An inside look at how one of the country's most elite private schools
prepares its students for success
As one of the most prestigious high schools in the nation, St. Paul's
School in Concord, New Hampshire, has long been the exclusive domain of
America's wealthiest sons. But times have changed. Today, a new elite of
boys and girls is being molded at St. Paul's, one that reflects the hope
of openness but also the persistence of inequality.
In Privilege, Shamus Khan returns to his alma mater to provide an
inside look at an institution that has been the private realm of the
elite for the past 150 years. He shows that St. Paul's students continue
to learn what they always have--how to embody privilege. Yet, while
students once leveraged the trappings of upper-class entitlement, family
connections, and high culture, current St. Paul's students learn to
succeed in a more diverse environment. To be the future leaders of a
more democratic world, they must be at ease with everything from
highbrow art to everyday life--from Beowulf to Jaws--and view
hierarchies as ladders to scale. Through deft portrayals of the
relationships among students, faculty, and staff, Khan shows how members
of the new elite face the opening of society while still preserving the
advantages that allow them to rule.