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'Ivy Retardation' Curse of Elites

Inflated self-worth, narrow view of smarts disadvantage of life at top

By Kate Rockwood,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 27, 2008 5:09 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Its advantages are undeniable, but an elite education can also cause a crippling case of “Ivy retardation,” as William Deresiewicz realized while struggling, despite fluency in several languages, to make small talk with his blue-collar plumber in Boston. “The best and the brightest” develop an inflated sense of self-worth and are trained to see the lesser-educated as inferior, no matter their intelligence, he writes in American Scholar.

These elites learn to value only a narrow, analytic form of education, and diversity at the schools is limited to ethnicity, rarely class. The result is a homogenous pool of graduates untrained to interact with regular people—remember John Kerry? "I never learned that there are smart people who don’t go to elite colleges, often precisely for reasons of class," writes Deresiewicz. "I never learned that there are smart people who don’t go to college at all."


Told repeatedly they're the best and the brightest, students with elite educations develop an inflated sense of self-worth, writes William Deresiewicz.
Told repeatedly they're "the best and the brightest," students with elite educations develop an inflated sense of self-worth, writes William Deresiewicz.   (Getty Images)
Students at the nation's elite schools often end up living in an isolated, if privileged, world, writes the author.
Students at the nation's elite schools often end up living in an isolated, if privileged, world, writes the author.   (Shutter Stock)
Diversity at Ivy league schools is often limited to race and ethnicity, rarely class, writes William Deresiewicz.
Diversity at Ivy league schools is often limited to race and ethnicity, rarely class, writes William Deresiewicz.   (Getty Images)
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Obama struggles with rep of Harvard-educated elitist
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education • Ivy League • working class • elite

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