Censorship in Higher Education

from:
Censoring Our Educators - 
A nationwide effort is underway in statehouse to foster intellectual diversity by censoring professors
—By Mary O'Regan, Utne.com

More news today from the Right Wing Freedom Fighters. Because of their fear of Liberals, a concerted effort to reform higher education and restore balance to the curriculum is underway. These folks would seek to prohibit professors from espousing a specifically partisan solution to any intellectual debate.

"The Arizona legislation, Senate Bill 1542, would forbid school district employees from advocating "one side of a social, political, or cultural issue that is a matter of partisan controversy." Those who take up such stances would face a fine of up to $500."

No taking sides or pronouncing biased answers, no promoting of ideological agendas. These are CONSERVATIVES! This whole attempt is highly partisan in that it is, as they freely admit, a response to the perceived liberal bias of college professors! They are promoting this as "intellectual diversity" and the "Academic Bill of Rights."

"It is not the function of a faculty member in a democracy to indoctrinate his/her students with ready-made conclusions on controversial subjects."

and...

In Montana, based on only "anecdotal evidence" civil rights style affirmative action legislation is being proposed that would require each university to hire an ombudsman to monitor enforcement with the whole program costing taxpayers over $350,000 per school. The legislation being proposed is asking to insure intellectual diversity by hiring equal numbers of conservative and liberal professors. Of course it's conservatives that are feeling persecuted, again because of the perceived liberal bias in higher education.

Hypocritical? What would these same conservatives say about racial quotas and profiling? They seem to be quite happy about profiling and imposing affirmative action principles on Liberals. How does the Intelligent Design/Evolution debate play out in this scenario given that the whole ID concept is in itself a highly partisan issue. If I wasn't laughing so hard, I'd be crying... It's simply nonsense to assume that an ideology can dictate its terms or "create reality." They will try.. they will fail.

Music at Risk

"Music is a language. It speaks. If my students could speak as well - I would be as content as you are! The best speaking students are those who speak from the heart. Those students do well because their learning is the result of loving."

-Leon Pearson, French teacher

"NCLB is rapidly pushing “frills” out of the curriculum. Has research now established that art, music, physical activity and so on have nothing to do with scientific and mathematical reasoning ability?"

-Marion Brady.

Among its many failings the most frightful effect of NCLB is its impact on the arts. As a music teacher of 33 years, I've always assumed that my job was at risk and entirely dependent on the benevolence of the School Board and Board of Supervisors. It was always my strategy to make my music program such an institution and so much a part of the core of the curriculum that my job would never be jeopardized. While I can never say that my job was in any real jeopardy, I never achieved my goal of become an essential part of the wider school program. As testing and faux rigor became more and more of an emphasis in my school, piece after piece of my music program was stripped away. Student performances became limited in size and scope, performing groups curtailed, and access to students became more and more difficult. I finally took my early retirement instead of retrenching yet again in the face of cuts to the program and even more restrictions on access to students.

And just this week, current events from Illinois..

"It's simple how No Child Left Behind affects my students: They will be without the visual arts, or music starting with the 2006-07 school year. Our district had to make budget cuts of $400,000. The only fine arts teacher left standing is the band instructor."

-Charlotte Combs, an Illinois Art Teacher

I fear that across the country, arts programs that were already stressed to the point of breaking in what has always been a "hard sell" environment will now simply disappear in the wake of high stakes testing. It's happening in bits and pieces, a slowly crumbling dyke holding back the flood of high minded education reform with testing as its centerpiece. Music will never die, but it might not be a part of education. Lowell Mason's legacy is in danger. Quality education is at stake. Reform is possible. Testing is only a small part of accountability. Music and the arts are essential in education

"for in the patterns of music and all the arts are the keys to learning."

-Plato

Write!

This just in from San Antonio, Texas where my sister-in-law, a reading teacher, is engaged in testing today:

"However, today all computers and phones are off. It's the BIG DAY and security is tight. I asked if we had to show a picture ID to get our tests and the counselor said, "don't laugh." I don't doubt that in the future that will be a real possibility."

This is scary but funny. Photo ID, security, lock-down, threats of losing jobs, all a part of high-stakes testing and NCLB accountability. Noble, thoroughly professional attempts to obey the law of the land, yet completely tragic in it's consequences to the education of those children.

This is a full-blown example of treating children as a product to be passed or discarded. The fruit industry comes to mind. Pick the best and brightest for for the grocery shelves, take the imperfect and make sauce, jelly, and juice, discard the rest. That it's human life we're discarding seems to be lost in the argument. That even the best and the brightest are getting burned out and losing their curiosity and yearning for learning doesn't seem to be a concern.

NCLB is up for renewal this year. Write your congressman and senator. Write a letter to the editor. High-stakes testing is a crime against children, parents and teachers. Write!

More about Thinking's Not Important

Guest Blogger Ardie Roddy from North Carolina wrote a response to my post from Wed. Feb. 17. "Thinking's not Important."

Tom Chapin's song reminded me of Harry Chapin's "Flowers are Red".  -- The music may be downloaded free HERE.
 
I heard this first in the 80's in a class I was taking to certify to teach gifted kids.  I started tearing up and professor told my to explain my reaction.  As a mother of two kids who were marching to different drummers in their school career, it really hit home.  (I had been asked to certify in gifted because "I understood what made these kids tick.")  I found a copy of the song and played it for my daughter who started to cry - "that's me, that's me."  What is happening to kids in education today is even more cruel than the climate Harry sang about in 1978. 
 
Kids are being totally turned off by 4th grade.  They're sick of school - so different from 50 years ago when we were so excited about school and doing some very interesting things.  I don't remember the reading and math tests.  I remember making my own book, stitching and all, about clouds - I researched, illustrated, planned, carefully printed by hand, and stitched up that book.  I remember reading aloud to first graders after lunch each day, great for a shy small girl who needed some confidence.  I remember accessioning books for the new school library, carefully listing all the information in a book, stamping a certain page, pasting on labels and pockets.  I learned work skills, communication skills, and so much - and I loved school.  What a different world today. 
 
When I taught gifted kids for a large chunk of my career I taught all kinds of exciting thinking skills and processes.  I taught kids to really read a book and think about what they read, to discuss books in a literature circle, and to dig far beneath the surface of the written word, to react personally, to use their THOUGHTS as a launching point.  Then I embraced music once again in the last years of my active teaching career - and taught it somewhat unlike my predecessors - using Orff processing, creativity, thinking about what we were doing.  My last three years I taught in a district that valued THINKING - used the Padeia philosophy and had kids doing seminars from K up.  They didn't teach to the test, they taught for thinking, and their scores were up there.  I hope that district doesn't lose that focus because it was an exciting place to be in the classroom as student and as teacher.  Kids wanted to be in school.  I cry at what is happening all around us and I think I would be forced to homeschool my kids in today's climate.  Flowers can be any color!!
 
Didn't mean to write an essay but that's what has evolved I guess.  Don't have any answers.....
 
Flowers are Red
by Harry Chapin

The little boy went first day of school

He got some crayons and started to draw

He put colors all over the paper

For colors was what he saw

And the teacher said.. What you doin' young man

I'm paintin' flowers he said

She said... It's not the time for art young man

And anyway flowers are green and red

There's a time for everything young man

And a way it should be done

You've got to show concern for everyone else

For you're not the only one


And she said...

Flowers are red young man

Green leaves are green

There's no need to see flowers any other way

Than they way they always have been seen


But the little boy said...

There are so many colors in the rainbow

So many colors in the morning sun

So many colors in the flower and I see every one


Well the teacher said.. You're sassy

There's ways that things should be

And you'll paint flowers the way they are

So repeat after me.....


And she said...

Flowers are red young man

Green leaves are green

There's no need to see flowers any other way

Than they way they always have been seen

But the little boy said...
There are so many colors in the rainbow

So many colors in the morning sun

So many colors in the flower and I see every one


The teacher put him in a corner

She said.. It's for your own good..

And you won't come out 'til you get it right

And are responding like you should

Well finally he got lonely

Frightened thoughts filled his head

And he went up to the teacher

And this is what he said.. and he said


Flowers are red, green leaves are green

There's no need to see flowers any other way

Than the way they always have been seen


Time went by like it always does

And they moved to another town

And the little boy went to another school

And this is what he found

The teacher there was smilin'

She said...Painting should be fun

And there are so many colors in a flower

So let's use every one


But that little boy painted flowers

In neat rows of green and red

And when the teacher asked him why

This is what he said.. and he said

Flowers are red, green leaves are green

There's no need to see flowers any other way

Than the way they always have been seen.


Ardie Roddy
Littleton, NC