Cutting across the forecourt on one occasion, as members of the college were entitled to do, he was accosted by a porter and escorted to the door. Only when Maley showed a matriculation card did the porter back down and apologise profusely. Maley was “uncertain as to whether I was more angry at being manhandled or at the grovelling that followed on from the revealing of my true identity as a future member of the ruling class”.

— It’s right posh in t’common room, innit? [via]

And there’s the rub. We love learning. We hate school. What’s worse is that many of us hate school because we love learning.

— Revisiting “A Vision of Students Today”

Understand the difference between your personal work, and your classroom practice.

— 10 Ways to Survive Art School

Are there more black men in college or in jail?
Janks Morton, a new movie director, is willing to bet you got the wrong answer. Although he thinks the very nature of the question is an “abomination,” he wonders: Would that same question be asked so often of any other race in America? The very premise of the question, he said, leads to faulty science. But the question is insidious, like the images that have seeped into the public psyche so deep that many black people themselves don’t get the answer right. …
In 2005, according to the Census Bureau, 864,000 black men were in college. According to Justice Department statistics, 802,000 were in federal and state prisons and jails, Morton said.
Between the ages of 18 and 24, black men in college outnumber those incarcerated by 4 to 1.
Still, the idea that the opposite is true stems from an image that has been perpetuated, Morton said, by the government, the media and the black leadership.

— Filmmaker tries to debunk labels of black men

Personally, I think it would only be fair to allow women unfettered access to higher education for the next 100 years or so, and routinely block men’s access — either by outright refusing their entrance or by reminding them of how inferior they are or by continually telling them that they “can’t have it all” and if they want a life and a job then they need to choose now (and of course emphasize that the morally sound choice is the “life”).
Put the majority of house and child-care responsibilities on men’s shoulders. Then structure domestic work policy in a way that makes it incredibly difficult for men to have enough time, money and energy to raise their kids and continue working full-time. Guilt them for being bad employees and bad parents. If they decide to stay home, tell them that they’re letting their brains turn to jelly and that they’re a disgrace to the Brotherhood. If they decide to work full-time, tell them that their children are deprived, and will inevitably grow up to be serial killers. And if they have the audacity to demand flexible work schedules so that they can balance their lives, guilt them some more about straining the resources of their workplace and asking for special treatment. Accuse them of being socialists.
Then allow women access not only to higher education, but also to the better-paying blue-collar jobs — and tell men that, unfortunately, no one in their right mind would trust a man to fix their car or their plumbing. Women have the small nimble fingers and the fine motor skills necessary to put all those little parts together. Don’t blame me, it’s just biology. And when men start to call bullshit, question their sexuality, their physical attractiveness, and their sanity.

— Shorter Dinesh D’Souza: Affirmative action is ok if it helps white guys