08.14.06
The point I’ve been trying to make…
http://collegefreedom.org/horint.htm
Gotta love David Horowitz. I couldn’t have come close to making the point better myself. It’s not that Ward Churchill or Kevin Barrett shouldn’t be able to have and express their views. They should be forced, however, to examine their students’ knowledge of the subject matter without demanding unwavering adherence to the views they present in class. Here’s what Horowitz says:
“Indoctrination is the instilling of an ideology, as opposed to educating and opening minds. Clear indications of this would be the assignment of texts that exclusively support the doctrine and the exclusion of texts that criticize it. Or exams which feature controversial questions with only one right answer. Or grading systems that punish students for disagreements on controversial issues. I have referred to the assignment of Barbara Ehrenreich’s ideological screed Nickel and Dimed as indoctrination because it is the only text assigned in dozens of required freshman reading programs, not because it is an ideological screed. I have no objection to the assignment of Ehrenreich’s text as such.”
And here, Horowitz articulates my position beautifully:
“…I have never called for the firing of any professor on ideological grounds. Ever. I defended Ward Churchill at the height of the scandal. I did so in the Denver Rocky Mountain News, and criticized my friend Governor Bill Owens who was calling for Churchill’s head over his notorious Internet article. I would like to see universities enforce their existing academic freedom policies and professional standards. If faculty members continue to defy them, it is up to the universities to decide what action they will take. If any professor is fired for his political beliefs, I will be there defending him (or her).”
So, the point is not censoring political beliefs. The point is holding Professors accountable to the standards of academic freedom by ensuring that students have the freedom to disagree. And I won’t hold his defense of Ward Churchill against him.
JEG
JB said,
August 17, 2006 at 2:59 am
The real problem here lies in state sponsorship of universities… Not exactly sure what I think about this at the moment, but I’ll have more to say about it soon.
The state university systems, especially in the liberal arts, are breeding grounds for all kinds of kookiness.
Again, more on that later.