The Misanthrope’s Comer

Much of the handwringing over student delinquency is critical of the students. And the obvious bears saying, that there is sloth among teenagers even as there is sloth among non-teenagers, and it’s true that they can get away with it better as kids, because lazy grownups run into market disciplines. The ambitious student feels the equivalent of market forces if he is fighting for admission to a choosy college. But then those who do this aren’t likely to be so lazy. The primary responsibility is that of the teachers, though parents must be held responsible for failing to discipline their children, and the society at large for the permissiveness that makes it difficult for parents to exercise their waning wills.

The National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas, Texas, summoned a fortnight ago a “National Conference on School Choice.” The invitation to participants began with a sentence that chills the blood. “Compared to other leading nations, the United States continues to finish dead last when it comes to education.” The letter arrived coincidentally with a letter from a college instructor in art history in a privately administered, religiously oriented college in the Midwest. The writer wished to share with me the results of a test he gave the first day of class. The students were predominantly freshmen, but also included sophomores, juniors, and one senior.

About the Author

Florence King

Florence King was a contributing editor of National Review.

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Much of the handwringing over student delinquency is critical of the students. And the obvious bears saying, that there is sloth among teenagers even as there is sloth among non-teenagers, and it’s true that they can get away with it better as kids, because lazy grownups run into market disciplines. The ambitious student feels the equivalent of market forces if he is fighting for admission to a choosy college. But then those who do this aren’t likely to be so lazy. The primary responsibility is that of the teachers, though parents must be held responsible for failing to discipline their children, and the society at large for the permissiveness that makes it difficult for parents to exercise their waning wills.

The National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas, Texas, summoned a fortnight ago a “National Conference on School Choice.” The invitation to participants began with a sentence that chills the blood. “Compared to other leading nations, the United States continues to finish dead last when it comes to education.” The letter arrived coincidentally with a letter from a college instructor in art history in a privately administered, religiously oriented college in the Midwest. The writer wished to share with me the results of a test he gave the first day of class. The students were predominantly freshmen, but also included sophomores, juniors, and one senior.