John L. Jackson at Brainstorm:
My pedagogical model, instead, is always predicated on wanting to make sure that students read the materials as I assign them, in time to contribute to classroom discussions, not as their admittedly packed schedules allow. But is that fair? Infantilizing? Unreasonable?
Yes, no and no. No matter what they’re doing outside of class you can’t get an education without actually doing the reading.
The fact that we are even contemplating these questions is the best example that something terrible and tragic has happened to “higher” education.
Students feel oppressed by being told to read for class. They feel oppressed by being asked to purchase the textbooks!
Education has all but died.