Elite Education and the Private School: Excellence and Arrogance at Phillips Exeter Academy (Mellen Studies in Education)
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This volume considers many components of current crises and dilemmas in education through an analysis of one of the most celebrated secondary schools in the USA, Phillips Exeter Academy. The text illustrates how styles and techniques at Exeter have grown to eclipse educational content, a stasis resulting from an “education school” mentality among the teaching establishment that adversely affects American instruction. Alan Levy examines the “corporate culture” of Exeter and the way in which a surreal relationship of genuine and illegitimate standards stymies intellectual development among faculty, and hence, among students. The book also deals with the way students’ problems with drugs, depression, sexuality, and suicide are either mishandle
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Levy rightly criticizes Exeter for a degree of insularity and smugness that the school ought to examine. (Yet other studies, e.g Preparing for Power, suggest that this is a flaw of all boarding schools.) He is also on fair ground when he underscores a rigid culture amongst the faculty or a gap between rhetoric and practice with regard to the school’s outreach to disadvantaged minority populations. However, this case study is seriously flawed by Levy’s use of Exeter as a “straw man” set up for attack, often with specious arguments. His suggestion that many students routinely pull the wool over faculty members’ eyes with regard to class preparation or intellectual honesty is completely off the mark and suggests wishful thinking on his part and on that of the few students that he chose to highlight. In another instance, he insinuates that Exeter’s aversion to hirring PhDs leads to an undereducated faculty that is removed from current developments in their field. Yet an “aversion” (which may make sense for a high school as opposed to a college) is not an absolute rule, and he ignores the rather high percentage of Exeter faculty who do indeed have doctorates—for whatever that is worth. Indeed, the fact that so many people with PhDs are willing to teach at Exeter or other boarding schools but not necessarily other American high schools speaks to a perception of excellence at these schools that Levy does not address. He also makes comparisons between prep schools when it suits his purposes and fails to do so in situations that would undermine his arguments (e.g. He compares Exeter unfavorably to Andover with regard to the number of adjunct–and thus not cloistered— faculty the two institutions employ. But in another instance, he rightfully critiques some Exeter faculty members’ discomfort with growing numbers of Asian/Asian American students, but fails to acknowlege this racism at other major institutions (secondary and postsecondary) or the positive reality that in comparison to most peer schools Exeter has a much greater percentage of Asian and Asian American students. His discussion of the drug culture is comically hyperbolic. He relies on extreme and at times lurid examples in order to make a point, but fails to acknowledge that his examples are not representative of culture at Exeter or any other boarding school. (He cites the Eddie Perry story, but does not acknowlege the many other students who do not suffer as Perry did but who in fact have thrived. He also makes simplistic claims about black-white relations without acknowleging that not all Exeter blacks are from indigent urban backgrounds; indeed, some of Exeter’s black students are from highly afluent families and thus give different (not necessarily untroubled) nuances to race relations. Ultimately, the case study demonstrates a cursory familiarity with Exeter, Exeter students, or other American boarding schools. (At the time of printing the book was embarassingly out of date in its discussion of science education or Exeter’s endowment. Given that the endowment now hovers around 0 million, and given the infusion of new pedagogies and facilities in the sciences, that discussion is even more painfully dated.)) Levy targets “arrogance”, but “excellence” is barely acknowleged or explored. Having conducted many educational case studies, I was dismayed to see his work.
Review by An Exeter Student
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I am an 11th grader at Phillips Exeter Academy and find it to be the most wonderful place I have ever been. I am on financial scholarship, with around 350 other members out of the school’s 1,000 students. I find that I am treated very equally by students and faculty alike. I am receiving an amazing education at this school in all sorts of ways. At Exeter I learn something from every person I meet – the teachers, students in my class, students in my dorm, athletes on my field hockey team, the security men, the dining hall workers, and the janitor of our dorm. I find this book off the mark in several ways.
Review by Scott Jensen
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First, this is a thin book at only 90 pages so what I recommend for a possible updated version of this book isn’t going to tax any printing press.This book just comes off as way too harsh. I have not been a student of Phillips Exeter Academy nor even visited it, but it is just hard to believe it is all bad. I think the author should have started off with a chapter titled something along the lines of: “What’s good at Phillips Exeter Academy” or “Uncle Phil’s good points”. Forewarning that the rest of the book will be on the more critical side, but wanting to show that the author can see the good as well as the bad. As it stands, this book comes off like fingernails on a blackboard.Another thing I wish the author had been done was to cite some studies, news articles, and non-fiction books that back up the author’s assertions, conclusions, and “facts”. He backs up nothing. Nothing. There is no reference section or reference footnotes. Not even an introduction on what research the author did for this book. You’re just expected to trust that the author is telling you the truth. This makes this book come off as little more than an opinion piece. Or more accurately, a very long letter-to-the-editor to the local newspaper (Exeter News-Letter in this case) by the local overly-critical crank.This book also comes off as a condemnation of capitalism. The author’s constant put-downs of stock brokers, lawyers, and business people quickly gets tiresome. The author’s liberal biases reek through at these points.Lastly, there’s little of value in this book for society … or even for other boarding schools. I was expecting a book that dealt with the general topic of boarding schools and using Phillips Exeter Academy as merely an illustrative example. A focus for such a discussion. Not a book solely and exclusively focused on Phillips Exeter Academy. In fact, the book seems to say that the only boarding school that needs major fixing is Phillips Exeter Academy. Maybe that’s true, but the case the author made for this was weak. And I doubt that other boarding schools will do any soul-searching after reading this book. More likely, they’ll pat themselves on the back and/or snicker at Uncle Phil’s public dressing-down. And because of this, I’m very surprised this book was even published due to the extremely small audience this book seems to be targeting.
Overall Rating: (out of 8 reviews)
Price: $ 40.00
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