The Quick Path to a Graduate Degree

Ashley Thorne

The remarks below were sent in from Dr. Jeremiah Reedy, who serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Scholars and was the founding president of the Minnesota Association of Scholars. Dr. Reedy taught Classics at Macalester College from 1968 to 2004.

The daughter of a friend from South Africa just earned an M.D. degree from a medical school in England.  It only took her five years---that is five years after graduating from high school.  Last summer a former student who lives in Cyprus introduced me to her brother who had just finished law school in Athens.  It took him four years, and again it was four years after graduating from high school.  I know that medical and law faculties in the U.S. want students who are broadly educated and have read widely.  Given the fact, however, that many students today are not getting what has traditionally been known as a liberal arts education but are instead being indoctrinated with radical politics, wouldn’t it be a good idea for U.S medical and law schools to accept students immediately after completion of high school?  This would be an especially good idea in medicine since, if Congress passes a bill that provides universal health care, there is going to be an acute shortage of physicians.  Not only will there be a huge increase in the number of people who want to see doctors, but many physicians have said they may retire early if we have government health care.  A possible by-product of what I am proposing could be that students and teachers would begin taking high school more seriously.  Any reactions?
  • Share

Most Commented

October 29, 2024

1.

The Looming Irrelevance of Middle East Study Centers

Today’s Middle Eastern Studies Centers are facing a crisis due to the winds of change in the Middle East and their own ideological echo chamber....

November 19, 2024

2.

Lee Zeldin Should Reform EPA Science Policy

NAS welcomes the nomination of Congressmen Lee Zeldin to lead the Environmental Protection Agency....

November 20, 2024

3.

NAS Welcomes Administrator McMahon's Nomination to Serve as Education Secretary

With McMahon, the new administration has a chance to drastically slim down and depoliticize the Education Department....

Most Read

May 15, 2015

1.

Where Did We Get the Idea That Only White People Can Be Racist?

A look at the double standard that has arisen regarding racism, illustrated recently by the reaction to a black professor's biased comments on Twitter....

October 12, 2010

2.

Ask a Scholar: What is the True Definition of Latino?

What does it mean to be Latino? Are only Latin American people Latino, or does the term apply to anyone whose language derived from Latin?...

May 26, 2010

3.

10 Reasons Not to Go to College

A sampling of arguments for the idea that college may not be for everyone....