SlowpokeBlog

Every so often I do a social-commentary cartoon that winds up provoking more impassioned emails than many of my more overtly-political strips (see "What's In a Name?" from 2005, in which I made fun of people who name their babies "Cash." Incidentally, I recently heard from someone with a baby named Cash who thought the cartoon was a hoot.) "Semester at Sea" appears to be one such strip. A professor who has taught with the program writes:

...Most faculty who sail with the program will say (I interviewed several before becoming connected to the program) that the teaching and learning on the ship is as if not more rewarding and meaningful (in terms of learning outcomes and the impact of education on one's life and critical thinking skills) than work back on land campuses. That's not to say that a few flakey courses don't sneak their way in, but no more so, in my experience (as both a teacher on the ship and as an academic advisor for students who sail) than what we see on the home campus. I guess, then, that I'd respectfully challenge you to question your easy assumption about courses being less rigorous or demanding on the ship than on "regular" campuses. That hasn't been my experience at all.

Likewise, on my two voyages, most of the students with whom I sailed were middle class, or low to lower middle class students, who saved and scrimped and scraped to get the $$$ to attend. This isn't, in other words, a "rich kids" experience, especially not in light of the financial aid awarded by SAS...

Well, what can I say? If anyone wants to send a cartoonist on a Semester at Sea voyage, let me know. I'd be delighted to do a strip about my experience.