Perceptions of elitism

I like to think that I’m committed to educational opportunity and equality. That everybody should have a real chance at pursuing life goals with as few barriers as possible. I like to think that I’m committed to a cause of social justice, that equality of opportunity is the heart of any successful democracy. BUT, sometimes I step back and think “what are colleges creating?” I’m committed to getting more folks to college, but for what? A picture says a thousand words. Yeah, it’ s a bit unfair because for every “elitist” college grad I’ve met, I’ve also met about 20 “non-elitist” college grads. And I can point out a lot of non-college grads who match the elitist profile. The knife cuts both ways. But the food for thought that this picture makes my mind chew on is that colleges have a lot of ground to make up in terms of redefining higher education’s role in society. Colleges could do much more in terms of preparing students to be world citizens, to be engaged citizens, and to work towards improving the human condition.