Does Higher Education Lead to True Wisdom?

by Mark Rhoads

Six years before Barack Obama came to study at Harvard Law School, I was finishing my second term in the Illinois State Senate when I received a surprise invitation from the Harvard Overseers to teach as a Fellow of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government . I was a graduate of Loyola University of Chicago, a solid institution for learning then run by dedicated Jesuits but Loyola was not an internationally famous "prestige" school in the usual sense. I also had done graduate work at the American University School of Government in Washington, DC, ---at least a more expensive school.

So I was honored to get the invitation from Harvard. The Fellowship included housing and a good stipend and the whole experience was enormous fun. I taught a weekly class and worked on a research project on Article 5 of the Constitution.

But in many ways Harvard University was no different than any other place I had ever worked.  The best professors were not snobs but rather were kind and decent individuals who were eager to teach, cared about their students, and had the genuine humility to know how much they did not know. The worst ones never stopped in their efforts to impress both students and peers and talked down to their students, using their petty power status to show off instead of to share encouragement and promote real learning.  In short, I met just as many foolish people at Harvard as one would meet in any other community regarless of formal educational background.

One of the wisest and most broadly educated men I ever knew in my life was my maternal grandfather.  His formal schooling never went beyond the eighth grade.  But he was curious about everything, read books all of his life, and taught himself to be an accountant whose financial advice was eagerly sought by towns, park districts, school districts, and fire protection trustees.  It was his humility in part that made him such a fantastic role model for his grandchildren.  A school was named after him while he was still living and it still stands today in La Grange.

Neither of my parents ever finished college but they raised six children who all earned bachelor's degrees or better.  Yes they too were educated people in my opinion whose deep and abiding love inspired in each of their children curiosity about the world and a love of history.  Above all, they had true wisdom to share with their children.  One was a Baptist and the other a Roman Catholic.  During the Depression that was thought of as a "mixed marriage."  But they shared values and hopes for their children that were the same in all the important ways.  For their generation, no matter how many fights a couple might have and no matter how much stress there might be in a marriage, couples really did stay together "for the sake of the children" because the vocation of being a parent was thought of as a higher calling than "self fulfillment" in the modern sense.

We have heard many charges and counter charges in the current presidential campaign about who is or who is not an "elitist."  My own short take on the topic is that prestige schools don't have a monopoly on snobbery and a list of credentials or degrees does not equate to wisdom.  Often I would hear senior citizens marvel at Bill Clinton in 1992 and how "articulate" he was.  When I would ask for a summary of the ideas that Bill Clinton just talked about, the seniors could not remember anything but the fact that he "sounded" like someone who was "articulate" and made a superficial impression that he was smart.  I would try to point out that "articulation" is nothing more than a good vocabulary and the ability to manipulate verbal symbols and that articulation alone was no subtitue for real wisdom.  Sometimes I got through and sometimes not.  In the end, Bill Clinton's personal recklessness showed him to be a "smart"and educated man who was not a wise man.

Thre are people in public life, such as the late Gov. Adlai Stevenson, II, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama who have the gift of dazzling listners in a dispaly of verbal pyrotechnics.  But when one tries to remember the next day what ideas were shared, the memory of the speech erodes quickly.  There are other people who went to far more humble institutions of higher learning or taught themselves in life but who nevertheless have the ability to speak from the heart and share authentic wisdom.  Often you remember what they say for the rest of your life because of some lesson that was learned.  I would rather learn from the latter than be lectured by the former.  I would rather seek wisdom than credentials of academia.  I don't say that wisdom is never found in an Ivy League school, I am only saying that the best teachers are the ones who want to help you and share some ideas rather than show off with false erudition that dazzles for a moment and then fades quickly away.

Comments

[Will NYC]

Once again... I'd take Law degree from Harvard over Journalism degree from 5 or 6 schools any day.

How about the fact the Obama taught constitutional law for a number of years...

again posts like this make you look foolish...

PS. How did John McCain do in school???

Where is John McCain on issues?
Where is Sarah Palin's tax returns???

[Mark Rhoads]

Once again the amazingly obtuse commenter above willfully chooses to miss the point of any post on IR. Sen. McCain was near the bottom of his class at Annapolis and Gov. Palin attended state schools. I could care less. Harry Truman was a failed small businessman who made hats for a living but who also served with honor in World War I. Truman was a far better president than others with academic credentials such as Woodrow Wilson.

The post is about the value of God-fearing wisdom and humility vs. the sliding scale of diluted academic credentials and the pretense to authentic scholarship that such credentials have come to signify in the liberal arts in particular as opposed to the hard sciences. In 1991, Sen. Obama was elected president of the Harvard Law Review and only published a single article of six pages under his own name. It was all about how the "state" had no interest in bringing a child to term. Actions speak louder than words. Sen. Obama may or may not think of himself as a committed socialist but he writes and votes like one so what is the difference in terms of policies he is likely to follow?

A week ago Obama admited he was wrong about the surge in Iraq which proved to be a major success under the command of Gen. Patreus. But he crazoid lefties who are among Obama's most enthralled groupies,the members of MoveOn.org, took out a famous ad in The New York Times when Gen. Patreus was first appointed and called him "Gen Betray Us." This type of childish demagoguery has sadly become the staple of the increasingly left-wing Democratic Party as is daily demonstrated by the commenter above.

Now there is some hope for the nation if Sen. Obama wins the highest office in the free world. If he follows his voting pattern in the Illinois State Senate for eight years, maybe he could just show up every day at the Oval Office and just raise his hand and yell "I am present," and take the rest of the day off.

[Bookworm]

I think we all know educated people who are, to put it bluntly, stupid, and uneducated people who have a natural wisdom and ability to figure things out for themselves.

That is not to imply, however, that education is a bad thing. It all lies in how it is used, and what its purpose is. A Ph.D. with plenty of book learning but little common sense or empathy for others would probably still be that way if he or she had never gone past high school. Likewise, a "street smart" and naturally wise high school dropout would still be that way if he or she earned a doctoral degree.

As far as deciding who to elect to public office, what's more important to me than what kind of college degree they have is what they have done since then with the education and resources they have. Have they used their education to promote good ideas, bad ideas, or failed ideas?

[Will NYC]

Or have they used their position corruptly as is Palin's case??

You folks who think Obama is not as smart as McCain or Palin are really kidding yourselves. He's smarter... I know it confuses people but since McCain is trying to steal Obama's change message, and he caved to the neocons on just about every issue, the answer is McCain a follower not a leader.

McCain who called for war with Iraq Sept 11 2001 was WRONG on that. PERIOD.. the big picture.. McCain has been wrong and flip flopped more than you can count on both fingers and toes...

[Susan Ryan]

Excellent article, Mr. Rhoades.
I appreciate the proven idea that education (and wisdom)comes from people who maintain their natural curiosity despite (or with) formal education. Over our nation's history, our country's great leaders have proven that again and again.

The fact that Senator Obama taught constitutional law means worse than nothing if he refuses, as so many others do, to regard the Constitution. It only means he's the worst of cynics, in not using his knowledge (and silver tongue) for the betterment of our country based on its powerful foundations.
If I were an Obama supporter, I'd lose the brag concerning teaching constitutional law in a prestigious school. It's only an irritant to anyone who uses the brain in their head.
It's not a pretty picture to covet a Harvard law degree just to have a Harvard law degree. There's a few of those types in positions of power in DC and it hasn't served this country well.

[Tom]

Mark,
While I like your article, I think you devalue articulation, oration, and education a little too much.
P.S.- Woodrow Wilson was way better president than truman. Give me a break!

[Will NYC]

Susan, if you think the Republicans in power protected our constitution then I question your intelligence...

[Susan Ryan]

Will NYC, I'm pretty open-minded. I wasn't referring to just Democrats, even as I understand that's your insidious slant. I was talking about suits in DC with Harvard..Princeton...Yale law degrees who haven't much to give to our country.
Unless they've gained some personal benefits.
The current state of economic affairs and federal interventions proves that. But since you mentioned it, Heavy Hitter lobbyist Freddie Mac has your people; Dodd, Obama, Clinton and Bean on the top of the recipient list this year. And I thought Freddie Mac was broke. Do you think those donations would possibly be returned to the taxpayers because that's the right thing to do?
http://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/toprecips.php?id=D000000163

What's Senator Obama done for our constitution lately? He did vote for the FISA surveillance act. One of those 'against it before he was for it' sort of things. Many say it's unconstitutional, but it was passed by a Democratic House and Senate.

But I understand your 'feeling' that your particular guy with the Harvard law degree is going to Change all of that.

[George Kocan]

Not that I am an expert, but I do not think that Obama studied constitutional law. He most likely studied case law related to the constitution. This is different. Regarding, higher education, it serves the function of weeding persons out at Human
Resources offices. The value of higher education is further diminished by the fact that much of state-supported education is ideologically driven. As they say in the computer business GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out).