Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich Book

A couple months ago, I went to a talk on the accuracy of university admissions tests given by a visiting professor from Great Britain. The speaker concluded that, with globalization, these tests are becoming less and less accurate, which will lead to ruined lives. I asked whether this conclusion also applied to North America, where there is a safety system of (community) colleges. For those not in the know, community colleges are called 'college' in Canada. People go to 'college' or 'university.' In response, a 'gentleman' gave a short speech, disguised as a question, ranting against for profit education in the States and how only the rich can get an education. I responded that community colleges can be quite affordable; I was researching places in Texas for an extended family member and found a community college that was $500 a semester. My cousin is becoming a certified nurse in Wyoming at $1200 a semester. The ranter turned quite nasty and the man who has an office next to mine asked why on earth that happened. I explained that he was not interested in debating the situation. He just wanted to bash the States.

Stephen Leacock is one of Canada's favorite writers and is unfortunately not well known outside of Canada. Canadians are proud of his gentle humor, displayed most famously in his stories about small town life in Mariposa. In "Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich," the humor is not at all gentle. These ruthlessly mock upper class life in an American, rather than Canadian, city. I find it fishy that his stories about nice small towns are set in his native Canada and that the tales that showcase his rage against economic inequality take place in the US. It smacks of the community college incident.

In spite of this, I quite enjoyed the book, especially its treatment of academia. While it could be quite harsh on academics, I loved the passage where professors ruined a grand dame's salon by bringing accurate knowledge to the party. I also loved the part where the university principal complained about his faculty:"this one is fine in small classes, but hopeless in large ones! This one is excellent in large classes, but hopeless in seminars!" It makes me realize that our problems are nothing new under the sun.