Lost in the Maze
The Pressure to Please vs. Preparing for Reality
Once upon a time, business schools were crucibles of critical thought and challenge. Now, they're just trying to keep the customers satisfied. The race to ensure job placements and uphold brand prestige has overshadowed the real grind of learning. They parade leisure and travel as part of the curriculum, while the true value of a diploma deflates faster than you can say "grade inflation."
In my classrooms, smartphones reign supreme—deans say no to banning them. Gamified learning tools (think Kahoot) and TedX-style snippets are the new norm, where showing up counts more than thinking deep. Homework? Forget it; there's the school's work-life-balance protocol to consider. And grading? Professors are turning into crowd-pleasers, terrified of scoring low on their own Facebook-like assessment scales, and they're caught in a bind: fail a student for just cause, and they risk harsh reprisals from faculty. This soft play is gutting the tough, error-driven learning that business education used to stand for.
I'm fighting the good fight (and some students are patriots), dedicating at least half our time to hands-on workshops where we actually do stuff, not just talk about it. I'm championing a meritocracy where those who excel in tangible skills can truly shine, but getting this real work recognized in the grading? That's a bureaucratic battle royale.
To turn the tide, I’m pushing for a robust progression system, tight academic monitoring, and a student body that does more than plan the next party. When industry bigwigs drop by my classes for jury duty, their bewildered expressions fuel my resolve. We're not just handing out diplomas—we're supposed to be prepping these future leaders for reality, not just pleasing them.