Tuesday - Thomas Sowell!

When I saw the title for this column, I almost went against Pixie Place Tradition and skipped Sowell's column for today, replacing it with the always-enjoyable Mark Steyn or a video about Yom Kippur. Then I read the first couple paragraphs, and I have to post it. Despite the subject being FAR from anything in my personal life today, Sowell's writing and point of view have value.

This, for instance:

Among the things you need to know about a particular college is whether it has a real curriculum or just a smorgasbord of courses, so that it is possible to graduate knowing nothing about history, economics or science, for example. Some of the most prestigious colleges in the country are places where you can graduate completely ignorant of such fundamental subjects.

In discussing "Choosing the Right College," Sowell points to some things that aren't discussed about most institutions of learning, things it seems many people find out The Hard Way. I may yet look into finding it, just to set my mind at ease over my...umm...sneering, snarky (but hopefully well-hidden) attitude, shall we say...toward some people I know...

Second example:

"Choosing the Right College" also presents information on such things as black separatist organizations at Lafayette College, for example. Whether you are for or against such things, you need to know about them, in order to choose what you think is right for you.

I've had an attitude about "the Best" schools for a long time now, believing that giving money to a place to NOT learn anything was an exercise in foolishness and ego. To use the name of a university as a resume-booster may seem important to some...but at what cost.

More:

It also tells you whether the intellectual atmosphere is free or is hidebound with political correctness, and plagued by professors who think their job is to use the classroom as a place to sound off about their political ideology to a captive audience, even when the course is about chemistry or accounting.

Good stuff for a Tuesday morning, isn't it? Thanks for stopping by!