Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite

by confuzzled dude Thu May 14, 2015 8:56 pm

As a professor at Yale, Bill Deresiewicz saw something that troubled him deeply. His students, some of the nation’s brightest minds, were adrift when it came to the big questions: how to think critically and creatively, and how to find a sense of purpose.

Excellent Sheep takes a sharp look at the high-pressure conveyor belt that begins with parents and counselors who demand perfect grades and culminates in the skewed applications Deresiewicz saw firsthand as a member of Yale’s admissions committee. As schools shift focus from the humanities to "practical" subjects like economics and computer science, students are losing the ability to think in innovative ways. Deresiewicz explains how college should be a time for self-discovery, when students can establish their own values and measures of success, so they can forge their own path. He addresses parents, students, educators, and anyone who's interested in the direction of American society, featuring quotes from real students and graduates he has corresponded with over the years, candidly exposing where the system is broken and clearly presenting solutions.

http://www.amazon.com/Excellent-Sheep-Miseducation-American-Meaningful/dp/1476702713

by confuzzled dude Fri May 15, 2015 8:50 am

beginning in the 1960s, college admissions changed radically, shifting from "the old aristocracy to the new meritocracy: from caste, 'character,' and connections," writes the author, "to scores and grades." Elite universities today are more meritocratic, but they are also more materialistic. "In 1971," Mr. Deresiewicz writes quoting a study, "73 percent of incoming freshmen said that it is essential or very important to 'develop a meaningful philosophy of life.' " That same year, 37% said being wealthy was important. But by 2011, the values of young adults had changed: Eighty percent said being rich is a very important priority, while only 47% were interested in life's big questions. Even in a decade of economic turmoil, about half of the graduates at Penn who pursue full-time employment, for example, go into finance and consulting each year.

This is not the purpose Mr. Deresiewicz has in mind for this country's best and brightest. He believes in an education that asks: "What is the good life and how should I live it?" It is as much an education in character as it is in critical thinking. The author chronicles the gradual process by which the traditional liberal arts education that was once a staple of these schools has given way to the research university agenda, where "fragmentation and specialization" define the curriculum. Rather than being taught the accumulated wisdom of the past through the great books, students now select from a bland a la carte menu of "distribution requirements" that leave them without a holistic understanding of the debates and issues that shaped the culture they now live in. "Nothing adds up," he writes, "because nothing is designed to add up."

http://www.wsj.com/articles/book-review-excellent-sheep-the-miseducation-of-the-american-elite-by-william-deresiewicz-1408576444

Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite

Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite

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