Critical-review-of-Why-I-am-not-a-professor-or-the

Course:AdvancedEnglishWritingInstructor:ProfessorGuoFenrongName:吴梓涵StudentNumber:2014013585Reviewof“WhyIAmNotaProffessororThedeclineandFalloftheBritishUniversity”IntroductionUniversityeducationhasbeenexpandedwidely.Andmoreandmorestudentsgetaopportunitytocompletehighereducation.Withoutmanybenefits,therecomesupwithmanyproblemssuchasalowerentrancestandard,poorteachingqualityandlessqualitydegree.Thesekindsofproblemhavearouseworriesamongsomeexperts.Dr.MarkTarver,aprofessorofcomputerscienceinUK,inhisarticleWhyIAmNotaProffessororTheDeclineandFalloftheBritishUniversity,expresseshisopinionsoverBritishuniversityeducation.HeciteshisownstorytopointsoutthedeclineandfallofBritishuniversityeducationunderegalitarianismdrivenbygovernment.Fromhiswriting,Dr.MarkTarverdoesn'tmentionedthemeritsbutpresentussomeexistedproblemsoveruniversityeducationwhichreallyhavetheuniversalityamonguniversitiesallovertheworld.SummaryDr.MarkTarverstateshisownstoryofquotingjobasatenuredlecturerandsayshisstoryis“alsothestoryofdeclineandfallofBritishuniversityandcorruptionoftheacademicideal”.Dr.MarkTarverpointsout“universitiesareextraordinary”becauseoftheirpoor“foundationblocks”medievalismleft.AndDr.MarkTarvertakeshisexperienceasalecturerintheperiodof“expansionofuniversitysystem”,whichisinordertoarguethatthedeclineandfallbeginundertheegalitarianismdrivenbygovernment.Hebelievesthattheexpansionisnoblebutitbringsenviousnessamonglecturers,andgovernmentsimplychooseto“waterdowntheeducationsystemtoalowerstandard”ratherthanmakingeffortsto“improvetheeducationalqualities”.AccordingtoDr.MarkTarver,afewyearslater,problemsofthissystemappear.Incaseofnotfailingstudents,therearetwoways:“scaling”themarksandignoringplagiarism,whichresultstudents'lower“levelofattainment”.Dr.MarkTarverillustratestwocriterionsofassessment:“TeachingQualityAssessment”and“Research”,whichareuselessanddon'treallyworkforimprovingeducationalqualities.Andtowardegalitarianism,heexpresseshisworriessuchasstaffcrisis,lowerteachingqualityanddebtanddegreeinflation.Heconcludesthatnewuniversityeducationsystemshavemanyhiddenproblems.ArgumentsandevaluationInhisarticle,Dr.MarkTarverdoesn'tstatethemeritsofuniversityeducationunderegalitarianism.Butcoinsalwayshavetwosides.Dr.MarkTarveronlyillustratestheproblems,andreadersareverylikelytodenytheuniversityeducation.Actuallyuniversityeducationsystemdoeshavemeritsinmanyaspects.Forinstance,itprovidesvaluableopportunitiesforthoselow-bornstudentstomakeabetterfutureforthemselves.Itisnodoubtthategalitarianismdoeshelpinsomeways.Moreover,wideningaccesstouniversitygenerallyimprovescitizens'educationallevel.However,thosenegativepointsthatDr.MarkTarverputsforwardaremorethought-provoking.First,governmentchoosetowidenaccesstouniversity,thentheychooseaneasierbutcarelessway:Simply“wateringdowntheeducationalsystemtoalowerstandard”attractsmorestudenttouniversity.However,weknowthatuniversityeducationissuperiorwhichprovidesstrongbackupfortheneedsofelites.Butelitesarejustasmallpartinoursociety.Thelowerstandardhurtsteachingqualitywhichiscrucialtofosterelites.Underthenewsystem,Dr.MarkTarvertalksaboutthecriterionofassessment.Theostensibleaimsaresoundingnoblebuttheresultsarenotwhatareexpected.Whatlecturesdoaremostlyaboutcompletingteachingtasks,winningbonusandgettingpromotion.Noonefocusonrealacademyandtruescholarsandproffessorsarelessthanbefore.Theseexistedphenomenonsarenormalbutnoonetalksaboutthemstraightly.Dr.MarkTarverwritesthemdowntoawakenreaderstocurrentsituationofuniversityeducation.Conclusion:Asauniversityprofessor,Dr.MarkTarveranalysesweakspotsofBritishuniversityeducationbasedonhisownexperience,althoughhedoesn'tlistgoodparts.ButhisopinionsaretrulystunningandgivingpublicawarningthedeclineandfallofBritishuniversity.Sogovernmentanduniversityshouldbealteredandreconsidertheexistingsystemassoonaspossible,andthentakemeasures.