Discussion about this post

User's avatar
EULA DEATH's avatar

Hear hear! I got a political science degree (a BS in political BS) at a big state school with the intention of going into government with aims to do well to my community. By junior year it became evident that this was not what a polisci degree is useful for, however, having already started late after switching majors and "pathfinding" (humanities minor), I decided to stick it out so I can graduate college on time. Currently I work in finance due to a lucky break. What others from my class are doing with their time I'm not quite certain, but the few I do keep in touch with are not in government, nor policy making positions. My schooling was a wasted opportunity that some people go into debt for. Guidance was virtually non-existent. Knowledge I currently have about government and international relations was gleaned afterwards through personal study. It was not until much later that I discovered that the US Foreign Service existed. As a student, I thought diplomats were a political appointment made through social and wealthy connections, not a career path with a ladder.

Time is limited. Education should be intentional and rigorous so students can benefit with practical knowledge and thereby benefit society. What we have, what you described, is the opposite.

I'm unsure how I stumbled upon your essay, but it struck home. Thank you. To some degree I harbor insecurities of always being on the back foot, having to be an autodidact in both finance and politics, never having a formal education an either. Every student that goes through polisci is done a disservice, and at my university, it was one of the popular degrees given its location in the state capitol.

Expand full comment
Nicholas Weininger's avatar

What might you be able to learn from international models here? Presumably the French "enarques" who went to the Ecole nationale de l'administration (now the INSP, says Wikipedia) got an education much more like what you're proposing. What has worked well about that and what hasn't? Of the differences between your plan and the ENA/INSP curriculum, which were due to systemic differences between France and the US and which due to differences of pedagogical approach? France also has a famous university literally called "Sciences Po"-- what are the curricular differences between that and the ENA and are there any lessons to be learned from that?

Or take the vaunted supercompetent, highly paid officials of Singapore. Where do they go to school and what do they learn there?

Expand full comment
16 more comments...

No posts