Humble and Fortunate

Someone sent me another list of "best colleges" in the US. Amherst was number 3, the third best in the nation! Granted, there likely isn't much difference, if any at all, between the top ten or even more, but third! It's very humbling to have had the privilege of going there. How very lucky I was. With 7 or 8 students being rejected for every one accepted, I often wonder how I was selected. (OK, I actually have an idea, a pretty good one.) And how can I repay that, the experiences I had, with academics, professors, athletics, friends, etc.? (OK, I think the school did get something back from me.) But sometimes I have to pinch myself when I think this is where I was able to go to college.

I am reminded of the quality of the learning experience(s) frequently. Now, on the Class of '70 list serve, another discussion/debate is taking place. I remain struck by two things. First, the quality of the debate, the depth and breadth of the ideas, is phenomenal. It really is. And I was fortunate enough to go to college with these guys. Of course, the professors were instrumental in developing these thought processes, etc. Lucky, Lucky, Lucky. Second, the civility of the guys is remarkable. Although they have strong opinions, the discussion is heated, always the guys are civil toward each other. It's very cool.

When I think of the academics at Amherst, I remember two things. The first is the quality, the exceptional quality, of the professors we had. Surely, not all of them were top flight, but, by and large, most were outstanding. And, the longer I am in teaching, the better they become. They were great! The second is the tons of work we had. There was reading and reading and reading, too much for anyone to completely finish, right? I am not joking when I tell my classes today that my first history course had 12 books! And, that wasn't all--there were several looseleaf notebooks of reprints to read, too. And the writing!?!? We had papers due all of the time. In high school, a 3-5 page paper was a term paper. At Amherst, many/most classes had 3-5 page papers due every week! And the topics weren't easy either. Wow!

Of course, I didn't do all of the work and was far from the list of top scholars. But somethings must have rubbed off, considering my graduate studies and how easy they were and how I was able to excel without much effort. And, my professors did instill a love of learning that remains with me, perhaps even stronger today than ever. I'm a lucky man, one who is humbled by the educational experience I had at Amherst.