Something strange is happening at America’s colleges and universities. A movement is arising, undirected and driven largely by students, to scrub campuses clean of words, ideas, and subjects that might cause discomfort or give offense. Last December, Jeannie Suk wrote in an online article for The New Yorker about law students asking her fellow professors at Harvard not to teach rape law—or, in one case, even use the word violate (as in “that violates the law”) lest it cause students distress.
—The Coddling of the American Mind
How times have changed. I remember when colleges tried to challenge students to think.
August 27, 2016
You remember “when colleges tried to make students think”. “Tried to”, Jean? How modest. Ever the optimist I thought that any schooling’s purpose was and is to make, nay force, students to think. The student given no choice in the matter.
I am confident that there will always be a contingent who, by their parental upbringing – and, of course, their own intelligence, will not wish to be molly coddled. Come to think of it, I dimly remember a recent assertion even here (in England) that news paper articles should give “trigger warnings”, a sort of “spoiler alert”, that content might distress. Oh dear. Distress? Really? Mustn’t have that. No, no. Let’s live in our nice neat not to be burst snug bubble where the real world can’t touch us. It’s ridiculous. What is even more ridiculous, come to think of it and please let me know your take, that the more “protected” people are the more frightened by life the overprotected surely will be. Grasp a nettle. For heaven’s sake. Even if you don’t have a rubber glove close to hand.
U
PS Thanks for link to the article. Amazing read. A bit like a windscreen wiper for the plodding mind. One of many excellent lines: “There have always been some people who believe they have a right not to be offended.” How brilliant is that, Jean: A RIGHT NOT to be offended?
Of course, we should all try not to offend unnecessarily, but “a right not to be offended”?. That’s taking “rights” to the extreme. Particularly if you are easily offended.
A lot of people are taking all sorts of “rights” to extremes. And I agree with you, that hurts the people who are overprotected — they will just feel more frightened and helpless. I’m not saying some don’t need help, but that’s not the way to do it.
I too thank you for the link monk! and the great thought provoking post.
I read the whole thing and also listened to greg’s video discussion.
the more I read the more unsettling it became.
the marine and I have talked about it to some degree in a general way.
but I had no idea that it was on the scale that it is. he had recognized it first.
I am always slower it seems to see trends in sociology.
this distortion of ‘free speech’ is a big one.
perhaps distortion is too strong a word.
but when classic pieces of literature are literally banned from a place of learning! to me that is distortion.
I agree with greg. cognitive behavioral therapy should be a mandatory course. I think I choose mandatory because that would be the only way they would all take it. and saturation at this point would be the only way to turn this trend around. the mental illness statistics were incredible.
I would hate to be a prof in academia now. it would be like walking through land mines. and the very premise of education is at stake here.
the idea of where all this is heading is definitely alarming.
A lot of teachers do feel that they’re walking in land mines. Hopefully people will come to their senses eventually. As Rummuser points out, the University of Chicago isn’t buying into it. That’s tomorrow’s post.
I come from a land of rote learning. We don’t bother to learn to think.
LOLOL!
That does solve the problem. 🙂
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/27/us/university-of-chicago-strikes-back-against-campus-political-correctness.html?emc=edit_th_20160827&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=53809129&_r=0
Thanks — I did see that. It’s tomorrow’s post. 🙂
ok, I’m reading the posts backwards here.
Now I’m understanding.
I will come back and comment after I catch some Zzzz’s.
xo