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A CLASS STRUGGLE: Tenure of Avowed Marxist Controversy jolts College
Houston Chronicle ^
| March 24, 2002
| KEVIN MORAN
Posted on 03/24/2002 1:47:13 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
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To: HDawg
"When are these Marxist losers in academia going to realize they lost? I know; it's a rhetorical question" Marxism is alive and doing well and thriving in your own backyard.
We just call it by other names these days.
It's more polite you know.
21
posted on
03/24/2002 2:58:46 AM PST
by
Kerberos
To: Cincinatus' Wife
"We don't need more idiots in our colleges; our institutions of higher learning are already overrun by these fools." "Time to draw the line."
I wonder whether keeping these slime protected on American campuses constitutes "aid and comfort to the enemy in time of war"?
22
posted on
03/24/2002 3:04:41 AM PST
by
NetValue
To: Cincinatus' Wife
"So I'm totally opposed to capitalism, and I think that the majority of the people of this country ought to get together and transform the system," he said. "I think we need to replace capitalism with some kind of democratic socialism."Well at least this professor is somewhat honest about what he is, unlike the thousands of other marxist we have running the educational system.
Although you still have to interpret democratic socialism for what it is, communism.
23
posted on
03/24/2002 3:05:24 AM PST
by
Kerberos
To: Cincinatus' Wife
Texas may be a conservative state but academia and institutions of higher, lower and inbetween learning are islands of LIBERAL group-think. Of course it's good to challenge kids to think but often a differing viewpoint is ridiculed and besides most of these students have been brought up on PC history and wouldn't know how to frame an opposing view point even if given the opportunity. They're like sponges soaking up these anti-American ideas.I 90% agree, otherwise I wouldn't be on this board. However, I still don't see having a few willing-to-admit-it Marxist profs as much of a problem.
The PC history these students have been brought up on is of the blame America first variety. The teachers have been saying what they are against, but never what they are for beyond a bland environmentalism. At least this guy admits he's a Marxist. Also, a lot of guys like this Marxist prof do kindda like for conservatives to speak up in class--makes for lively discussion. If he never gave a conservative student an A, now, that would be something to protest against.
To: pt17
As a former academic, I could not agree more. Tenure needs to go. Another issue: Politics have little place in basic undergraduate education. Economics, English and basic liberal arts have little to do with the professors opinions. Leave it to other areas of the curriculum. What the vast majority of the professoriate cannot realize is that they are there to first and foremost prepare their student to be productive citizens. Filling four years full of nothing but left-wing nonsense is just a form of larceny. Public universities should be forbidden to politicies their curriculum thus; Private schools may do what they with but should recieve no public monies for such "experiments."
To: Steve Eisenberg
Bump!
To: CasearianDaoist
Another issue: Politics have little place in basic undergraduate education
Amen to that. Not only was the professoriate using the lectern as a bully pulpit for their political views, the "learned and scholarly" infrastructure where I was became the battleground for internecine warfare over budgets, who could/could not publish, personalities, etc. etc. The problem with this battleground was that you could never kill or stop anything and it greatly distracted from the primary mission of teaching.
27
posted on
03/24/2002 3:42:40 AM PST
by
pt17
To: Cincinatus' Wife
Is anyone realy surprized a Marxist is teaching at a college campus?
"He is disingenuous in citing authorities, ..... said Katz, a former police officer who taught criminal justice courses at the college. "That is known, by any standard, as intellectual dishonesty and deceit."
Intellectual dishonesty and deceit; two hallmarks of a Marxist.
Tenure is a longtime, and often controversial, policy in American higher education. Among other functions, it "protects the instructor from termination of employment by an influential person or group for arbitrary reasons," said Dr. Homer "Butch" Hayes, College of the Mainland president.
Huh? Tenure is not the correct answer to arbitrary terminations. This plainly is just BS.
Smith teaches two introductory courses on national and state government and an elective course in political science.
Massive workload there buddy. Whats that, nine hours of instruction.
"In each of the courses, my syllabus sets out certain topics that I cover, and I certainly am honest about putting forth my own views," he said. "But I actively encourage people to question my views -- to express their own different views. "Sometimes, a lot of the best learning is done by debate, discussion and disagreement," he said. "And one hallmark of my classes is that you can get extra credit by arguing with me during class. I think that's a good thing.
I have had professor like him. The only reason they encourage kids to question their views to to reinforce theirs. Not too many 18 year olds will have the intellectual wherewithall to debate this guy. Once when I challenged a left wing professor with a very solid counterpoint, I was ridiculed rather than rebutted. None of the kiddies (I was 42 at the time) in my class thought to question her tactics. She was a marxist as well.
"Do I favor a small group of people going out and getting guns and attacking the government or anybody else? Of course not," he said.
Tranlation; I do favor large groups doing the above. I'm a Marxist after all, right?
"But I believe it has to be done by a vast majority of the people, using a combination of electoral and (other) tactics."
Translation; Other tactics are disinformation, deceit, propaganda, etc.
28
posted on
03/24/2002 3:51:33 AM PST
by
Fzob
To: Fzob
Bump!!!
To: Cincinatus' Wife
Thinking the Bad One needs to take a little drive to Texas City and sell some Avon L~
To: HDawg
Yes, it's bad enough that they employ a marxist, but the fact that they would employ someone so STUPID as to believe this in the year 2002, with 80 years of history to PROVE the stupidy of this theory is what galls me. What part of FAILURE doesn't he understand ?
31
posted on
03/24/2002 3:59:00 AM PST
by
happygrl
To: Cincinatus' Wife
Seeing as the chance of removing this guy is slim to none. He should not be teaching introductory courses. Entering freshman are dumb as rocks. Having this guy as one of the first professors they encounter is just plain idiotic.
Let him teach some fourth year political science electives. Then they can combine the weekly meeting for the Greenies, Commies and other assorted Marxist groups in one place.
If that happened maybe some inspired patriot could toss in some stink bombs and lock the door from the outside.
32
posted on
03/24/2002 4:06:22 AM PST
by
Fzob
Comment #33 Removed by Moderator
To: Bad~Rodeo; Fzob
Bumps!!
To: Cincinatus' Wife
I don't get it. If this guy was an avowed Nazi, nobody would think twice about denying him tenure. Marx is responsible for a lot more deaths than Hitler.
35
posted on
03/24/2002 4:12:10 AM PST
by
Maceman
To: JZoback
Bump
36
posted on
03/24/2002 4:12:35 AM PST
by
Fzob
To: Cincinatus' Wife
If he is a real "Socialist", why does he need tenure?
Tenure,after all, is an elitist, oppressive form of job security raising certain individuals above their peers. It would seem that this person needs to abandon his effete Western intellectualism, and reaffirm his peasant values through the honest toil of the worker.
I suggest five years in the Texas cotton fields.
Regards,
To: pt17
Tenure is, IMHO, one of the main failings of the American educational system. It removes, or greatly diminishes, accountability, competition, motivation and incentives to excel.It also keeps costs down. (Now here I'm talking about Universities, it differs greatly from elem./secondary schools.) Since there is generally only one university per town, if I get fired, I would have to pick up and move. For myself, the possibility of tenure is the only thing that keeps me in academia. They would have to pay a lot more to keep me around if I got fired every time my research slacked off a little or I got a semester of bad evaluations. Being a mathematician, my research will fall off after I turn 40 or so.
Getting tenure at Universities is not easy. You are reviewed and judged worthy of it both at the department and dean levels. Not so in elem./secondary where you get it if you've been there long enough.
BTW, 47 is a little old to be going for tenure.
Oh, and how does a Marxist determine grades? Everybody gets a C?
To: Jimmy Valentine
I want to know since when does an Assistant Professor get tenure? The usual track is Assistant, Associate, and full Professor. Secondly, since when does a teacher get tenure before five years of work, or before he publishes something of merit? Penultimately, I cannot recall the mention that Smith had earned a Ph.D. Finally, it should be understood that really bad teachers can be found in junior and community colleges, and Smith proves the rule.
39
posted on
03/24/2002 4:25:31 AM PST
by
gaspar
To: Cincinatus' Wife
As long as parents are willing to go into debt to send their kids to these leftwing educational mills and as long as the alumni keep feeding in the big $$$ this crap will not end
That's the bottom line PERIOD
40
posted on
03/24/2002 4:34:02 AM PST
by
uncbob
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