Liberal colleges and universities

[Lotusflower70]

Last edited Mon Feb 13, 2017, 03:11 PM - Edit history (1)

So I keep hearing that these colleges and universities are supposedly indoctrinating people to think about things in certain way. I don't buy it for a minute. For me, college has opened my mind and increased my ability for free thinking. Where does this nonsense come from and why? To me, it seems like an attempt to diminish the power and importance of education. Those who are insecure try to diminish and dismiss a threat. I see church or distorted religion as a way to indoctrinate people. Thoughts?

[jmg257]

1. Maybe due to the rise in percentage of college professors who identify as "liberal" or "far-left".

If you've spent time in a college or university any time in the past quarter-century you probably aren't surprised to hear that professors have become strikingly more liberal. In 1990, according to survey data by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA, 42 percent of professors identified as "liberal" or "far-left." By 2014, that number had jumped to 60 percent.

Over the same period, the number of academics identifying as "moderate" fell by 13 percentage points, and the share of "conservative" and "far-right" professors dropped nearly six points. In the academy, liberals now outnumber conservatives by roughly 5 to 1. Among the general public, on the other hand, conservatives are considerably more prevalent than liberals and have been for some time.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/11/the-dramatic-shift-among-college-professors-thats-hurting-students-education/?utm_term=.5d9d32dc8cb5

Of course that doesn't mean or prove "indoctrination".

[vlyons]

5. Professors have only become more liberal because the RWers have become more extreme and ridiculous

Especially in the sciences, engineering, medicine, etc. Professors have to publish or perish. Their writings and experiments go under peer review. Facts, real facts, and logical conclusions are a way of life.

In the liberal arts, professors there also have to debunk bullshit RWer conspiracy theories, unbased on evidence, and be open to new ideas.

I was blessed to get a world class college education at the Univ of Texas. It exposed me to all sorts of new ideas, and taught me how to think for myself. Since it was in the 1960s, it also taught me to critically view and evaluate authority, based on my own personal values.

[jmg257]

7. "Professors have to publish or perish..." excellent point!

[Chiyo-chichi]

2. The people we are resisting see "open minds" and "free thinking" as problems.

It is absolutely an attempt to diminish the power and importance of education.

Trump said in his inaugural address that our educational system is "flush with cash, but ...leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge."

I believe he added the word "all" as there are some transcripts that don't include that word. That's quite a statement to make. He effectively said that no students at any level are learning anything.

[vlyons]

9. He also implied that education get too much money

So we he cut their budgets. Get rid of teacher unions. Defund selected research on climate change, environment degradation, etc

[econron]

3. Why Iowa needs to build a wall its own

Found this article and thought I would share it as a great example of a college newspapers creativity.

http://www.iowastatedaily.com/app_content/article_1713e1b4-efad-11e6-8f89-db41f58971a7.html

Ironically the folks who claim thought indoctrination are the same people who want new grads to come work for them with critical thinking skills ....

[Rhiannon12866]

12. Clever article, thanks for sharing it!

And welcome to DU, econron! It's great to have you with us!

[LanternWaste]

4. 20th century authoritarians consistently scapegoat minorities, education, arts and trade unions.

20th century authoritarians have consistently scapegoated minorities, education, arts and trade unions. With the right narrative, it's one of the easiest tools to use.

If one tells idiots they are smart and give them someone convenient to blame, the idiots are then no longer a problem; and may even become an acquiescing ally.

I wish propaganda was limited to simply religion, it would make thing much easier and validate a lot of peevish biases.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

6. I don't know if indoctrination is the word we're looking for

But the displacement of traditional liberal perspectives in favor of marxist ones is difficult to overlook in many fields.

[Lotusflower70]

8. Thank you for your responses

I don't know if indoctrination is the word to describe it but I have heard that word from conservatives regarding liberal colleges and universities. I don't see it at all. My education is precious to me. I worked hard for it. I am not a lemming and it isn't cult-like for me. With the new administration’s approach to education, I see more of an authoritarian and conformist approach. That kind of education leads to brain drain, lack of creativity and a follower mentality. I do not want that for future generations.

[neeksgeek]

10. You are correct.

"college has opened my mind and increased my ability for free thinking."

That's exactly what they don't want. It's perverse for them to consider developing a capacity for critical thought "indoctrination," but that's it in a nutshell.

They want people who, when confronted with Galileo showing them a telescope and explaining that there are mountains on the moon, will shove their hands in their pockets and refuse to look.

“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.”

Galileo Galilei

[alarimer]

11. Yes, education tends to make people more liberal.

Why else do you think Republicans hate public education?