Oh. I see. Uh huh. It’s a comment that almost never fails to draw response. Hmm. I didn’t know. Well, that explains a lot. No matter how I frame the point, the reaction ranges from shock to incredulity. Really? Seriously? You actually mean it? You see, dear reader, I have a startling confession to make. … Read more
Several weeks ago, a columnist for The Harvard Crimson announced that he’s sick of hearing other students blather on about their political opinions. “It requires a truly astonishing degree of presumptuousness,” Dhruv Singhal wrote, “for someone to believe that their particular insights on the appropriate balance between the cause of social justice and the prudence … Read more
Higher education as a training ground for citizenship President Obama is making education an economic issue. “When it comes to jobs, opportunity, and prosperity in the 21st century, nothing is more important than the quality of your education,” he asserted in his weekly radio address on October 9, 2010. Of course, for Obama, connecting higher … Read more
The moral implications of picking a career Senior spring is a wonderful time at Harvard. Theses are done, coursework is light, and the weather has (finally) improved. I have enjoyed senior spring tremendously since turning in my thesis, and I am confident that it will be my best semester yet. But one thing still troubles … Read more
The value of the Western tradition in higher education The idea of a Western canon has become unfashionable. When I arrived at Harvard in the fall of 2006, the university offered a course on celestial navigation but no survey course in British history. The English Department recently eliminated its required course in major British writers, … Read more
In a culture that often values boldness above all else, American politics is surprisingly allergic to big ideas. Despite the clamor over President Obama’s health-care reform plan, it is important to remember that it proposes fairly incremental changes. Today insurance in America is employer-based, and provided by private, for-profit insurers. This will not change. The … Read more
What 44 can learn from 35 Pundits are fond of drawing comparisons between John F. Kennedy and Barack H. Obama and, indeed, there are many parallels to be found. Like JFK, Obama captured national attention as a junior senator and ran for president without a great deal of governing experience. Like JFK, Obama campaigned as … Read more