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In today’s episode, I dare to ask the question, “Is the Ivy League good enough for my kids?” All schools take their cues from the Ivy League. Many of our nation’s leaders come from Ivy League institutions. The last president who wasn’t an Ivy Leaguer was Ronald Reagan. William Deresiewicz writes,
“But what these institutions mean by leadership is nothing more than getting to the top. Making partner at a major law firm or becoming a chief executive, climbing the greasy pole of whatever hierarchy you decide to attach yourself to. I don’t think it occurs to the people in charge of elite colleges that the concept of leadership ought to have a higher meaning, or, really, any meaning.”
I couldn’t agree more. I recently watched the HBO miniseries “Band of Brothers” and am reading the book by Stephen Ambrose. The leadership skills those men learned were forged in the crucible of war, fired in the kilns of battle. It seems to me that at least one element of true leadership is testing. Not academic testing, but testing in character and virtue. When a man has been tested like the men in “Band of Brothers,” he is worthy to lead because he is worth following.
Is the Ivy League really producing great leaders? Many of the students at these institutions simply learn to parrot their professors who haven’t been tested outside the halls of academia. The sad truth is that Harvard could learn a lot from having some soldiers, some entrepreneurs, even some homeschoolers walking their hallowed halls. I wonder if they would be welcome.
At the beginning of the show, I rant a little about the PC Word Police and the recent controversy involving the Ohio State University Marching Band.
Article: “Don’t Send Your Kid to the Ivy Leauge” by William Deresiewicz
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/118747/ivy-league-schools-are-overrated-send-your-kids-elsewhere