Food for thought...
I thought I knew what the definition of ABD was. It was exactly the same as defined here in Carnegie Mellon's University Doctoral Candidate Policies for All But Dissertation (ABD) : After the completion of all formal degree requirements other than the completion of and approval of the doctoral dissertation and the public final examination, doctoral candidates shall be regarded as All But Dissertation(ABD). I have, though, occasionally run into the term ABD being used as a somewhat disparaging designation for one who fulfills the formal degree requirements of the Ph.D. but never finishes the dissertation, and then quits the program. Most recently, I saw it in What They Didn' t Teach You in Graduate School: 199 Helpful Hints for Success in Your Academic Career , by Paul Gray and David E. Drew. Number 9 of their helpful hints is one that I strongly agree with: "Remember that a Ph.D. is primarily an indication of survivorship." They go on to say, "You stuck wi
I saw this. It figures that instead of the traditional view where a generation inculcates youth to fit into their world, most of the conventional advice is how to fit into what gen y wants. After all, culture is just a marketplace to these kids. I have grave concerns over the results of this trend and many are bearing fruit. College lecturers now have to deal with uncivil, disruptive students.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, anonymous. The supposition is that they are on Facebook, the cell phone, watching tv, etc. because of something that is inadequate in the classroom. Maybe it's the other way around -- that if they valued their studies and remembered that they are the lucky ones, they would spend more time on homework and less time on Facebook during class, and the classes would have more life to them; more interaction. Teachers knew my name when I went to Penn because I asked questions, talked to them after class, showed interest and curiosity. And they were often lecture classes back then, also.
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