Word: douthat
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...like to thank the editors for their kind attention to my criticisms of Harvard’s curriculum, which appear in the March issue of the Atlantic Monthly. While the editorial is entitled “Doubting Douthat,” (Editorials, Feb. 16) I think that there is actually very little disagreement between us as to the overall state of Harvard academics. The editors concede that “there are major flaws in the current Core Curriculum, the academic advising system, and even the apathy of some professors and teaching fellows,” and they allow that...
...ROSS G. DOUTHAT...
...students are only interested in these careers, they should go to Wharton, or some other pre-professional business school. Douthat has missed the point of a liberal arts education. The classes should not be tailored to meet the pre-professional needs of the students. Our classes must set the standard—a high standard of academic enquiry—and students must strive to meet...
Harvard’s Core Curriculum frequently fails to meet this standard and Douthat is right to criticize it. He is wrong, however, to insist that Harvard College become Harvard High. College students—at Harvard or anywhere else—are not babies. This is not high school anymore and students cannot be forced to learn, or to be engaged academically...
...Douthat writes of the wonder he had as a freshman poring over the course catalogue. What he fails to realize is that there are tons of great courses out there—even in the core—but students are simply not taking them. This fall, I took Literature and Arts A-53: “Athens and Jerusalem” as an elective. Eight other undergraduates took the class with me. We rigorously compared the Hebrew Bible to Ancient Greek literature in one of the more enjoyable academic experiences of my Harvard career...