Virology Teaching to be Compromised at My University
Petition to Keep Hands-On Training
My university (University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada) offers a molecular virology course for fourth year students. This is the only course on campus where large numbers of undergraduate students from diverse programs are exposed to key methods used in virology research and diagnostics. The administration of the department that runs this course is proposing to remove the in-person, hands-on laboratory component.
Hands-on training in diagnostic and research methods cannot effectively be replaced with theory-based teaching. To try to do so would be a huge mistake. A lack of transparent research, and profound misunderstandings of diagnostic methods and their limitations has been a foundational reason for the disastrous policies that were implemented throughout the declared COVID-19 pandemic.
The administration at my institution, like all others, implemented harmful COVID-19 policies over the past three years, which resulted in gross and unnecessary overspending. Combined with governments having done the same, postsecondary education systems are now facing economic hurdles that were easily predicted three years ago, but blatantly ignored as much of the world ran around in a blind panic. Now, our postsecondary institutions are proposing significant cuts to teaching programs. Among the proposed solutions are the shutdown of courses with limited enrolments, which puts specialized graduate teaching courses at risk, and eliminating costlier components of courses, such as lab-based teaching.
Reducing the literacy of virology students when it comes to understanding how research and diagnoses of virus-based diseases is done is not a wise way to solve what were preventable economic problems. In fact, I wish there could be a greater emphasis on students thoroughly learning lab-based methods.
With the quality of teaching hitting an all-time low in the past three years, I don't know how administrations of universities and colleges expect students to keep enrolling and paying ever-growing fees while simultaneously being faced with with additional degradations to their programs.
How We Can Help Maintain the Quality of Education for Students
Feel free to contact the administrations of universities and colleges to express any concerns and/or suggestions that you have. In Canada and many other countries, these are public institutions. This means that they serve the public. In fact, public input is usually valued more than suggestions coming from internal sources. After all, it is your children that are the reason why these institutions exist.
In this specific case, an online petition has been set up, which can be found at the following link: https://chng.it/SPNQLcB8
If signing, you can just ignore step 3, which promotes the signing of ten other petitions (but feel free to peruse them, if you want). After you have signed, you will have the option of going to the petition information page, where you can leave a comment, if you wish.
It is thought that having 500 signatures will be enough for the committee proposing this cut to reconsider.
Let’s keep our young people well-educated. They deserve the same quality of teaching that older folks like me received.
This is how we spin into a dark age. Mind you, I've been arguing we've been in a dark age for at least 25 years now.
Today my barber was telling me he had to let go of an employee because they didn't know how to cut hair. He was explaining to me they no longer teach basic theory anymore. In the past, the first class was basically a chat on theory (different head shapes, styles etc.). He explained it takes years to hone your skills. The no one wants to put in the years combined with not being taught properly you're gonna get a lot of crooked hair cuts methinks.
My father was a tailor. He was an apprentice for at least two years before he conquered Montreal often known as one of the best in the city back in the fun days. One of his former employees is now my tailor. He was telling me that the way it works now is people set up a tailor shop but don't know how to cut. They call him to do the cutting. He's one of the last of the Mohicans. Same problem in upholstering. I took a couch to be upholstered eight years ago and the owner was a one man show. He couldn't find anyone to be an apprentice to keep the trade going. My brother-in-law is a GC - same thing. Hard to find competent work. But the trades appear to have a better chance to survive I reckon.
Again. Losing old-world artistry and craftsmanship leads to a drop in excellence. Heck, Hugo's Hunchback of Notre-Dame was a tome to the death of true architecture and that was a novel from the 19th century! Just to show you the descent is slow and winding.
COVID just showed me man is mostly irrational and not interested in facts and truth. When he's scared, he's scared and that's all there's to it.
It's interesting this is happening in many trades and industries.
I have a shoddy theory that sorta ties into this. Between The Honeymooners and Seinfeld, it was a steady stream of outstanding landmark sitcoms. That represents roughly the period from the 1950s and 1990s (the years the Habs dominated the NHL incidentally for the most part). Since Seinfeld, has there been a sitcom to pick up the torch and carry it high?
I don't think so. Therefore, yada, yada, yada, I submit civilization has fallen since Seinfeld's last episode.
All I know is that Big Pharma has great influence over which courses on medicine are taught. They avoid teaching courses on the true role of nutrition and the immune system being central to good health! They shape the brains of physicians to fit the allopathic medicine model!
https://thomasabraunrph.substack.com/p/battle-for-your-brain