ASSIGNMENT: Word Processing

In this article from orientation, Mark Edmundson argues that student consumerism has acted to dumb down college courses

I looked for a sound-bite to include here from his article; but it's too meaty to excerpt. Maybe this:

Is it a surprise, then, that this generation of students -- steeped in consumer culture before going off to school, treated as potent customers by the university well before their date of arrival, then pandered to from day one until the morning of the final kiss-off from Kermit or one of his kin -- are inclined to see the books they read as a string of entertainments to be placidly enjoyed or languidly cast down? Given the way universities are now administered (which is more and more to say, given the way that they are currently marketed), is it a shock that the kids don't come to school hot to learn, unable to beat their own ignorance? For some measure of self-dislike, or self-discontent -- which is much different than simple depression -- seems to me to be a prerequisite for getting an education that matters. My students, alas, usually lack the confidence to acknowledge what would be their most precious asset for learning: their ignorance.

.

I'd urge you to read his full article. Compare that, however to the essay on page 457 of our CS 115 text book which claims just the opposite:

Game companies don't rake in $6.9 billion a year by dumbing down the material.

Write a one page essay discussing these opposing views and drawing your own conclusions. If you need help using MS Word, please see me. Include a proper title, your name, etc. Print it out and hand it in at the start of CS 115 Friday afternoon.