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High school and college students would benefit from summer jobs or activities that take them far outside their PC plastic bubbles and expose them to the real world. Students are indoctrinated in progressive dogma from the moment they set foot in school. They understandably come to believe their ersatz PC world is authentic and are unaware just how opposed it is to the real world. Upon leaving their ivy towers at graduation, they are gobsmacked by and unprepared for the world as it really is.
You may have seen the story about a parent who asked a recent graduate of an elite school what he knew about George Washington. All the student knew was that Washington owned slaves; he knew absolutely nothing else. That is how outre life is inside the progressive bubble. Students would learn much more of value by eschewing traditional summer internships and undertaking one of the activities identified infra. In addition to better understanding the real world and the real America, they might acquire some grit, which would be of inestimable value in their future life.
Road trip across America: Students could take a trip to see the USA including the Rust Belt, Appalachia, mid-America, mountain west and the desert southwest, i.e. flyover land. They should stay in small towns – often for days at a time and try to engage people. Above all, they must keep a contemporaneous diary and at the end of the trip write a report about who they spoke with, and what they learned. Yale has a Summer Odyssey program, which finances such trips, for their insulated students.
Gritty jobs: While earning some walking-around money, students would benefit incalculably from jobs like plumbing, house painting, construction or surveying that expose them to a swath of humanity well outside their normal society. They will learn valuable real-world lessons about job demands as well as about human nature from their coworkers. They may also acquire some grit. When I was a student, I worked a variety of gritty summer jobs, including one managing the all-night shift in a bus terminal in a seedy part of town. The life lessons learned there proved invaluable.
Military and ROTC: All the services have JROTC (Junior ROTC) for high school students and ROTC for college students. JROTC teaches achievement, wellness, character and leadership and offers various challenging summer programs. For college students, ROTC offers demanding summer programs that push cadets to their limits physically and mentally, including paratrooper and ranger training. Military experience offers valuable life lessons and exposure to a culture that is decidedly not PC.
Summer in Socialist Countries: Students are taught (and many believe) socialism is a great thing – and far superior to capitalism. Such students, who have imbibed the socialist cool-aid, may want to spend a summer in nearby Cuba or Venezuela – but they should remember to bring their own medicine, toilet paper and other essentials.
It isn’t too late to do one or more of the above this summer or you can begin to plan for next summer. Readers with children or grandchildren in HS or college may wish to encourage (and possibly to help finance) a road trip across America.
Students can learn a great deal about America, human nature and the real world from people in flyover land, from coworkers in gritty occupations, from military drill sergeants and even from socialists and commies in Cuba and Venezuela.
Next June 23rd is our pre-debate special about Democratic Party positions.
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