In 2006, I clipped a “Non Sequitur” cartoon that captured perfectly the mystique that surrounds our nation’s universities. The cartoon pictured a professor ensconced in a cubicle surrounded by an alligator-infested moat, drawbridge up. One outsider, gazing across the moat, says to another: “We have no idea what he does, which, of course, is one … Continue reading “The Modern University’s Greatest Failing”
Famed literary critic George Steiner once said that cultural knowledge allows one to “resist” and that “no one can make a zombie of you if you carry [cultural knowledge] inside of you.” Today, Steiner’s argument for cultural education is being severely tested. Just how little today’s students know about their own cultures was brought home … Continue reading “The High Cost of Cultural Amnesia”
It was a bad idea for the federal government ever to get into the business of financing college with its various grants and loans, but at least in the old days, most of the money loaned was eventually repaid. Now that the overselling of higher education has boiled over, politicians are eager to show their … Continue reading “The Burden of Uncle Sam’s “Generosity” Towards College Students”