Why this Article is God Awful

Connor Sullivan

This article was written in a way that demonizes College in general, without openly criticizing it. Menand goes on and on about facts and theories that are clearly biased one way, but does not himself take a stance. He starts off by making a humorous remark that; “At a certain appointed hour, the university decided to make its way in the world without me, and we parted company.” This is a decorated way of saying he got fired. Anyone can fluff up a statement and make it sound better. This reading may have touched on various disagreeable topics, and I have deliberated it to be of questionable quality. Translation: This article sucks. Right off the bat we know this “critique” is done by a fired professor, already giving it an uneven standing. I would trust this any more than I would trust Charlie Sheen with dating advice or Ann Coulter with…anything. He then goes on to lull the reader to sleep with fact A, Theory 1 and 2, and Professor X. One fact in particular that bothered me was “In 1962, students reported studying for an average of twenty- five hours a week; the average is now twelve to thirteen hours…In a University of California survey, students reported spending thirteen hours a week and forty-three hours socializing and perusing various forms of entertainment” He never fully says this is a bad thing, but the manner in which it is written says volumes. The problem I have with this is the way he values school work. This fact is meant to scare the reader but I think it should be celebrated. Of course being able to do the work is extremely important, but that is not what life is. College is about preparing you for the real world, but who says that means being glued to a desk? Life is about connecting with people, not being force-fed facts about useless garbage. This article would hold everyone to the same standard and expect the same from everybody. There isn’t a test (including his C.L.A.) that can be made to fit everyone’s strengths, so why judge everyone by one. Differences should be celebrated. Not condemned. If someone is bad at math they should try writing. If they are bad at writing, try history. A society that utilizes everyone’s strengths will be the strongest community possible.