If he hadn’t told all those kids they’d be our next leaders, perhaps we could have had common sense kids, from community colleges and regional colleges and trade schools become our leaders. You really reap what you sow, Alan. Screw Harvard and Yale. They’ve destroyed America for 50 years.
Ain’t that the truth.
I couldn't agree more. I've heard the same ‘future leaders of America’ line used to describe students at high-priced private high schools. It's beyond ridiculous. It's way, way past time that we stop thinking that the brightest minds come from specific schools/universities. They absolutely do not.
What determines who goes to Harvard, Yale, Princeton, etc.? A variety of factors, many that are not achievement based, and most determined before the beginning of your senior year of high school. A certain number of admissions go to ‘legacy’ students whose parents went to that university and who are able and willing to donate money. There are those who are there because they add ‘cache’ to the entering classes (e.g. they come from famous families, rich families, or both). There are also those there because they fulfill the diversity criteria (e.g. non-Americans, minorities, or members of other PC groups).
The slots that go to students on the basis of academic achievement are, again, determined generally on what those students achieved by the end of junior year in high school. Thus, in essence, if we ‘choose’ our leaders from specific universities, we are essentially choosing future leaders from high school junior and early senior classes. Really? No wonder we have so many issues.
GPA in high school often comes down to how motivated or externally ‘pushed’ a student was in the early years of high school. A lot of kids are sorting out who they are and what they want to be during those years, and developing socially. It's normal and healthy. Some of the most creative, talented, and bright people bloom later and are not stellar high-school students.