Comments on: Pursuing Excellence vs. Pursuing Elite Status http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2011/03/25/pursuing-excellence-vs-pursuing-elite-status/ A First Things Blog Wed, 19 Jun 2013 02:50:39 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Karen http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2011/03/25/pursuing-excellence-vs-pursuing-elite-status/comment-page-1/#comment-36233 Karen Fri, 25 Mar 2011 22:38:18 +0000 http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/?p=28186#comment-36233 I very much enjoyed this piece, and the ideas behind it. “Excellence” is available to anyone with the will to seek it, and everyone should seek it. “Elite” simple means being part of a group with high entry costs, and indicates that a person values being part of an exclusive group. All fallen humans have that tendency.

]]> By: pentamom http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2011/03/25/pursuing-excellence-vs-pursuing-elite-status/comment-page-1/#comment-36207 pentamom Fri, 25 Mar 2011 17:31:40 +0000 http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/?p=28186#comment-36207 On a slightly lower level, I see this in my kids’ “elite” public high school. It’s all about the Newsweek ratings now. The administration is actually finding a way to pay for my daughter’s AP English exam (which we decided not to pay for because her chances of passing it are iffy and it’s just not that important either to her or to us as parents) because they want to be able to post those AP pass numbers — AP pass *rates* matter less to them. They’re insisting she take it, even to the point of being willing to foot the bill.

In fairness, they do an excellent job in educating the kids, as well. But the administration’s eye is always on the “eliteness” at least as much as the excellence.

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