United Press International (UPI) has filed a strange story from US News & World Report: our elite institutions still rank themselves among themselves as surely as a chain of command exists under the British Aristocracy.
During my nearly 10 years as a public school teacher, I had to attend many in-service trainings to keep my skills as an educator sharp. One memorable in-service was about getting our kids into college. The discussion turned quickly to not only getting our kids into college but also into the "best" colleges.
The best colleges are among those listed recently by the UPI/US News story. Harvard and Princeton Universities top the list in first place. The news is they tied. But this is hardly news. Do we really care, for example, if the Pews outflank the Carnegies and have knocked the Rockefellers down a notch?
Those of us who want to be a Pew - one of our hidden, ruling families - think of nothing else.
My question at the in-service was whether the esteem we assign these schools was deserved, given their dark history where our kids specifically and our goal of a public democracy are concerned.
These elite institutions have a dark and anti-human rights history where racial and ethnic minorities are concerned, women, and the poor. It was only just yesterday they began to admit women and Blacks, opened its doors to Jews.
In 1920, Harvard launched a witch hunt to rid its halls of LGBT's.
Indeed, Harvard's reputation is directly linked to the Establishment. It is its record endowment from prominent alumni that add jewels to this undeserved, elitist crown.
Yet, the masses quiver in the marketplace at the name: Harvard!
Contrast this to our truly public universities and colleges. The community colleges, trade and technical schools, and state universities are often overlooked for their contribution to a truly civil society.
The Univ of Nebraska was one of the few universities in the Midwest that admitted Blacks in the 20's and 30's. I know this because my grandfather, Lowell B Denny, I, had to leave St. Louis to attend college there.
Where is our appreciation for Nebraska in adding to a young Black man's education?
The Establishment continue to feed us notions that their class alone is destined to govern and rule, that they themselves are the chosen people.
The contribution of this Harvard - Princeton "best" schools is part of this insidious propaganda campaign whereas a truly modern, democratic society must value most those institutions that include the whole of the public and train and educate them to be the farmers, technicians, mechanics, doctors, legal scholars, teachers, community organizers, and community contributors.
Unfortunately, as much as every institution continues to reflect our elitist heritage, the name Harvard still causes us to swoon.
No comments:
Post a Comment