a Recap of Bill D.

A few weeks ago, we had the privilege of hearing from Dr. William Deresiewicz and his weighted opinion on the role of academia in the lives of our current generation. His conviction and resolve to warn the world against the ‘rat race,’ that is the college educational system, is undeniably undeterred.

We want to share more of his thoughts on this subject. Below is the Q&A session that Bill had with our Foundation Circle members at their last luncheon. And if you missed the Bill D. event, you can still read his book, Excellent Sheep: The Miseducation of the American Elite & the Way to a Meaningful Life, available in our book store. *Please note that the Q&A below has been paraphrased.

Let’s see what Bill had to say…

Q: How many books have you written and what was the most challenging one to write?

Bill: I only became a full-time writer 11 years ago. I have two books out at the moment– Excellent Sheep and A Jane Austen Education. Currently working on another book about how artists make a living. Excellent Sheep was the book I was born to write. It grew out of personal experience which made it so special. The essay, “The Disadvantages of an Elite Education” was a bit off-putting to most and I really didn’t expect it to blow up in the way that it did. After I wrote this essay my inbox flooded with email confessionals from students about how unhappy they were. I knew I had to write it

Q: We have a SLOCA HS grad that feels like Excellent Sheep should be mandated reading for all high school students. He got this great experience at SLOCA and is now watching other students that didn’t get that kind of education struggle and navigate college life.

Bill: I have been asked to speak more at high schools lately, usually wealthy Manhattan high schools. But I don’t feel that SLOCA puts the same type of pressure on students that these schools do, and that it fosters a much better learning environment that emphasizes learning for learning’s sake.

Q: What has the response been from your peers?

Bill: The response has largely been from students sharing the articles or books peer to peer. My colleagues are actually the group I have heard from the least. A few Ivy league professors have written articles to argue with me and tell him that I’m wrong, or that I’m well-intentioned but misguided. I feel that this is the farthest thing from the truth. Professors are checked out and are not engaged with their students. They too, are on a set path to acquire tenure and that is their main focus, not the students

Q: Is SLOCA putting kids on this path?

Bill: I would disagree. SLOCA is not that kind of school. There are high-pressure places where everything is pointed at elite institutions and curiosity is drained out of students. I don’t see the hoop-jumping that I see at other schools. The community here is also different– everybody here is in a much different mindset.

Q: We watched your interview on the Colbert Report and it seemed like we didn’t get any answers about what to do with our kids…

Bill: Colbert was playing a character, it was more of a performance than anything. But these students are sheep seeking safety, they’re very fearful. SLOCA is providing the courage and character for these students that teaches them how to make decisions. We all know the “helicopter parent” and this also reflects on the system as a whole. Parents feel like they’re protecting their kids by constantly monitoring them, keeping them busy, and putting them on this narrow path. But in the end, it’s not what’s best for them.

Q: What was it after that initial essay that made you write the book, Excellent Sheep?

Bill: People had been piecing this together already (that Ivy leagues were not all they are cracked up to be). Through mentoring students, I got the sense that this type of education hindered them and didn’t stimulate them. One thing I didn’t realize was how miserable these students were. The main point is that this system is not working for the students. These students feel so much uncertainty, yet they are told that they SHOULD know what they want to do. Excellent Sheep challenges this completely.

Q: This book was challenging for me [as a SLOCA parent] personally, as I want good things for my kids. Trying to release kids into this uncertainty, but it’s a continual journey. What can you say to us parents that are trying to trust the process but may be having a hard time with it?

Bill: There is no magic answer. Worry is valid. The very real problem of growing inequality in America (and the whole world) creates a world of winners and losers. We reproduce this inequality through this system– so all of those feelings are very valid. However, being the best or being nothing is not a thing. Catastrophizing everything is a natural human emotion, but we can’t fall into it. Your kids are going to be fine. You all are equipping kids with the means to make it in this world. Success may just mean something different to them than it does to you. Kids at SLOCA are challenged. In my 20s I didn’t figure it out and was oblivious. Many go through life without challenging themselves. It is important to push kids to be mindful and inform them of their options. This will help them make better-informed decisions.

Q: Why did you choose to leave academia?

Bill: It was not a personal choice, it was academia’s choice. There is a certain path that educators are expected to be on, and I, too, expected to be on this path. However, it didn’t happen that way. The system took teaching away from me and focused on publishing as many works as possible. I find publishing to be soul-killing, honestly.

Q: How do we help our students in this college search? There are so many options, should we be looking specifically at small liberal arts colleges?

Bill: Fit at colleges is a real thing. There are so many different kinds of colleges and they can all be beneficial in different ways. It’s really important to consider fit when choosing a college.

Q: What’s your opinion on Junior Colleges?

Bill: There’s a deep-stigma surrounding Junior Colleges, but there are obvious financial benefits. These institutions are largely under-resourced. I don’t know enough about them to really give a strong opinion. But it is beneficial to be away from your parents and make decisions for yourself– self-reflection is huge.

Hearing what Bill D. had to say made us think of this quote by Hellen Keller:

“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”

We cannot have an exact roadmap to life, nor can we control the outcomes that were never meant for us to control. What we can rely on is knowing that we are doing our very best here at SLOCA. We are intentional in our purpose, we are mindful of our mission, and we fully intend to foster and nurture our students to be the WONDER- adventurers they were created to be.

Have a beautiful day, everyone!