The Editorial Board commends the University and the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences for developing and promoting the course “U.S. Intelligence Community: Theory and Practice.” We feel that it is vitally important that students at Hopkins expose themselves to environments that are highly similar to actual workplace situations. This course achieves this critical characteristic by transcending the usual discussion based style of learning to reinforce critical thinking skills through impromptu exercises that require intense focus and teamwork.
Many times the mundane aspects associated with university courses blind students from recognizing the pressing situational demands that the real world environment requires of them. Rather, it is not usually that students become too acclimated to problem solving methods that don’t challenge them to explore undiscovered abilities. Further, it is crucial that students pursue collaboration with colleagues when faced with an acute problem and the importance of drawing on the diverse set of talents that comprise a team. This class accomplishes this by requiring their students to develop strategic plans in a very limited amount of time.
More importantly, having the ability to intake significant amounts of information quickly with a high level of comprehension and then immediately evaluate it to fit the task at hand is a skill that can only be learned through rigorous practice. While a typical classroom environment can facilitate the development of such skills throughout engaging discussions and difficult assignments, it nonetheless lacks the real time pressures that this course exposes its students to.
The Editorial Board hopes that the University takes the initiative to encourage the offering of more courses similar to this one. It is only through intense academic exercises coupled with rigorous application that a student can develop the set of skills necessary to thrive in the real world.
Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The News-Letter.