Professors teach what to think, not how to think

By: Dustin Stein

Posted: 11/18/03

All the time I have been in school, I thought the university was the apex of the education system; that the university aspired to the highest values of civilization. The university is supposed to be a place for open discussion and debate, where a student is free to express him or herself. Students are encouraged to examine any number of political ideologies, through open dialogue and forums (classes, lectures, etc.) in their college experience, to then decide the merit of each of these ideologies.
I was wrong. There is growing momentum in the opposite direction. The rise of post-modern, post-structural, culture and moral relativists has also shown a simultaneous decrease in exploring modern, structural and moral absolutists' viewpoints. Professors are becoming much more reticent to nurture a diverse political environment in their classrooms. For an increasing number of professors it is becoming, "My way or the highway."
There are a number of dangers with conducting a class along these lines. First, students should be encouraged to think for themselves, not regurgitate the notes that the professor wrote on the board. Just because a professor has accepted certain theories as fact does not mean it is beyond the classroom to evaluate and deliberate on the applications of such theories. Students with opinions that differ from these professors are often castigated or ostracized from classroom discussion, and the exact opposite effect of the university's mission statement is conveyed to students. Memorizing the professor's thoughts takes precedence over the ability to think or question, which is very dangerous ground for the future of America. It is the makings of an enforced academic hegemony. Either buy into the relativism and the baggage that comes with it or suffer the consequences with your grades.
The second reason this classroom indoctrination has a negative effect on college-age students is because most of these same professors base their theories on their understanding of history, most likely through a revisionist's lens. The problem is that students are being deprived of basic history lessons. Theory is important, but not if it is not grounded in basic historical facts and events. This scenario is becoming burdensome throughout American universities. Students are able to graduate, with distinction, with the ability to play by the post-colonialists rules and the moral-relativists ethical guidance and are therefore ill-prepared for too many occupations because they can't think outside of this ingrained box into which professors have forced them.
When post-colonialists revise the history textbooks, crucial details are left out, and theories become more pertinent than facts. This allows students to be able to ace a class without reading or reasoning, but just by understanding the jargon and theory their professor espouses. Does this really pass the test of higher education standards?
There also seems to be a growing gap between college students and their professors. In two recent studies, one by the New School for Social Research and one by Harvard University, it was revealed there are now more college students who consider themselves to be Republicans than Democrats, but one would never know by sitting in a university lecture hall. Professors are by and large Democrats and mostly of the liberal persuasion. One could go through their full college education without ever being exposed to a book written by a conservative or someone willing to explain to them the conservative ideology.
I am not a conservative; I happen to consider myself a liberal. But, I am a liberal who cares about education, and I am a liberal who thinks free speech and open policy debates are more important than singing to the choir. I have sat through too many courses and lectures where liberals preach to liberals. Don't students deserve a variety of voices?
The post-colonialists are especially guilty of denying a full political spectrum. Post-colonialists are so prepared to degrade and demean American policy and most of the civilized world's history that they rarely, if ever, discuss what the guiding forces in these policies were. They rely on premises like "in imperialism and colonialism's past, the colonialists (read America and Western Europe) enforced their will and policy on the other, land and people they wished to subjugate to their rule." Not once have I heard a professor explain why. And this same idea: that the minority or those being ruled never had a voice in these matters is now being reversed. The post-colonialists exclude colonialist thought from their curriculum, and instead explain to students how they view colonialism-just as they say the colonialists did to the natives (telling them what they should think). If professors want to live up to America's higher education standards, they need to start opening up their minds more and exposing students to more than just their beliefs. If they wish to simply indoctrinate students, maybe they should go to a radical madrassa. I hope, in the near future, professors will have the intellectual vigor and commitment to their students' academic achievement to not stifle debate and be more objective in their classroom presentations. But, of course, this is more wishful thinking, professors subscribing to moral and cultural relativism don't believe in objectivity or even coming close, so all we should expect from them in class is their opinion. Are American college minds being closed?