Frank Bruni’s valid—and frightening—thoughts on higher education…

As I and many others who write about college have noted, students are frequently treated as customers, a dynamic at odds with being pushed toward the most demanding books, forced to solve the knottiest problems, consigned to some of learning’s most tedious tasks and confronted with the sorts of uncomfortable situations in which the most growth often occurs. You don’t stress out customers; you make them happy. You don’t give them obstacle courses; you give them glide paths. And glide paths don’t lead people to their best, brightest selves. They’re inconsistent with college as chrysalis.

--Frank Bruni