Scan barcode
A review by r_reads2winnie
Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite and the Way to a Meaningful Life by William Deresiewicz
3.75
Excellent Sheep is a thought-provoking book about the American educational system, especially its elite colleges. This is a good book for parents with younger kids who are going to college in the future or mature high school and college students who are thinking about their colleges, majors, or career. I am not the intended audience.
By excellent sheep, the author means students who are high achievers. Their sole purpose is to achieve status, whether admission to elite colleges or getting good jobs according to societal standards or what their parents or peers think is best. For instance, they take as many AP classes as possible, accumulate many volunteer hours, and engage in 10 extracurricular activities. The problem is they have little or no interest in or passion for what they do. They are simply building their resume to enhance their college application, and this pattern will continue once they get to college. These kids are driven but anxious with no intellectual curiosity or social skills.
The author also argues that college should be a place of self-discovery, trial and error, learning to think critically and creatively, and finding a sense of purpose and one’s path. This is hard to do now because students are choosing more vocational paths, like Computer Science and Finance, and don’t pursue liberal arts education like English, Philosophy, and History, where they can learn to cultivate soft skills.
The book is loaded with the author’s opinions of what’s wrong with elite colleges. I think it will prompt the readers to think about the value of education and the American educational system. Although I agree with the author's main idea, his description of elite education feels one-dimensional, and his opinion is overly idealistic.
By excellent sheep, the author means students who are high achievers. Their sole purpose is to achieve status, whether admission to elite colleges or getting good jobs according to societal standards or what their parents or peers think is best. For instance, they take as many AP classes as possible, accumulate many volunteer hours, and engage in 10 extracurricular activities. The problem is they have little or no interest in or passion for what they do. They are simply building their resume to enhance their college application, and this pattern will continue once they get to college. These kids are driven but anxious with no intellectual curiosity or social skills.
The author also argues that college should be a place of self-discovery, trial and error, learning to think critically and creatively, and finding a sense of purpose and one’s path. This is hard to do now because students are choosing more vocational paths, like Computer Science and Finance, and don’t pursue liberal arts education like English, Philosophy, and History, where they can learn to cultivate soft skills.
The book is loaded with the author’s opinions of what’s wrong with elite colleges. I think it will prompt the readers to think about the value of education and the American educational system. Although I agree with the author's main idea, his description of elite education feels one-dimensional, and his opinion is overly idealistic.