I suspect this problem cannot be solved until we — the American people — get over the idea that “everyone needs and should get a college education.” That folderol has acquired the status of an axiom — and we must get past it. The problem to which Mr. Solway alludes exists primarily in the humanities and soft sciences (although, as several posters have correctly pointed out, it has begun to infect some of the hard sciences as well). The question is: “What are all those young people doing in those sociology and queer studies and cultural anthropology classes?” The answer: “Killing time.”
Can anyone seriously argue that the typical student in either the soft sciences or the humanities is doing anything useful or productive? Can anyone seriously argue that years spent listening to lectures on feminism or black power or any of the other makework topics covered in these courses will, as a result, become a “better citizen” or “well-rounded person” or whatever the platitude of the day is?
The truth is that higher education in America has been grossly oversold, as Charles Murray brilliantly argues in his latest book. College education is right and good for some people, and wrong and bad for others. The sooner we accept that fact, the better off our country will be.
One huge consequence of scaling back on higher education is that we will end up with fewer colleges and fewer people teaching in colleges. At that point, the problem of indoctrination, which now seems unsolvable, will become manageable. Fewer and smaller schools, smaller enrollments, fewer faculty, more focus on serious subjects — all of this could be the beginning of something very good.
