<p>That’s an interesting story, though I would think that you’d be able to find those interested, engaged profs at other schools. I don’t think that at Chicago, all the profs are superlative, while at other schools, all the profs are second-rate, though at the same time the story reminds me of why I ended up coming here…</p>
<p>I went to a top high school (and “top” really does mean “top”; about half of our graduating class of 330 ends up at top 20 schools) where intelligent students were, as you can imagine, in no short supply. I remember, however, that most students had masks that they put on in class… in a classroom setting, they were studious and hard-working, but once class was over, any intellectualism that was inside the class dissipated. Students were interested in grades and scores rather than Shakespeare and polar coordinates; I have friends who are now at Yale, Princeton, and Columbia who spent literally thousands of dollars on SAT tutors.</p>
<p>I was far from the kid with the highest grades-- I was the kid who was in it to be in it and I was there because I was having a lot of fun. Every once in a while I would bring something up in class-- either demonstrate a proof, or ask a question, that shed light on my glee with the topic at hand, and any time I showed a love for the material my classmates stared me down. (Part of me thinks that they were amazed that somebody could enjoy school, part of me thinks that they were angry because I was making them look bad).</p>
<p>Anyway, they’re not here, that’s all I can say.</p>