College life -- dating, joining clubs, attending parties, kicking up riots, etc. -- must be fun for most, but much of college education -- reading, thinking, debating, writing, etc. -- doesn't appear to be a genuine pleasure except for a few today. Lives of college teachers* and students would greatly improve if aggressively parochial conservatives (of the sort who disdain reading) didn't feel obliged to attend college at all.
***** The English aristocracy in particular regarded the Grand Tour as crucial to their education. The great-aunt of Thomas Coke wrote to him upon his completion of school:
"Sir, I understand you have left Eton and probably intend to go to one of those Schools of Vice, the Universities. If, however, you choose to travel I will give you 500 pounds [about $12,500] per annum."
<http://mars.acnet.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/wc2/lectures/peasantsaristos.html> *****
Parents of rich little boys should adopt the policy of the great-aunt of Thomas Coke.
Postscript -- on "pedagogues":
* "Well, I had better know something about pedagogues, right? Here's what I know about them. Originally, they were Greek slaves who were charged with providing the education of the ruling class. That's what they were doing, and it always struck me that only in the western system could they come up with the idea of somebody who was enslaved to liberate the minds of others. (Laughter)" (Remarks of Mr. Paul Ongtooguk, Alaska Native Education Summit, 30 November 2001, <http://www.alaskool.org/native_ed/PO-ANES-speech.htm>). -- Yoshie
* Calendar of Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osudivest.org/> * Al-Awda-Ohio: <http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Al-Awda-Ohio> * Solidarity: <http://solidarity.igc.org/>