The findings, in a recent study by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, are pretty grim, namely: “some of the most expensive universities, with the highest paid presidents, are among the worst-performing in the country regarding the teaching of America’s history and institutions to their undergraduate students. These universities, which also receive some of the largest government subsidies, include the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell, Yale, Princeton, and Duke.”
In particular, though Ivy League students know more about about civics going in, they basically do not add to their knowledge during college. Which seems to make sense given a typical college student’s trajectory.
Leave it to one of our own to stick up for the Ivy Leaguers, however. Eric Foner, a prof at Columbia cages “the study of history has changed enormously,” Mr. Foner said. “It’s become much more broad and diverse. The study of facts about particular battles has diminished, but maybe students are in a better position to answer questions about the abolition of slavery.” (NYSun)
So there. We’re still smarter."
When I was at Cornell, the administration always spouted "open doors, open hearts, and open minds", I dismissed it as some mumbo jumbo during the bitter winters of too much prelim studying; but today, as i argued with a coworker about the importance versus non importance of college education, i realized that's what i loved best about school. Epistemology arguments aside, there's something magical about being able to debate with friends why an art piece is artistic rather than just rehash some curator's speech about how great the art piece is; or thinking about the forces and environments that shape the similarities and differences among us, rather than just throwing our hands up in the air and accepting that people are simply who they are.After working a while comes the realization that the learning curve at work is quickly reached, and that boredom soon followed. I think it's the same for alot of jobs in the professional world. The problem really lies in the difference between working and education; rather than turning an empty mind into an open one, I'm simply filling it with accounting regulations, excel formulas, and SEC rules, it's easy to fill an empty mind, but I miss the days when I had an open one that couldn't be plugged.
