Americans’ trust in Elite institutions is collapsing.

Good. Let’s hope the trend continues.

By that I don’t mean that it is a good thing that Americans can no longer trust our institutions; that is a very bad thing. Rather, these institutions are no longer trustworthy, so best that they collapse and be replaced (if possible) by better ones. The only thing worse than not trusting these institutions is their not being trustworthy.

The news comes via Gallup’s poll on Americans’ attitudes on a number of issues.

New Gallup poll: “Americans' Confidence in Higher Education Down Sharply” https://t.co/yqURFs2ATG

— Josh Kraushaar (@JoshKraushaar) July 11, 2023

No doubt we will witness quite a bit of weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth, as well as witness a lot of finger pointing at everybody except the people who actually caused this drop–the people in higher education.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans’ confidence in higher education has fallen to 36%, sharply lower than in two prior readings in 2015 (57%) and 2018 (48%). In addition to the 17% of U.S. adults who have “a great deal” and 19% “quite a lot” of confidence, 40% have “some” and 22% “very little” confidence.

The latest decline in the public’s trust in higher education is from a June 1-22 Gallup poll that also found confidence in 16 other institutions has been waning in recent years. Many of these entities, which are tracked more often than higher education, are now also at or near their lowest points in confidence. Although diminished, higher education ranks fourth in confidence among the 17 institutions measured, with small business, the military and the police in the top three spots. This was also the case in 2018, the last time higher education was included in the list of institutions.

Let’s hope that Higher Ed’s reputation keeps cratering. Most institutions of higher education have become trash.

I can’t express how sad I am to say that. I come from a family steeped in academia, and at one time my fondest desire was to teach at a liberal arts college. I continue to believe that societies that value education and that in particular have an elite that is highly educated are both better placed to do well economically and, even more importantly, to be humane.

But that is only the case if the institutions are themselves steeped in the values that make academia so important: academic freedom, curiosity, and intellectual integrity. None of these values is held in high regard these days in higher education. Colleges and universities are centers of indoctrination not education, and as that has become the case Americans’ opinion of them has rightfully declined.

Just as bad for society is the fact that higher ed has become a substitute for proper secondary education and not a place of humane studies and scientific training. Our secondary education system is so poor that few are prepared for college, and college itself is doing a poor job of filling in the gaps that bad high schools have left in basic knowledge and skills.

n 2015, majorities of Americans in all key subgroups expressed confidence in higher education, with one exception — independents (48%). By 2018, though, confidence had fallen across all groups, with the largest drop, 17 percentage points, among Republicans. In the latest measure, confidence once again fell across the board, but Republicans’ sank the most — 20 points to 19%, the lowest of any group. Confidence among adults without a college degree and those aged 55 and older dropped nearly as much as Republicans’ since 2018.

Vast numbers of people exit college without even the basic knowledge that a good high school education should provide; just look at the countless examples of college grads without a grasp of basic historical knowledge or the ability to read well, write, and do basic math. Students, though, can recite a list of pronouns, though.

What we need is better high schools, fewer students going to better colleges, and a mass firing of useless and incompetent academics. They can probably become baristas.

No doubt the hostility to higher education will be ascribed to Fox News and Donald Trump, but the truth is that older Americans have seen the product that higher ed produces are unimpressed, as they should be.

The Elite ascribes all sorts of magical persuasive powers to Fox News. Somehow its 3 million or so viewers dominate the culture, while the MSM is powerless to persuade.

But no, the reality is more prosaic. Modern American higher ed sucks.