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Posted on 04/11/2003 8:00:25 AM PDT by Stand Watch Listen
I´ve been teaching classes at a Chicago university as an adjunct faculty member since the summer of 2001 and began instructing my sixth course last week. My experiences with these students are always enlightening and speak volumes about the mindset of today´s youth and, specifically, those youth who decide to be teachers.
Last week I gazed upon my new masters level class, which numbers thirty, and is the largest that I´ve ever had. For reasons I may specify in another piece, they are an uncommonly young group as they are all 22 or 23 years-old and the class is devoid of older students which is unfortunate because advanced age often adds an ingredient of temperance and wisdom (not in all cases obviously).
During the starting introduction my class became irritable and, without being asked, they interjected many concerns regarding course structure, meeting days and most of all how I was grading them. They, like all the teachers I´ve taught, were perturbed about the course including a midterm and a final. The textbook being a requirement for the class was likewise a cause for grievance. I could see early on that much modification would be needed to get them to raise their hands before speaking. One blurted out, “I can´t believe you want us to buy the book. Do you know how much they cost?” I explained that the book came on the highest recommendation from the department head. Upon arrival, this week I found that many of the students had acquired an earlier edition online for half the cost. I hope, for their sake, that the answers to the midterm are contained in the cheaper edition.
My first session resembled more “Let´s Make a Deal” than a college course. One student berated me with “I´m a teacher now, not a student!” I could not believe that I heard such a statement and wished that I had brought a tape recorder. There is no more telling words for describing my frustrations with the teachers that I´ve taught. For this reason, next week I will use as a question for discussion: “Do you have a moral obligation to your students and to their parents to be a scholar? Or be, at the very least, a lifelong learner?” Perhaps, if I´m feeling aggressive, I´ll add “Is there an implicit contract between you and your district employers that you not become an ignoramus?”
A student whose physical mannerisms suggested melancholia unwittingly volunteered what I think may be the best argument in favor of objective assessment. She confided to me that “in our other classes we could bulls--t our way through our papers without having to read the book. Now you want us to read the book?” I wished to answer with the rage of John MacEnroe, break my pen, and scream “You can´t be serious!”
Yes, it was high comedy and by the end I couldn´t hold back my own snickers which must have seemed not very empathetic. Yet, I did let them vent for over fifteen minutes before saying “the syllabus stays unchanged. Thank you for your honesty.” A more appropriate retort would have been to stand on my chair and shout, “Who´s your daddy!” but that could have generated a physical melee.
On a positive note, two of the students followed me out and after class told me in the elevator that they were glad that I stuck to my guns about the tests and the textbook.
Other than the size of the class there was another factor that made me immediately suspect that this congregation would be very hostile and a challenge. I looked around to see how little racial diversity was in the chairs. This is not always a problem but it absolutely seems to be when one is dealing with nearly pubescent Caucasian graduate students. Within this group there is always a subset of the malignant Trustafarians. This word and the people it describes have been intrinsic to my adventures in academe.
Trustafarians are well-off college students who live from the proceeds of their parents´ capitalistic success but resent the oppression that this causes, along with the carbon monoxide they generate, and woefully spite their privileged existence even as they charge up over 120 dollars in foodstuffs at the local Whole Foods. They live at uber-comfortable levels in the most democratic land on earth but choose to vote and protest like radicals from the Weatherman Underground (who were also Trustafarians long ago).
These young adults proliferate in the universities like locusts in Kansas and are just as much a blight on our well-being. They are reflexively anti-American, anti-capitalist and regard anybody who is to the right of Medea Benjamin as “a right-winger.” I am particularly intolerant of this red brigade because I am just young enough to remember my own educational experiences and it saddens me beyond measure when I envision how these spoiled fops will one day revolutionize our offspring with omniscient fables about ‘Amerika the Unjust.´ Under duress, I fear I might just lose my position by informing them, “that the last thing I care about are the opinions of a bunch of pampered, molly-coddled, Visa Card-addicted, 23 year-olds so take your dread locks and chic angst somewhere else!”
This situation first came into play last summer when a student in my class announced “We all know that everybody in here is a Democrat except for one person who´s a Republican” she said while staring at me. Whenever they even say the word Republican I always try to count how many seconds it´s going to take for it to be followed by ‘fascist.´ It wasn´t on this occasion and I thought to myself “so that´s the way it´s going to be. Okay, whatever.” As it turned out though, they were not referring to me at all but to a female student who, as luck would have it, worked hard and earned an A in the class (absent any non-divine intervention on my part).
Yesterday a not so controversial topic such as our declining birth rate, which was described in depth in one of our chapters, turned into a debate after I posed the question “Is not a society that fails to reproduce themselves inherently a pathological society?” Within seconds three of students responded. They stated that our declining birthrate did not matter as we would be replaced by other people from other lands. I knew the importance of this discussion as many present have never heard voices contrary to their own. I said “are those immigrants going to support the ideas and institutions of the United States?” The students countered that Roman ideas and literature were still around after Rome fell. I said “what if those who take over ban these ideas like the Islamic fundamentalists who we are fighting all over the globe?” The only answer to my query was that our birthrate wouldn´t affect our future. I countered that it did currently in France, Italy and Spain and that those who out-produce the indigenous peoples will one day become the majority and install their own governments.
Another student broke in that this “is not a philosophy class.” I agreed, thanked them for their input, and moved on to the next topic.
After our break a student approached me and told me that Howard Dean was coming to town and that I should attend. Can you believe that? Is there any more telling indictment of the stranglehold that the left has on the academy than that a student, first, automatically makes the assumption that his instructor is a member of the Democrat Party and, second, that his instructor is a demented leftist who would support the likes of Howard “Saddam is Misunderstood” Dean. What the hell kind of recommendation is that? Maybe I´ll have a Sandinistan potluck later in the quarter too. I had to use all of my strength just to hold my tongue and look out the window as a means of rejoinder.
Then, seconds before class restarted, they began talking about this “terrible war.” They even said that they had participated in the anti-war demonstrations on Dearborn. I laughed fiendishly. The imp in me surfaced. I told them that I was there too. They looked excited. I said that I written a report about my experiences. I left out that I compared them to “syphilitic birds.” When asked where they could find it I mumbled and said that it was time for class to begin.
My job at the university is very part-time but significantly provides me with several extra car payments a year. The work is excellent for my professional development as I stay in tuned to all of the most recent developments in the field of education. Yet, part of me always wants to decline when they offer a class over the phone.
We always seem to overestimate our own personal importance and I realize that this is basically part of the human condition. Yet, in my case at the university, my continued instruction is a profound necessity both for the students and for the good of the nation. The good of the nation? Am I not exaggerating? Surprisingly, I am not.
I know my presence is a good in itself as many basic conservative defenses of culture have never been heard before by any of the students I service.
My now standard counterattack against those who dispute that there is such a thing as objectivity is greeted with wide, and often accepting, eyes. When I quote Calvin Coolidge that “for every ten problems you see coming down the road, nine role harmlessly into the ditch before they arrive” as a means of combating our textbook´s endorsement of a government solution for every problem a child faces, I see a glimmer of recognition in the faces of a few.
When I vigorously defend the United States with our lengthy life expectancies, cheap sustenance and the fact that our own textbook admits that one of the biggest problems facing the poor in America is not starvation but obesity. It is then when I observe that a couple are internalizing my positions. How bad can life be when an overabundance of food is one of our major risks? I tell them what the Nigerian cab drivers say to me: “their fathers never saved for a home or car in Nigeria. They saved money so their children could go to school.” I recapitulate this and maybe someone else realizes how special we really are in the land of the free.
A conservative in the university must remain on the job until the last combustion from the flame thrower draws him out. Disliking your job means nothing. Truth calls you forward and you must obey its command. There are no mitigating circumstance for discontinuing your employment. The situation is dire and without us the war is lost. To compare university conservative instructors to the hold-out Spartans at the battle of Thermopylae is not as far fetched as it may seem. We are pointlessly outnumbered but our refusal to surrender may exponentially shape the minds of tomorrow. Whether it´s painful or not I´m staying at the university until they fire me (or stop calling in my case).
No matter how they berate or disrespect me I know that I owe it to conservatives everywhere to remain. Quitting would be a profane act because I am one of the few who does not quote Chomsky, Foucault and Sontag with regularity. I believe in my “recon-naissance in force” on behalf of western civilization. For me not to do so would be cowardice. Santayana put it best, “the best men in all ages keep classic traditions alive.”
I close with words stolen from Danton, seconds before he died, and allude to western civilization more than they do to me: “show my head. It´s worth seeing.”
FReegards
How Not to Teach Math
Source: City Journal; Published: 7 March 2003; Author: Matthew ClavelGovernment Schools Have U.S. On The Fast Track To Third-World Status
Source: Toogood Reports; Published: March 6, 2003; Author: Bob EllisSodom and Gomorrah University
Source: WorldNetDaily.com: Published: February 19, 2003; Author: Michelle MalkinThe Union That Killed Education
Source: newsmax.com; Published: February. 17, 2003; Author: Paul Craig RobertsWalter E. Williams: Inferior Education of Black Americans
Source:CNSNews.com; Published: February 05, 2003; Author: Walter E. WilliamsUnion Fraud Underscores Need for School Vouchers
Source: CNSNEWS.com; Published: February 05, 2003; Author: Linda ChavezTime for public schools to throw in the towel?
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: January 27, 2003; Author: Dr. Laura SchlessingerMy Classroom From Hell
Source: The Wall Street Journal; Published: January 24, 2003; Author: Joshua KaplowitzCan more money make schools better?
Source: TownHall.com; Published: January 21, 2003; Author: Phyllis SchlaflyAre public schools constitutional?
Source: NewsWithViews; Published: JANUARY 20, 2003; Auythor: Lynn M. StuterThe intellectual rape of Oakland's schools
Source: TownHall.com; Published: January 17, 2003; Author: David HorowitzHip-hop hogwash in the schools (Michelle Malkin)
Source: TownHall.com; Published: January 15, 2003; Author: Michelle MalkinDumbed Down and Dumber Still
Source: The American Prowler; Published: January 15, 2003; Author: By George NeumayrWashington's education establishment
Source: TownHall.com; Published: January 8, 2003; Author:Walter WilliamsNEA Hastens Death of American Education
Source: INSIGHT magazine; Published: January 6, 2003; Author: Ralph de ToledanoWhite Teachers Fleeing Black Schools
Source: Newsmax; Published:January 1, 2003; Author: Chad RoedemeierFiddling whilst Rome burns
Source: TownHall.com; Published: December 26, 2002; Author: Walter WilliamsGovernment School Monopolies Leave Children Behind
Source: Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty; Published: December 4, 2002; Author: Clint GreenThe silence of the lambs: McMillan blasts bureaucrats for destroying public education
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: August 15, 2002; Author: Craige McMillanTaking Charge: Let's Stop Aiding and Abetting Academicians' Folly
Source: HOME EDUCATION magazine; Published: July-August 2002; Author: Larry and Susan Kaseman’Open Directory’ --Society/Issues/Education/Education_Reform
Deconstructing Public Education
Source: www.newsmax.com; Published: July 26, 2002; Author: Diane AldenSpecious Science In Our Schools
Source: Toogood Reports; Published: July 9, 2002; Author: Alan CarubaSYMPOSIUM Q: Is the National Education Association Being Fair to Its Religious Objectors?
Source: INSIGHT magazine; Published: June 10, 2002; Authors NO: Stefan Gleason ////\\\\ YES: Bob ChasePublic Sector Subverting Productive Industry
Source: Toogood Reports; Published: May 16, 2002; Author: Henry PelifianHistory of America's Education Part 2: Noah Webster and Early America
Source: Sierra Times; Published: March 27, 2002; Author: April ShenandoahHow Communist is Public Education?
Source: sierratimes.com; Published:March 22, 2002; Author: Chuck MorseHistory of America's Education Part 1: Johnny is in trouble
Source: Sierra Times; Published: March 20, 2002; Author: April ShenandoahAudit rips Georgia schools' curriculum
Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Published: March 11, 2002; Author:JAMES SALZERWhy schools fail: Samuel Blumenfeld warns Bush's education legislation is ineffective
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: March 2, 2002; Author: Samuel BlumenfeldPublic School Isn't Like I Remember It
Source: Too Good Reports; Published: February 28, 2002; Author: Phyllis SchlaflyWhat Is Lacking In Our Educational System
Source: Too Good Reports; Published: February 28, 2002; Author: Ben CerrutiThe charade of education reform
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: February 2, 2002; Author: Dr. Samuel L. BlumenfeldAmerican public schools: Working just as designed
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: January 21, 2002; Author: Vox DayHigh Schools Fail Thanks To Grade Inflation And Social Promotion
Source: Toogood Reports; Published: December 5, 2001; Author: Vin SuprynowiczWHY AMERICANS CAN’T READ
Source: Accuracy in Media; Published: December 4, 2001; Author: Reed Irvine and Cliff KincaidThe Failing Teacher and the Teachers' Code of Silence
Source: CNSNews.com; Published: December 3, 2001; Author: Glenn SacksTime for outrage! Linda Bowles reports latest results in America's public schools
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: November 27, 2001; Author: Linda BowlesIlliterate in Boston: Samuel Blumenfeld explains U.S.'s ongoing reading problem
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: July 20, 2001; Author: Samuel BlumenfeldNEA - Let our children go!
Source: WorldNet Daily; Published: June 23. 2001; Author: Linda HarveyCOOKING THE BOOKS AT EDUCATION
Source: Accuracy In Media; Published: June 5, 2001; Author: Cliff KincaidWhy Do Schools Play Games With Students' Minds ?
Source: The Detroit News; Published: April 1, 2001; Author: Thomas SowellThe Public School Nightmare: Why fix a system designed to destroy individual thought?
Source: http://home.talkcity.com/LibraryDr/patt/homeschl.htm; Author: John Taylor GattoDumbing down teachers
Source: USNews.com; Published: February 21, 2001; Author: John LeoFree Republic links to education related articles (thread#8)
Source: Free Republic; Published: 3-20-2001; Author: VariousAre children deliberately 'dumbed down' in school? {YES!!!}
Source: World Net Daily; Published: May 13, 2001; Author: Geoff Metcalf {Interview}Could they really have done it on purpose?
Source: THE LIBERTARIAN; Published: 07/28/2000; Author: Vin SuprynowiczNew Book Explores America's Education Catastrophe
Source: Christian Citizen USA; Published: April 2000; Author: William H. WildDeliberately dumbing us down (Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt's, "The Deliberate Dumbing Down of America"
Source: WorldNetDaily.com; Published: December 2,1999; Author: Samuel L. BlumenfeldDeconstructing the Western Mind: Gramscian-Marxist Subversion of Faith and Education
Source: www.petersnet; Published: Winter 1997; Author: Frank Morriss
Littleton Crisis to Government Control
The UN Plan for Your Mental Health
NonPartisan Action For a Better Redding
Quality of Education Commentary, Opinion, and Book Reviews
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My response would have been, "And your point is. . . ?"
Can you explain why you believe this person to be combative and arrogant?
Perhaps, if I´m feeling aggressive, I´ll add "Is there an implicit contract between you and your district employers that you not become an ignoramus?"
I wished to answer with the rage of John MacEnroe, break my pen, and scream "You can´t be serious!"
by the end I couldn´t hold back my own snickers which must have seemed not very empathetic. Yet, I did let them vent for over fifteen minutes before saying "the syllabus stays unchanged. Thank you for your honesty." A more appropriate retort would have been to stand on my chair and shout, "Who´s your daddy!" but that could have generated a physical melee.
Under duress, I fear I might just lose my position by informing them, "that the last thing I care about are the opinions of a bunch of pampered, molly-coddled, Visa Card-addicted, 23 year-olds so take your dread locks and chic angst somewhere else!"
I left out that I compared them to "syphilitic birds."
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