Name-Dropping
I read this response by an English college professor to a question on which books he considered as essential reading for a young person: "For what it's worth, I don't think what a young person reads is nearly as important as how he or she reads. Young people who learn to read with patience and care and long-term concentration, with pencil in hand to make notes (including questions and disagreements), will be better prepared for college than students who read all the "right" books but read them carelessly or passively." This quote is an instance of the point I made in my previous blog about the education system’s emphasis on the “how”, not the “what”. But in this instance, focusing on the “how” is a good thing! The unfortunate thing, though, is that that following this professor’s advice would only put you on the fast track to nowhere. How many institutes that you know of actually practice his philosophy? Are they not more likely to reject the kid who say...