A very brief history of modern times (apologies to both Stephen Hawking and Charlie Chaplin)

Things have changed. Dramatically. 50 years ago the following words would often be heard at the opening of the new academic yeas at highly selective colleges and universities:

“Gentleman” (yes, most were single sex back then), you are here because you wish to pursue an education. The curriculum we have designed for you will expose you to the core of learning that is the best that civilization has created. The western world is the center of learning and we are here to teach you the voices of those who have paid and paved the way. You will be standing on the shoulders of giants, those geniuses who saw deeper into our souls than we can begin to know. And from this you will emerge a better man, ready to take on the world. But such an endeavor is never easy. So look to the left and look to the right of you. At the end of four years only one of you will remain and obtain a degree. I wish you luck and Godspeed.” Or something to that effect.

The motivating forces in those days were fear and tradition. Some would say, even today, we have strayed too far from this approach. But things are far different. The white males sitting in those chairs have been replaced by the greatest social experiment in the history of the world. People from all races, countries, religions and creeds, economic backgrounds are now gathered on campuses across this country. The hope is that by bringing this diversity to great schools ideas will flow in new ways. The challenge to some teachers now is that their own knowledge of differing approaches is sometimes not up to the task. They need the help of the students to learn more about new approaches. And this is a good thing. Education should never be a religious rite in which acolytes bow down to the age. Instead, students should feel comfortable asking questions, raising issues, and adding new perspectives. It creates a more dynamic class, although much less structured than in the past.

More importantly, perhaps, is that these days almost the men and women who sit in these chairs will graduate.   There are several reasons for this but only one gets much press. Many people have commented on the extreme rise in average grades that students earn today as opposed to a generation or two ago. And this is certainly accurate. One theory for the rise in grades has to do with the Vietnam War. Faculty were much less inclined to fail students who would then be eligible for the draft. Most faculties opposed the war so this was their way of supporting the anti-war movement.  But this only tells a small part of the story. At the same moment in history one of the greatest changes in the history of civilization was happening and this has not been adequately brought to light.

The gentleman sitting in those rows were, at that time joined by woman. Some schools actively welcomed women to campuses, but for those who first started at some places, they had to endure a great deal of abuse, most of it verbal, but sadly that was not the entire extent of it. What the introduction of women did was, in effect, double the applicant pool in a year or two. Schools in the Ivy league that were somewhat selective (for the most part the demographic of upper middle class, white male, private school attendees was not all that large) now became twice as difficult to get into.

A third factor was the revolution in both media and transportation. The family automobile and the proliferation of TV, radio and publications made access to information about schools much more accessible. Schools realized the value of geographic diversity and other forms of diversity coming on the heels of the civil rights movement and before people knew it the admission process had become national. The best students from all parts of the country, male and female not looked beyond the 70 mile radius that most students stayed within then.

Not long after, once the interest in education at schools across the country become of great interest to the upper middle class demographic a publication called US News and World Report decided to come up with a ranking of schools. This was the start of the rush to the top that has not stopped. It seems to get worse (or better according to some) each year. In the last decade applications typically rise by double digits. But the rise these days is largely due to a relative rev=cent pool of exceptional students. Not all that long ago international students were exotic additions to a student body. Most were sons and daughters of the leaders of the country. And while this group still largely pursues education in the US or UK, it is the rise of the world economy, especially in China and India, that has swelled the ranks of students and applicants dramatically in the last five years. 

It’s typical these days that prizes awarded to top graduating students enrolled universities in the US go to international students in a significantly disproportionate way. This, of course, makes sense, since if the US is enrolling the best students from around the world, then they are coming from over 6 billion people instead of a country of 300 million. (Editorial note: those of you who read my blogs on a regular basis know how much I disagree with the US policy which sends these students back home after graduation instead of doing everything it can to welcome them as citizens to become the leaders of an emerging economy).

So, given all that I have set forth, it should come as no surprise that almost every one of the students who have survived the process of being one of the elect to attend a highly selective school should graduate. They are the best students from around the world.  When the New York Times published a statistic a few years ago which showed that the vast majority of Harvard students graduated with honors I was surprised that so few knew that this is exactly what should have happened. We expect Olympic athletes to perform nearly perfectly. In this case the Olympians of academics attend the top schools in this country. Some of them should be earning perfect 10s and most should be demonstrating a level of success few of us could even imagine.  If you think this is hyperbole then think again. The world, or at least the educated in the world, is getting smarter. Despite the outcry about things dumbing down, the statistics show that IQ test are on the rise, and on the rise significantly.

Students are exposed to people, information, and opportunities around the world in ways unthinkable even 15 years ago. While writing this I have answered and asked people things from the following places: China, the southern coast of India, Singapore, Morocco, Turkey, UK, Colombia, Palestine, Kazakhstan, San Francisco, New York, Washington DC, Palo Alto, Chicago and several cities in Virginia. 

As long as educators and politicians realize how valuable it is to have these voices within and without our classrooms, then the US will remain the destination of choice. We have the schools, the faculty, and these systems in place. The question is: are we willing to continue on this path or are we willing to cede our competitive advantage in order to score some political points during uncertain economic times? The answer to this is anybody’s guess, but to me, the fate of the US remaining the city on the hill that gets invoked every four years, depends on this answer.