Outsource This

Grading papers is one of those 'necessary evil' aspects of being a professor. It's somewhat like panning for gold - you process a lot of dross in order to find one or two nuggets. Granted, it could be worse. I can do it sitting down in a climate-controlled environment, often with a cold beverage or two at hand.

Still, it is mind-numbing and spirit-sapping to slog through paper after mediocre paper. I teach upperclassmen: college juniors and seniors whom one would presume have mastered the basics of communicating using the written word. Well, one would presume wrong. Most of them can't write a coherent sentence, much less a paragraph, much much less a string of cohesive paragraphs. What do they teach in high schools these days, anyway?

Now comes the innovative Indians, God bless 'em, with the latest in outsourcing convenience. If I'm so inclined I can now outsource the grading of papers.

"Lori Whisenant knows that one way to improve the writing skills of undergraduates is to make them write more. But as each student in her course in business law and ethics at the University of Houston began to crank out—often awkwardly—nearly 5,000 words a semester, it became clear to her that what would really help them was consistent, detailed feedback.

Her seven teaching assistants, some of whom did not have much experience, couldn't deliver. Their workload was staggering: About 1,000 juniors and seniors enroll in the course each year. "Our graders were great," she says, "but they were not experts in providing feedback."

That shortcoming led Ms. Whisenant, director of business law and ethics studies at Houston, to a novel solution last fall. She outsourced assignment grading..."

It's depressing that foreigners now have greater English composition skills than our own native-born American students. Not surprising, however. Why, you ask? Well, just ask yourself this.

Q: Who runs the schools?

A: The government.

Yes, the same folks who are running social security, medicare, and medicaid into the ground, the same people who operate the post office so well that FedEx and UPS are now corporate giants, the same organizations responsible for the efficiency and compassion of motor vehicle offices and the IRS, are the ones who 'educate' our young people.

I fear for our future...