Okay, look. Your former classmate's students at Princeton? They'd do okay whether he was teaching them or not. I'm sure they say witty things and dress nicely, but they don't need him. Not nearly as much as the handful of interesting students at your school need you. His students are there because they had the money and/or connections to get into Princeton. They're already motivated; they've had all the preparation their parents could afford. The majority of your students are there, I'd wager, because of financial need. They couldn't afford to go to private schools or take an SAT review course or anything like that. Are they inherently dumber than the people at Princeton? Not necessarily. I'm sure your former classmate has quite a few students coasting on money or family legacy. And with ivy-league egos to boot. The best students in your class haven't had the opportunities his best students have had; if they did, they might be at Princeton themselves.So are you going to be their opportunity or not? Are you going to reach out to them or are you going to make a damn sandwich? You have the opportunity to change lives, an opportunity -- irony of ironies -- you might not have if you were teaching at a more prestigious school. Or maybe you're right. Maybe they're just dumb, and they deserve to be attending a crappy school. I guess they're getting the teachers they deserve, then.
