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"I'd horsewhip you if I had a horse..."

Discussion in 'Alley of Lingering Sighs' started by Cernak, Feb 17, 2005.

  1. Cernak Gems: 12/31
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    Warren Gamaliel Harding, 28th President of the United States, lived in Marion, Ohio and died in San Francisco, California, but the spirit that sometimes moved his inert body lives on. State Senator Larry A. Mumper (Republican, Marion, Ohio), has introduced S.B. 24 in the state legislature, which he dubs "an academic bill of rights".

    Its most controversial provision states: "Faculty and instructors shall not infringe the academic freedom and quality of education of their students by persistently introducing controversial matter into the classroom or coursework that thas no relation to their subject of study and serves no legitimate pedagogical purpose."

    Noble sentiments, but it's not too difficult to pull the can of worms off the shelf. Suppose a biology professor is teaching human evolution, and a fundamentalist student insists that this is "controversial". Must he then give equal time to the "theories" of Creation Science or Intelligent Design, neither of which have support from the scientific community? Suppose he's discussing global warming and a student insists this is political since the U.S. has refused to sign the Kyoto treaty? What if a professor decides to discuss propaganda techniques, and makes some obvious comparisons? Or brings up the actual religious beliefs of some of the Founding Fathers? Touchy stuff.

    Similar bills have been introduced in other state legislatures. State Senator Mumper clarified the issue with the statement that his bill is intended to counter the undermining influence of the 80% of professors who are "Democrats, liberals, or socialists or card-carrying Communists."
     
    Cernak, Feb 17, 2005
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  2. dmc

    dmc Speak softly and carry a big briefcase Staff Member Distinguished Member ★ SPS Account Holder Resourceful Adored Veteran New Server Contributor [2012] (for helping Sorcerer's Place lease a new, more powerful server!)

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    What does this wonder-bill say about who decides what is relevant? Who decides what is controversial? What are the legitimate pedagogical purposes? Oops! I guess Senator Mumper will, huh?

    Very nasty abstract crap that is most probably intended to be used to reign in those pinkos. It sounds like a really bad idea to me -- wouldn't want our kids to learn anything new or innovative, now would we?
     
    dmc, Feb 17, 2005
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  3. The Great Snook Gems: 31/31
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    For all the holes that can be thought of to ridicule this suggestion it does have some merit. It is shameful however, that academia has reached the point where people seriously have to consider legislation to protect themselves.

    I'm assuming most of our card carrying liberals would be horrified to find this on a math test.

    "Little Johnny takes his .22 rifle to NYC. If he gets three points for killing a homosexual and four points for killing an abortionist what is the fewest number of rounds he needs to fire in order to get 29 points?"
     
    The Great Snook, Feb 17, 2005
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  4. Shrikant

    Shrikant Swords! Not words! Veteran

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    If that kind of crap is being taught in the US, I'd think the paper-setter would atleast be fired, atleast temporarily.
    This sort of crap happened in Gujrat too, but iirc the central govt. came down hard on the state leading to a halt on this type of non-sence.
     
    Shrikant, Feb 17, 2005
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