Friday, July 01, 2005

The Right College For Your Kids?

I just finished a book that is a must read for all parents who have just sent or are sending their kids away to college. The book is titled “Freefall of the American University”.(Courtesy of Virginia Orendorf, thanks Virginia, I’m returning the book Tuesday). It’s by-line is “How our colleges are corrupting the minds and morals of the next generation”. I’ve been collecting articles that support the concepts in this book, showing that many university professors, especially the ones teaching history and social studies, are not teaching your kids “how to think” but “what to think” This allows them to teach their own bias as being gospel. Some of the articles I’ve collected such as “Intellectual Totalitarians Frightened by Ideas”, “The Politics of Economic Envy and Distortion”, “Professors Who see no Evil”, A Chill in the Classroom”, “Students for Academic Freedom” and articles about that sterling product from Elmwood High , University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill.

Excerpts from this book include “The Academic Bill of Rights” (p. 320) as drafted by David Horowitz under the imprimatur of Students for Academic Rights. When the Dept. of Education released it’s History Report card, it showed that 57% of high School seniors flunked even a basic knowledge of American history and only 10% tested at grade level. These kids are ripe for university professors to teach them what to think and much of it is not about history. How about subjects colleges teach like “Strong Hard Filth and the Aroma of Washington Square”, “Homosexual Life”, “Solitary Sex/Solitary Self,” “Constructing Masculinity: Homosexual Sodomy, Ethnicity, and the Politics of Penetrative Manhood.” (p. 162-3) “Group think” is a popular trend taught by some professors. Believe what I believe and everybody else believes or your grades will suffer is the unspoken threat.

(p.167-172) reviews excerpts from George Orwell’s 1949 novel titled “1984” that describes a totalitarian world, a culture turned upside down and how the college “Thought Police” are still trying and sometimes succeeding in making that novel come true.

(p.271) “The Death of Right and Wrong: Exposing the Left’s Assault on Our cultures and Values”.

(p.308) “Defenders of student freedoms, such as Fire, (Foundation for Individual Rights), are quick to point out that penalizing students for their beliefs is a clear violation of the First Amendment.

This book by Jim Nelson Black takes a common sense conservative approach to how high schools and colleges, often with parental consent, are “dumbing down” our kids. He reminds us that false values are hard to shake; “like everybody is doing it; it must be okay”. While I have never read a book in which everything said is exactly how I see it, this book presents some scary facts to parents and all of us. I highly suggest at least skimming this book before you send your kids to college. The book suggests you visit the campus where your kids plan to go to school and read a couple of months copies of the student newspaper. What you read might be “enlightening”.

If I had a child that really wanted to go to college and learn, I would try to guide this child to a school like Hillsdale College, located at Hillsdale, Michigan. All religions, races and gender are accepted and the professors do teach and will teach your child how to think for themselves. This college accepts no government funds.

We better start paying more attention as to who is teaching our kids and what they are teaching. I’ll show you how to find out what they are teaching at your local schools without visiting every classroom. See a later blog but not tonight.

I close with this thought “Be very, very careful what you put in that head, because you will never, ever, get it out. (Cardinal Wolsey)

2 comments:

pollypeoria said...

Hasn't this ALWAYS been the case? I know my college education was taught mostly by liberals who interjected their personal beliefs into lectures/sermons.

My parents say the same was true when they attended college during the Vietnam War.

There are conservative colleges also, University of Chicago, BYU, etc.

Life experience will overcome untrue teachings.

I think it was Winston Churchill who said, "If you're young and conservative you have no heart. If you're old and liberal you have no brain."

Merle Widmer said...

Thanks Polly,

Probably true that we all put our personal beliefs into what we say or write. We should not, however, make biased and untrue statements. I know there are good and outstanding professors in all colleges. Perception is everything and I sometimes tend to paint situations with a broad brush.

While most of us are able to sort it all out as we get older, it's the "growing up" part that causes the problem and in many cases this recognition that maybe we were wrong comes too late.

Thanks for your good comments!