Dartblog

Anne Neal writes: “Students can now graduate from most of the top-ranked colleges in America without having much meaningful exposure to anything.”

Anne is observing that Shakespeare’s plays and poems are required reading only at Harvard these days.

Look, academic reactionaries are just going to say that Anne is pushing for the Dead White Male curriculum. But while we may argue over whether Shakespeare should be required reading for all collegians, what one cannot discard is Anne’s correct observation that one can graduate from the finest colleges without having learned anything. As a simple market matter, colleges cannot bank on ethereal or name value for very much longer. That’s why state schools are doing better and producing more leaders. Eventually the stodgy old Ivies are going to have to improve.