Comments for A Backstage Sociologist

Comment on MnSCU, others fall for a fad: The jobs-skills mismatch meme by t

Sun, 29 Apr 2012 05:28:17 +0000

Thank you for this.

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Comment on Union Solidarity Today or Wage Slavery Tomorrow by jeffdowd

jeffdowd — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:07:06 +0000

As this post points out, power is the most important issue regarding unionization. Libertarian fantasies assume that without government or unions, power somehow becomes equally distributed, so that each person has the same free and unencumbered choices to shape their lives as they wish.

Collective power, far from being anti-freedom, is the core of democracy. Democracy itself is a form of collective decision making which relies upon some form of collective power. In the end, that is what I think unionization is primarily about – democracy in the workplace. Sadly, workers too often accept that democracy does not extend to the place where we spend a near majority of our waking hours.

Comment on MnSCU, others fall for a fad: The jobs-skills mismatch meme by jeffdowd

jeffdowd — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:59:04 +0000

As this post notes, the corporate profit-driven interests are pretty clear, but I think too many students are fooled by the idea that college is or should be job training. As employers talk about a skill mismatch they also talk about the need for innovation and flexibility (often euphemisms for doing away with job security). The lack of job security lowers the value of college as job training. Colleges, especially in the current environment, should focus on building up a set of critical thinking skills that are amenable to a dynamic and innovative economy.

Comment on Occupy Minnesota: 32 Years Ago by Ed Malecki

Ed Malecki — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:07:36 +0000

It was a great story 32 years ago and somebody needs to write an update; despite some cosmetic changes in personnel my bet is that similar research would show that the main story has not changed very much.

Comment on Gov. Pawlenty’s iCollege: Socrates and I Beg to Differ by Kevin Chamow

Kevin Chamow — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 19:33:13 +0000

Online education does not teach one how to live and interact in co-present situations. There has been enough literature on this specific type of interaction to know that it is different than even video conferencing. Teaching people how to interact and exchange ideas in these settings is one among many things an online education cannot do. That’s just my take.

Kevin Chamow

Comment on Gov. Pawlenty’s iCollege: Socrates and I Beg to Differ by sosyoloji

sosyoloji — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:52:46 +0000

You web is thank you. http://www.sosyoloji.com.tr is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and consequences of human behavior.

Comment on Gov. Pawlenty’s iCollege: Socrates and I Beg to Differ by Rachel

Rachel — Fri, 20 May 2011 18:01:54 +0000

I stumbled across this completely by accident, but man and I glad to have stumbled across it. Monte, you spoke to my Body Politics class about a month ago at Metropolitan State. While I may not have liked everything you said, you definitely intrigue me.

So, to the point. While I agree with you (and Socrates) that it is extremely important for that discourse to occur, I also believe that online education has it’s place. Further, I believe that online courses can offer students the environment they need to be proactive in their own education. In a classroom setting it is often very easy to just sit in the back and have knowledge be passed to you without actually absorbing that information.

My second observation is more to point out irony. Mr. Pawlenty says that online education is cheaper than going to a college or university. Has he every actually payed attention to the fact that tuition for online classes is actually significantly more than on campus classes?

Comment on Minnpost Story on my receiving the university’s 2010 Alumnus Award by John H Sims

John H Sims — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:25:27 +0000

I’ve just been gifted by the Star Tribune and Monte Bute through their collaboration in making his journey public on March 6, 2011. His journey into what I’ve been told is deep grace, enhanced my belief that we all have an unexplained spiritual guide within who instructs us. We are brothers in the realm of jumping into the abyss and finding the courage to return for judgment and the success that follows. He is indeed a life lesson to pay attention to. So Monte, if this reaches you, know that I’m hoping that the God of my understanding will find a way to put you in my presence if only for a moment before you travel into that unknown place called eternity that I came back from in 2008.

Comment on Fight conformity! Defy orthodoxy! Join the party of free thinkers by [INFJ] Do INFJs make good teachers? - Page 3 - PersonalityCafe

[INFJ] Do INFJs make good teachers? - Page 3 - PersonalityCafe — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 03:21:57 +0000

[...] Well I don't know which state you are in. So it depends on what you are looking for in a college. If I had a surplus of money I would go to the University of Chicago. They focus heavily on academics there, not sports. I would look into PSEO (Post Secondary Enrollment Option) if I was you, it allows high school students to earn college credits, usually for free. Anthropology is a somewhat similar field. A community college is a great place to start out, to get your general's out of the way, its much cheaper, and you can explore more on what your interests are. I would recommend taking aptitude tests to figure out where your strengths lay, and in the meantime check out sociology books. My Soc teacher is amazing, his name is Monte Bute, he has a blog and multiple things published which you can find on the web, heres a link for a article he wrote for a newspaper Fight conformity! Defy orthodoxy! Join the party of free thinkers A Backstage Sociologist [...]

Comment on The “Three Orders” in a Contemporary Public University by monte

monte — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 05:26:41 +0000

Lee,
I think things are being shaken up at Metro State. I think our new president has good instincts and has her heart in the right place. Unfortunately, an alien, corporate bureaucratic culture has grown up in the “Tower” and it is corrupting the institution. The fight today is against that mentality and style of work. We are demanding a more democratic collaborative regime. As long as I remain alive, I will be the machine’s worst nightmare. Rage Against the Machine!