Producing a New Breed in this Generation (Revised)

William Deresiewicz of Yale University and Mark Edmundson of the University of Virginia virtually met to discuss many issues pertaining to the new generation. In the segment that asks, "Is there still room for big questions in college?" the two men bring up two main issues 1. What the primary goals are of Universities as institutions during this day and age and 2. What are leaders in comparison to thinkers.

As a member of the new generation they are speaking of, I was immediately skeptical of their opinions that deal with the young people of today. I am part of this new generation and we don't enjoy being judged. Clearly Deresiewicz and Edmundson are respectable men who have been immersed in the academic world for quite some time, but I don't think anyone knows this generation better than students of today. Afterall, this is our time. Other generations are biased by default. Sure they have intelligence to bestow upon us, but they cannot speak for us and how we feel. They are merely outsiders judging based on their perceptions. We are the ones actually experiencing. Does this immediate skepticism label me as a "thinker?" William Deresiewicz defines a thinker as 

"someone who learns to be skeptical of these structures right from the beginning including the university they're a part of... they're the person thinking about the context they've been put in... who thinks: Do I wanna be a part of this? and Do I want this around"

These thinkers Deresiewicz talks about seem to be curious, but overall very pessimistic. If everyone questioned why we do anything, nothing would ever get done. Yes I do agree with Deresiewicz, that institutions want to produce a high caliber of intellectuals in their alumni, but they do not want these intellectuals questioning the institution that they are a part of.  Institutions have to work a lot harder to please thinkers than their polar opposite, the leaders.

Leaders go along with things and keep them going. They excel in their fields and propel the future. They are simply air headed, almost robotic beings who do what they're told and work extremely hard without questioning the basis for it all. Academic Institutions are looking to bring in leaders in admissions. I'm sure the freshman class at Yale and UVA is full of kids who have slaved away all of high school to simply hit the next step in life: college. They are positive and complete tasks without asking questions or hesitating. These leaders are left behind if they hesitate. These institutions receive a brand new class of leaders each fall and have one goal-to mold these leaders into productive hybrid leader/thinkers. 

In order to be a well, rounded, productive intellectual in this world you must be a leader as well as a thinker. The successful people of the future need to have a drive to excel, to better themselves, and to understand why at the same time. These fusions of leader/thinkers are what institutions are really after. The main goal of institutionalized academia is not to manipulate minds however. In Mark Edmundson's recent article in the New York Times Magazine he comes to the conclusion that good teachers "push their students to test out new, potentially enriching perspectives." Leaders should take time to look at the world through the eyes of a thinker and vice versa. 

I agree that the only way we can improve ourselves is to defer from our beef-headed ways and man-up to try out a new outlook on life. The goal being to create a hybrid leader/thinker. This hybrid of both will create a good society. They are capable of anything. They will lead the good life. It's what we're after isn't it?

In today's world you see leaders blindly rushing in flustered states to make the cut and keep their lead above others, and you also see thinkers sitting back contemplating it all but accomplishing very little. They lead opposite lives but neither will ever be satisfied. The hybrids will lead the good life. Life should be centered around balance and well-being, both in the present and in reference to the future. 

The two men who provoke thinking on this topic of leaders/thinkers not only are well educated, but they are worthy of our respect. They will never fully understand the new generation. They see the world of academia from the other side, which as students we will never quite understand. One thing we can all agree on is the leader/thinker balance our society needs in order to be effective.