When first reading the newly released data on the educations of state legislators, I was nodding my head at states with highly educated politicians, and frowning at those where a fifth or a quarter of legislators had no record of college at all. Then I thought again. Our knee-jerk reaction might be that it’s better for states to be governed by highly educated people, but perhaps that’s misguided. The data have been compiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education starting with Project Vote Smart’s (a nonpartisan research group) figures, with added research done by the staff of the Chronicle. Much of the information is self-reported by the legislators (a few of whom reported attending the “School of Life” or being “self-educated.”)
The findings show that of 7.400 state legislators, the vast majority (nearly 80 percent) attended public colleges (55 percent in the state they represent), with 45 percent attending private colleges. (Many attended more than one institution of higher learning — the reason the percentages are greater than 100.)
| What kids are reading | ||
| This weekly column looks at lists of books kids are reading in various categories. Information on the children’s books below came from Amazon.com. | ||
| Children’s books about politicians and lawmakers | ||
| 1. | Freddy The Politician: A Novel by Walter R. Brooks (ages 9-12) | |
| 2. | Barbara Jordan: African American Politician by Joseph D. McNair (ages 9-12) | |
| 3. | Poet and Politician of Puerto Rico: Don Luis Munoz Marin Carmen Bernier-Grand (ages 4-8) | |
| 4. | Aaron Burr: The Rise and Fall of an American Politician by Buckner Melton (ages 4-8) | |
| 5. | Ann Richards: Politician, Feminist, Survivor by Dorothy Schainman Siegel (ages 9-12) | |
| 6. | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Lawmaker by Mayra Fernandez and Robert Cisneros (ages 4-8) | |
| 7. | Women in Government: Politicians, Lawmakers, Law Enforcers by Lesley James (ages 9-12) | |
Virginia has arguably the most educated legislators in the country, placing second in both advanced degrees (behind New Jersey) and B.A.’s or above (behind California.) Maryland is right up there with nearly 85 percent B.A.’s or above (compared with Virginia’s 88.6 percent) and 51.6 percent advanced degrees (compared with Virginia’s 57.9 percent.)
Making a comparison with Congress illustrates that our national leaders are better educated than our state leaders: Over 70 percent achieved advanced degrees (compared with 43 percent at the state level), and 99 percent achieved a B.A. or above (compared with 66 percent.)
That brings me to my real question: Do we care? I have pondered the value of education over and over in print, without settling on an answer. I believe that education is a good thing. Is it, however, the fact of an education that confers value, or the attendant broadening of our horizons when we are exposed to a community of students and professors?
State legislators need to be able to think practically and logically, and possess the ability to empathize with the people they represent. Some of those skills can be honed in classrooms, and some can’t. The desirable quality that is often reflected by level of education is curiosity and a drive to do more, see more, learn more. But sometimes economic hardship or other life events make those pursuits impossible.
In 1898 Mark Twain wrote in his notebook, “Education consists mainly in what we have unlearned.” I have often heard graduate students say the more they advance, the greater the realization of how little they know. That was true for me.
This realization also comes with age; however little I knew when I got my Ph.D. has increased with the years as I see my ignorance in many areas. So perhaps life teaches wisdom as effectively as college; college does, however, do it earlier.
The legislator who claimed he obtained his education in the “School of Life” might have been flip and dismissive, or might have been wise. We should judge our state leaders by their good works and not their curricula vitae.
Erica Jacobs, whose column appears Wednesday, teaches at George Mason University. E-mail her at [email protected].
