Both my parents were the first to college in their families. My dad was dirt-poor oil field trash from West Texas. But he was smart and put himself through college and UT med school. Both he and my mom were voracious readers and we all read a ton. And although I ultimately I was lucky to go to some fantastic schools because of them, dad taught me early that the same books people at Yale read are available in almost any library. Anyone can be educated, all you have to do is read. You don't have to go to Stanford. By far, the two most talented surgeons I ever had the honor of operating with were graduates of the University of Mississipi and the Univerity of Tennessee. They were in their own leagues compared to anyone at Harvard or Vanderbilt. So...

Where I went to undergrad, we were required to take music and art history and philosophy and Greek and English lit, no matter if you were an engineer or what. Now, most of the other Ivies have that same requirement. I think it is a good idea, so folks can be introduced to a broad piece of our cultural heritge.