Anti-Intellectualism

One of the things that really bothers me in the current presidential campaign is the anti-intellectualism that is being revealed. I don't consider myself to be a supporter of academic elitism, but I do like to think that the thoughtful consideration of ideas is something we as a country values. I don't think you need to have attended Yale or Harvard to be able to think, in fact for the most part I would argue that NOT attending one of the elite educational institutions is to your advantage.

A few years ago I listened to an academic administrator talk about the limitations of some high school students who were being interviewed for a prestigious scholarship here. Specifically, she was critical of the students from rural areas and small schools who had not been exposed to a diverse student body, or had the opportunity to eat (non-European) ethnic foods, or had not visited large urban centers. She scoffed at their possible contributions to the program and the University. What could these "hicks" offer us? I would argue that they could offer a lot, provided that they are smart, thoughtful kids who are put into an environment where their experiences and ideas would be respected.

In another instance, I had a faculty member actually try to make the point that attending an Ivy League graduate school program may disadvantage new faculty, because they would not have had the opportunity to teach as students. We are to feel sorry for junior faculty who attend the most prestigious graduate programs in the country? I don't get it.

So, this has strayed a little from anti-intellectualism. My point is just that we should worry less about credentials and more about ideas. But, at the same time, we don't need to discount someone's ideas because they came from either an "elite" or "hick" school.