Click here for Rick Perlstein's article on how going to college, and the University of Chicago in particular, has changed.
Food for thought: Should colleges be as integrated as they are with the outside world, or should they be islands unto themselves? Is there a higher education "industry" or "market?" Should there be? Do you think the reason you are going to college is different from the reason your parents went? How do you expect your experiences to be the same or different from the ones they had (if they went)?
For more arguments, read Derek Bok's Universities in the Marketplace.
Also, Dean of Admissions Ted O'Neill in the Wall Street Journal's opinion journal. Why is that article in the "taste" section? I guess because there's no accounting for taste. I'm not going to say anything about Ms. Riley's conclusion in the article, except that it's pretty misinformed, and I'm not going to ask for comments on this blog because hackles always get raised. However, it also provides some food for thought.
If you want an opposing view, read Derek Bok and William Bowen's The Shape of the River.
At any rate, I'm in Berkeley, CA, in between school visits. I could see my breath this morning, something that I am proud to say has NOT yet happened in Chicago, where it is currently 75 degrees. It has been very exciting, especially since a giant spider decided to ride with me from Campolindo High School to The College Preparatory School. I offloaded it somewhere in Oakland.
