Seth Godin is one of my favorite thinkers, his daily blog post being among my few absolute must reads. Part of what makes his writing so powerful is his ability to boil down big, sometimes complex thoughts to their essence and drive home the key point. So I'm shocked to find myself taking real exception to one of his recent assertions.
On January 26, 2018, Godin posted, "Where did you go to school?" One paragraph--which has been quoted in some form all over Twitter and, I suspect, other social media--reads, "The campus you spent four years on thirty years ago makes very little contribution to the job you're going to do. Here's what matters: The way you approach your work." (Full post.)
On a quick, gut level, I understand his point. Plus there's a certain long-run, big picture, -education-needs-rethinking aspect to it which resonates with me. I even hear echoes of comments I've made.
At the same time, I have to ask Godin a key question. Isn't it likely that the campus on which one spent those four years--often more, in the case of independent schools--affects the way a person approaches their work?
I have to believe so. That's why we do the work. It's why we have to keep doing it better and better.
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