A Sense of Doubt blog post #2156 - Educators Must Work to Preserve Democracy
A colleague sent this article to all of us faculty. His comments below.
First, my take.
As I have always done, I referenced things happening when historic and extremely news worthy things are happening. Since the advent of the Trump era, I have taken the position of neutrality as much as possible in the class room in regards to political ideology and especially the actions of candidates for office or those who hold public office.
I am sure it's no secret to my students where my political capital has been invested. I am hardly silent on issues about which I am passionate that I feel are relevant to our college's and department's commitment to diversity education, to be inclusive and proactive about racism, homophobia, antisemitism, and more.
Though, in the past, I have never felt that, say, being against racism was the province of one political party over the other. In fact, I disliked labels like "liberal" or "democrat" because I felt that they were too limiting. I gladly take on labels like humanist, feminist, ally, comic nerd. But mostly, I dislike labels. And yet, when did being racist become NEARLY synonymous with being Republican?
ESPECIALLY during 2020, I have stayed somewhat mum on political ideologies and agendas. I have spoken out in support of science in regards to Covid-19, but then, I do not consider science or belief in facts that are verified by the scientific method to be a political statement. I have been outspoken against racism throughout my career and have been reinvigorated to be strongly opposed after the events of the summer of 2020 and the protests staged by supporters of Black Lives Matter. And yet, I steered clear of criticizing Trump in the class room, and I equally steered clear of praise for his opponents, past or present. We live in incendiary times. I want students to feel safe to express ideas and not fear that they will be attacked for their viewpoints.
I do challenge students who attempt what I see as weak, indefensible, and faulty arguments in their essays, but these challenges are equally applied to all and not just those students expressing views with which I disagree.
So, too, after the events of last Wednesday, January sixth, I stayed silent and did not host a class discussion about the events specifically. As a postscript on a Wednesday message to student, I sent a comment about the need to tune in to the news as historical things were happening, but I did not characterize those things or offer opinions about them.
I followed the invitation to the news on Thursday in class by remarking that we are living in historic times and that they should be informed and make up their own minds.
And yet... I felt that I should have done and should do more.
And so, my colleague's words here via Kroger struck me:
"In the past, our higher education system has largely pursued a value-neutral agenda. We don't tell people what to think: we teach them how to think, so they can discover their own values and ideals. This is commendable, indeed beautiful. But I wonder if there are limits. Can we afford to be neutral about the value of democracy?"
Though I generally steer clear of politics in the classroom, Kroger's words resonated, and so I shared this post and these words in class today.
I still feel strongly about teaching students critical thinking skills and letting them make up their own minds. I remain unconvinced that teaching them WHAT TO THINK is the right thing to do.
The most compelling argument Kroger makes is teaching students to "tell the bullshit from the lies" as David Bowie sings in "Buddha of Suburbia." We must equip students to seek truth in world in which there are no longer controls on what is bullshit and what are lies. We live in a world in which facts are under assault. Science is rejected as fraud and hoax. Democracy is subverted by a false narrative and may be forever destroyed unless we stand up, resist, and re-affirm the founding principles of this country against those who believe they are right even though they have been hoodwinked.
If the election fraud claims were actually true, then the "patriots" storming the capital would be heroes. After all, our nation was founded on a revolution against an oppressive monarchy. But the differences here are stark and so obvious to anyone with an iota of critical thinking. By and large, the British monarchy was not present to be taken hostage and executed. And the revolution to defeat and expel the monarchy's armies from "the colonies," soon to be a new country, was not based on lies. Those patriots fought for freedom from real oppression that they had experienced and could see with their own eyes. Wednesday's "patriots" think they are fighting for freedom and to "take back our country" because they have believed lies promulgated by a megalomaniac who cannot accept that he lost a fair and free election. How can so many people be so completely duped that they believe that storming the capital in staged terrorist attack and coup is actually a good idea let alone that it is "patriotic" and in defense of actual American principles of democracy? And yet, given what we have been living through, should this event be really that shocking? It has been a long time coming. And the blame lays at many feet, not just those of Trump, for the great grift, the hoodwink, the lies and false narrative, the misinformation, misdirection, and chicanery.
And now, something must be done. We educators need to do MORE.
Each of us educators need to take stock of what we teach, how we teach, and how our curricula support and defend these values of democracy and America.
A high school course in American history and perhaps another in civics and citizenry is not enough to equip people with the critical thinking needed to consult multiple sources to corroborate news reports, to think critically, and to truly understand and uphold the principles of democracy. It may be time to add more courses to college and university graduation requirements.
Here's the rest of the content, first the email from my colleague, and then the article named.
Thanks for reading.
EMAIL FROM A COLLEAGUE:
For most of us, the events of last Wednesday were disturbing, and for many traumatic. I held my first open Zoom meetings for students this last Thursday and Friday. Primarily these sessions were to discuss course requirements and assignments, but I also gave students an opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings about the attack on our Nation's Capital. Most students shared a deep appreciation for the opportunity to talk about this. A few younger students were unaware that anything had happened, as they do not read or watch the news. Many students expressed that they could not understand how this could happen in America: scared, confused, angry, disillusioned, were just a few of reactions from students. Some students asked for advice on how to talk with their children about these events. I left these meetings exhausted and distressed.
As John Kroger, former Marine, academic, federal prosecutor, past attorney general for the State of Oregon and former president of Reed College, writes in the article below: "In the past, our higher education system has largely pursued a value-neutral agenda. We don't tell people what to think: we teach them how to think, so they can discover their own values and ideals. This is commendable, indeed beautiful. But I wonder if there are limits. Can we afford to be neutral about the value of democracy?" I encourage you to read this very short article.
Assault on the Capitol: Preserving democracy
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/leadership-higher-education/assault-capitol
from Inside Higher Ed.
As faculty in higher education, what can we do? What is our responsibility to help preserve democracy through education? Yes, many of us will address these imperative issues in our individual classes but, is that enough? Will a majority of our students be left out of this discussion? Is a collective faculty response needed, with some guidance for discussing these events with students? Maybe a campus wide faculty and/or student discussion could be initiated? Our students, their families and faculty have been under horrendous assaults on their ability to think clearly and thrive emotionally; Black Lives Matter protests, COVID-19, divisive political elections, and now an attack on our most sacred of democratic principles.
I leave you dear colleagues with these thoughts to ponder.
https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/leadership-higher-education/assault-capitol
Assault on the Capitol
Preserving democracy.
By John Kroger January 7, 2021
Yesterday, a mob attacked the U.S. Capitol in an effort to disrupt the certification of Joe Biden as president-elect. Shockingly, the president of the United States encouraged the assault and then refused to condemn it. While senators and representatives sheltered behind armed guards, right-wing activists paraded through the Capitol halls. Not surprisingly, the siege turned into tragedy, with four (sic - now five) persons dying on the Capitol grounds.
As someone who works
at the intersection of education and democracy, I found the experience
chilling. For those of us schooled in the emerging scholarship on the fragility
of democracies, it felt like the inevitable expression of trends at work in our
politics for more than a decade. It left me pondering, with even greater
intensity, the topic that has occupied me for weeks. As educators, where do we
go from here?
Over the next few
months, we will all be reflecting on the implications of yesterday’s (Wednesday January 6th) events,
but for me this morning, one thing is evident: our colleges and universities
must begin to play a larger role in the preservation of democratic values. In
the past, our higher education system has largely pursued a value-neutral
agenda. We don’t tell people what to think: we teach them how to think, so they
can discover their own values and ideals. This is commendable, indeed
beautiful. But I wonder if there are limits. Can we afford to be neutral about
the value of democracy?
The survival of
democracy in America depends on the existence of a well-educated electorate:
voters who can tell the difference between truth and lies, between honesty and
demagoguery. It will require voters who are wise and critically aware consumers
of social media. It will require voters schooled in American constitutional and
democratic values. It will require voters who understand both the greatness and
the failings of American democracy evident in our history. And it will require
students who understand the very real and concrete differences between
alternative forms of government. I am not sure studying these issues can be
optional anymore. Can an understanding of history, politics and rational
decision making remain an elective course of study? Is civic virtue something
we can leave to other institutions -- families, churches, political parties and
television networks -- to teach and encourage? This morning, I think not.
All of us in higher education must recognize
that support for democracy is not just a preference that higher education can
take or leave, but an essential precondition for our work. When Hitler seized
power in Germany, one of the first things his regime did was to purge the
universities of Jews and perceived political and intellectual opponents. This
has happened many other times in history. Authoritarian regimes cannot afford free
universities that encourage critical thought. So if we care about the
preservation of academic freedom, we must also care about the preservation of
the only governmental system that will allow it to flourish.
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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2101.12 - 10:10
- Days ago = 2020 days ago
- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.
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