I'm not proud of these glaring gaps, but neither do I wish to see students slandered en masse for the same shortcomings. My hunch is I'm not alone in this, that what separates those who judge and those who are judged is often no more than an absence of candor or humility. Wisdom is humble that he knows no more. Besides, life is an essay, not multiple choice. An educated man need not be a walking almanac.
Facts are sacred, but no more so than the ability to synthesize and extrapolate.
During political cycles, the news media are eager to pounce on candidates for failing to know the name of some obscure foreign leader, as if the quality of leadership could be so easily divined. Such litmus tests are no less misleading with students. Nothing I've seen in 20 years of teaching has me the least worried about the body politic. Far from it. I continue to see students who are voracious learners, innovative and reflective.