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EVEN GREAT STRUCTURES have cracks, and it is those cracks, not the magnificence of the structure itself, that attract the attention of a worried eye. Having studied at three very different universities around the world, I am often asked to compare my impressions of the education here at Columbia, at my alma mater (the American University of Beirut), or at Hiroshima University, where I did two years of graduate work. My undergraduate studies were characterized by my fellow students' perception of the United States as the mecca of graduate education. Envisioning acceptance into an American program as the ultimate symbol of success, we accepted the long hours of study and hard competition as part of our daily life, essential to our future well-being.In Japan, I was surprised by the emphasis placed on the research aspect of graduate studies while subordinating instruction; my notion of the American system persisted. Coming to Columbia was like grasping the Grail but at the same time was a reality check. The freedom to pursue our own interests and the chance to interact with distinguished faculty and talented students shouldn't distract our attention from some of the problems facing this great institution (and, by extension, this nation's academies generally).
As a teaching assistant, I've been amazed to see that some students completely lack some of the analytical skills needed by future engineers -- not advanced material, but basic math -- as well as the motivation and commitment needed for a good education. More surprising is that some carry this attitude on to graduate classes, with the unfortunate outcome that a few students with no interest in learning, but simply in obtaining another degree, are more than enough to slow the pace of any class and discourage otherwise excellent teachers. On the opposite side of the process, a few professors in some departments have mastered the art of diluting and simplifying important concepts to the extreme of rendering them irrelevant. These give some sense of reality to the clichéd picture of tenured professors with no interest in teaching.
Teaching science is not as simple as it sounds. Almost anyone has a personal view on topics such as human rights or religion, making the social sciences and humanities somewhat easier for students to grasp, but the same cannot be said about physical science. Even a well-educated person may be a complete stranger to principal components analysis or the dynamics of vorticity. Communicating facts discovered and proved long ago, while doing advanced research and at the same time maintaining one's motivation and arousing the curiosity of students, is a difficult challenge only a few teachers are able to meet. A talent for teaching is a rare commodity that should be nurtured and rewarded exactly as excellence in research is.
This country, with its thousands of educational institutions, vast resources available for both public and private education, and the freedom to pursue diverse ideas and interests, is a unique place for learning. However, with the quality of scientific education here lagging behind that of other nations, the number of U.S.-born graduate students in science, engineering, and medicine is likely to decline, with the rest of the world providing enough talent to meet the need of the labs. This discrepancy may have long-lasting effects far beyond the campuses. Many elements in American society may overlook the collapse of the educational system and blame any future downturn in the economy on those foreign scientists taking all the good well-paying jobs -- a perfect recipe for the spread of prejudice. We don't want to reach a point where the nativist rhetoric heard during recent U.S. elections, playing on the fears of certain segments of the society, is extended against productive scientists and engineers born elsewhere. It's in America's interest both to live peacefully with the rest of the world and to keep up with it.
FAWAZ EL-HABEL is a Ph.D. candidate in Columbia's Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics.
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