Leaving or Staying Home

Abstract

This chapter considers few standpoints on rural giftedness. Metropolitan locale is where STEM happens because cities house the great research universities, the great laboratories, the great corporate headquarters, and, in fact, most of the people in whom STEM talent might be cultivated: 80% of the national population, after all, lives in metropolitan areas. The tradition is supported, in part, by the communal understanding that the monks have devoted their lives to promoting the well-being of the local place and, indeed, of all beings everywhere. An American parallel exists, however. Lay pastors in rural places serve their communities in a similar way. Great cities have great museums, private galleries, symphony orchestras, dance and opera companies, art shows, jazz festivals; and renowned universities and music schools. Raymond Williams is best known as one of the originators of the field of cultural studies, a field that takes seriously the culture of ordinary life.