boring boring n boring as all i talk abt is exam n assignment, so before i end this post let me just show u my 4 months old nephew:

Btw, the cloth which he was wearing in the pic was the one i got for him when i went to Movie World in Gold Coast. It's cute, isn't it? haha~~

Touching song wif meaningful lyrics~~

This song is a content of a love letter tat a guy write for the girl he loves as he is worrying tat he may hav to leave this world due to his illness n will not be able to accompany her for the rest of her life. Besides tat, the singer, Tank, who has genetic heart disease has experienced the pain of losing his aunt n older sister who had died due to the same disease when they were sleeping. The lyrics describe abt the situation n I'm touched by this song. Cherish life n those who love n care abt u~~

P.S: Thx to huiling who introduced this nice song to me...

[如果我变成回忆]tank
作词:陈信延 施人诚 作曲:tank

累了照惯例努力清醒着 也照惯例想你了
好怕一放心睡了 心跳在梦中不听话的就停止了
听着呼吸像浪潮拍动着 越美丽越让我忐忑
我还能珍惜什么 如果我连自己的脉搏都难掌握

如果我变成回忆 退出了这场生命
留下你错愕哭泣 我冰冷身体拥抱不了你
想到我让深爱的你人海孤独旅行
我会恨自己如此狠心
如果我变成回忆 终于没那么幸运
没机会白着头发 蹒跚牵着你看晚霞落尽
漫长时光总有一天你会伤心痊愈
若有人可以让他陪你 我不怪你

快乐什么时候会结束呢 哪一刻是最后一刻
想把你紧紧抱着 可知你是我生命中的最舍不得

如果我变成回忆 最怕我太不争气
顽固地赖在空气 霸占你心里每一寸缝隙
连累依然爱我的你痛苦承受失去
这样不公平请你尽力 把我忘记

I'M PLANNING TO...

STUDY for final exam n LOSE WEIGHT!!!!

Skyfire

Last night, I went to Commonwealth Park wif some of my frens to view skyfire. Before we went there, we made some sandwiches, while the other group of frens prepare some snacks n fruits so tat we can hav picnic before skyfire started. It was fun n the skyfire was so spectacular. Here r some pics tat I took last night. Enjoy viewing them!!!