William Deresiewicz on elite students these days

When students get to college, they hear a couple of speeches telling them to ask the big questions, and when they graduate, they hear a couple more speeches telling them to ask the big questions. And in between, they spend four years taking courses that train them to ask the little questions—specialized courses, taught by specialized professors, aimed at specialized students.

     --William Deresiewicz, "The Disadvantages of an Elite Education," in The American Scholar, Summer 2008