Diversity of Everything but Thought

It is a fact that a college diploma from just about anywhere looks really good on a resume. But many many of us in business know that a college diploma indicates a degree of perserverance and ability to finish something, but it is not always a good indication of how educated the person holding it might be.

As an aside, could you explain how you concluded that I hate anybody from any of my posts? I'm doing some research on how the liberal mind works.

Not always, but often. If two otherwise equal candiates have degrees from different institutions, would that not sway you in some degree? Harvard vs. Sul Ross?

No, Dora. I think conservatives and liberals are equally competent to teach. But if somebody is extreme in their views and is not inclined to even offer an opposing view, the student is not going to have a full view of either the body of thought out there or the options of conclusions available to him/her. I'm saying you need both. The whole thesis now is that most students do not have the opportunity to have both and the discussion was hopefully in how that might be remedied. Hopefully some will actually to that part instead of attempting to demonize those who see a problem.

I can virtually guarantee you that if the situation was reversed and the balance was as unequal with conservatives in the majority, these same people blasting me would be blasting that. Just look at how they whine about Fox news having a voice and they're in the distinct minority.

Jeez, now that I realize there are stealthy ways of influencing people, I'm really gonna watch out for that Prof. Mesmero with his doctorate in Artful Manipulation. Thanks for the heads up on that, Lash.
This made me laugh. Twas cute. But after reading the rest of what you had to say--you really needed that heads up.
Obviously there are subtler forms of manipulation, but my point was that when lecturing to an entire room full of people, especially about a topic that's so volatile right now that people's ears prick up when the least political thing is mentioned, it would be difficult to be very subtle about it. Yes, even among the oblivious 17-19 year old college crowd, the mention of politics is pretty charged right now. (Take for example the 18 year old guy behind me in history last semester who kicked my chair as hard as he could when I said I wasn't going to vote for Dubya. not kidding )
Laughing a bit heartier. Funny how such a good quipster, in her next breath, proves she didn't know what she was talking about. The discussion doesn't have to be about politics to make a heavy impact on the way young people think about issues. The really hard chair kicking story is to laugh. You missed the point.
Guess what? Most teachers are too busy trying to get thru their actual curriculum to give us our liberal brainwashing.
Guess what? Wrong Again. Too busy..to give a brainwashing...? If she has time to talk, she has time. She doesn't even have to know she's doing it. But, as sophisticated as you are, you really knew that, right?
I have had only one teacher this semester even mention politics, and that was in biology, referring to stem cell research. His opinion, nearly word for word: "It's a very difficult moral issue, and there are a lot of legitimate feelings against it. I can't give you any answers; all I can say is, however you feel about it, vote in the next election so you can have same influence over where we go with it." Am I just naievely missing the brainwashing there?
You're naively missing the entire point of influence in college classes, and any class, and any mass media. It doesn't involve people kicking your chair.

Many Composition college professors spend as much as 80% of their class time disscussing social or political issues with the class--and assign essays on the discussion, or their opinion.... Many assign books--and the choice of the book in itself makes a strong political statement.
Here's a truth claim (a claim that proposition X is true). Let's look at it closely.
- "many composition professors"... How many? We aren't told. The suggestion is either a majority or a substantial minority. What backs up this element in the truth claim? Lash says it is so.
- "as much as 80% of their class time"...Really? How was this measured? Was it measured? When, where, by whom? Is it a guess? It is put forward as factual but without evidence of any sort.
- "Many assign books--and the choice of the book in itself makes a strong political statement." Here the 'many' doesn't pose a problem because, rather obviously, many composition professors will likely assign books for reading, composition being composition and books being a part of university learning. But "choice of book makes a strong political statement"? Emma? To Kill A Mockingbird? Strunk and White? The University Style Manual? Well, one could say that any novel is likely to engage social/political issues as To Kill a Mockingbird most certainly does. Would a conservative composition teacher place a book by Robert Novak to balance an assignment to read Dickens?
A kid should be able to read anything with no problem, but there are widespread grading penalties for students who don't write an essay with the "opinion" the prof deems acceptable--no matter that the grammar and construction are correct.
Another truth claim..."there are widespread grading penalities". Are there? How is this established? No evidence of any sort is provided for the claim?
Of course, this doesn't always happen, but it does happen. I know you've heard of a phenomenon we call "intimidation". It occurs in all aspects of society. So, are you ready to assert that it never happens in the education environment?
This is an interesting proposition. Intimidation is common ("all aspects") therefore it will occur also in a university setting (or in a church setting, or a family meal, or in choosing a new pope, or the evening news, or when missionaries deal with natives, when someone leads prayer, little league championships, etc). Of course, we also have to include intimidation - logically, following from her premise - as a characteristic of Lash's post here.

It is really surprising that people continue to deny that the sensibilities of an authority figure affect those in subordinate roles.
What is denied? Who denies it? What does the term "sensibilities" mean here? Will university students inevitably begin to copy the hairstyle of their professor? Alter their tastes in movies to that of the professor? Eat the same foods - for the rest of their lives? Become more polite in their relationships with people if the professor is polite? Aside from all that, how would this notion apply as regards, say, a speech by President Bush on the reasons to go to war in Iraq? How would it apply to a sunday school?

Almost every discipline has room for political bias and influence.

I also have a very anti-liberal Global Issues prof. He does the same thing. It is rare to find someone (in this case, a teacher) who is 1) aware of their biases, and 2) has the insight and integrity to keep their personal views in check.
How is this truth claim established? Why ought it not to apply to Lash too, being almost universal?

I have a Human Geography professor who is incredibly liberal, and his opinions color what many students say about political issues relating to the Middle East on their tests, and term papers.
Does it? How does Lash know this? Has Lash reviewed these term papers and test results against some control?
Some of us are consciously amending our papers to reflect his political views because we are interested in maintaining a GPA.
How many is "some"? More importantly, how does Lash know that such ammendations as she makes have a measurable consequence on her final mark?
Some will write their work as they find and interpret the facts, and will press for fairness, if he reduces the grades because he doesn't like to hear negative facts about Muslims or Palestinians. On the multiple choice portion of his test today:

The relocation of Israelis to the Middle East
bullshit answer
bullshit answer
Has caused generational suffering and crisis for that land's prior inhabitants, the Palestinians.
bullshit answer
We suspect "bullshit answer" is a misrepresentation of the questions. Being careful scholars, we'd prefer a precisely accurate representation of what those questions were. In fact, we cannot procede to Lash's desired conclusion without such accuracy. color]

On the face of it, you may say, well that's true. It is true, and it's not true. It's incomplete. Is that allowable? Yes. Can the absence of other contributing facts cause some kid to think

Israel: bad
Palestinians: good

Yes.
Is there some problem here (assuming of course that you've duplicated the professor's answer precisely, rather than giving us a 'good bullshit' version) that a student might conclude that Israeli policies have been imperfect or not totally moral? Ought kids never to think such a thing in their efforts to study the middle east?

It was one sided. It didn't tell the whole story. People who are connoisseurs of the news can distinguish between BS, half-truth, bias and fairness--or at least shop widely to get a balance. Kids with no interest in the news, and intellectually lazy will just snort up whatever it put in front of them.

Since the overwhelming percentage of profs are liberal--

and since humans overwhelmingly leak their views--

and since profs are still categorized as humans--

You are wrong.

As becomes readily apparent when one breaks down this post by Lash, much is claimed to be so - and claimed so through the implicit suggestion of carefulness and balance - but for which absolutely no evidence is forwarded. It is neither careful nor is it balanced. It is opinion posing as something else.

Quote:

Many Composition college professors spend as much as 80% of their class time disscussing social or political issues with the class--and assign essays on the discussion, or their opinion.... Many assign books--and the choice of the book in itself makes a strong political statement.
Here's a truth claim (a claim that proposition X is true). Let's look at it closely.
- "many composition professors"... How many? We aren't told. The suggestion is either a majority or a substantial minority. What backs up this element in the truth claim? Lash says it is so.
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Statistics bear me out. I have attended two small colleges. I have taken two Composition courses. My daughter and my son have each taken one Composition course, representing the classroom technique of four different Composition profs. I can comfortably say that if these four instructors have almost identical classroom formats---which is opening the classroom to dialogue and mild debate over current political and social issues, and then assigning an essay for a grade on an aspect on that issue---that my use of "many" was erring on the side of caution. I do realize these schools are Southern and bounded by two states, so even though it is 100% of the Composition classes represented, it may not be universally representative. This is why Lash says it is so.
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- "as much as 80% of their class time"...Really? How was this measured? Was it measured? When, where, by whom? Is it a guess? It is put forward as factual but without evidence of any sort.
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It is factual evidence, as explained previously.*****************************************

- "Many assign books--and the choice of the book in itself makes a strong political statement." Here the 'many' doesn't pose a problem because, rather obviously, many composition professors will likely assign books for reading, composition being composition and books being a part of university learning. But "choice of book makes a strong political statement"? Emma? To Kill A Mockingbird? Strunk and White? The University Style Manual? Well, one could say that any novel is likely to engage social/political issues as To Kill a Mockingbird most certainly does. Would a conservative composition teacher place a book by Robert Novak to balance an assignment to read Dickens?[/color]
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Or any book to offer other than a liberal viewpoint or agenda...? Not bloody likely.
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A kid should be able to read anything with no problem, but there are widespread grading penalties for students who don't write an essay with the "opinion" the prof deems acceptable--no matter that the grammar and construction are correct.
Another truth claim..."there are widespread grading penalities". Are there? How is this established? No evidence of any sort is provided for the claim?
Yes. Conversations with actual people in this situation are better than any other measure.
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Of course, this doesn't always happen, but it does happen. I know you've heard of a phenomenon we call "intimidation". It occurs in all aspects of society. So, are you ready to assert that it never happens in the education environment?
This is an interesting proposition. Intimidation is common ("all aspects") therefore it will occur also in a university setting (or in a church setting, or a family meal, or in choosing a new pope, or the evening news, or when missionaries deal with natives, when someone leads prayer, little league championships, etc). Of course, we also have to include intimidation - logically, following from her premise - as a characteristic of Lash's post here.
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By Jove, I think he's got it.*****************************************

It is really surprising that people continue to deny that the sensibilities of an authority figure affect those in subordinate roles.
What is denied? Who denies it? What does the term "sensibilities" mean here? Will university students inevitably begin to copy the hairstyle of their professor? Alter their tastes in movies to that of the professor? Eat the same foods - for the rest of their lives? Become more polite in their relationships with people if the professor is polite? Aside from all that, how would this notion apply as regards, say, a speech by President Bush on the reasons to go to war in Iraq? How would it apply to a sunday school?
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You have too much time on your hands today. Please don't waste your time thusly in the future.
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Almost every discipline has room for political bias and influence.

I also have a very anti-liberal Global Issues prof. He does the same thing. It is rare to find someone (in this case, a teacher) who is 1) aware of their biases, and 2) has the insight and integrity to keep their personal views in check.
How is this truth claim established? Why ought it not to apply to Lash too, being almost universal?
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You should apply it to Lash. While you're at it, apply it to yourself, liberal professors, and the media.
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I have a Human Geography professor who is incredibly liberal, and his opinions color what many students say about political issues relating to the Middle East on their tests, and term papers.
Does it? How does Lash know this?
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Lash knows due to conversations about it with students in his class. It is a fact.
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Some of us are consciously amending our papers to reflect his political views because we are interested in maintaining a GPA.
How many is "some"?
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Counting heads of the ones who made these comments before the professor came in, 8 from a class of 12. If it was 1, it would be wrong. His views are not a part of the learning process or the course. The facts are.
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Some will write their work as they find and interpret the facts, and will press for fairness, if he reduces the grades because he doesn't like to hear negative facts about Muslims or Palestinians. On the multiple choice portion of his test today:

The relocation of Israelis to the Middle East
bullshit answer
bullshit answer
Has caused generational suffering and crisis for that land's prior inhabitants, the Palestinians.
bullshit answer
We suspect "bullshit answer" is a misrepresentation of the questions. Being careful scholars, we'd prefer a precisely accurate representation of what those questions were. In fact, we cannot procede to Lash's desired conclusion without such accuracy.
****************************************
This, I understand. I couldn't remember them all. I only knew they were throw away answers, and the one I remembered and wrote here, was the correct answer. Or what he counted as correct. Which is the only one that mattered. The one counted as correct was one side. A political statement sifted through his personal political opinion.
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On the face of it, you may say, well that's true. It is true, and it's not true. It's incomplete. Is that allowable? Yes. Can the absence of other contributing facts cause some kid to think

Israel: bad
Palestinians: good

Yes.
Is there some problem here (assuming of course that you've duplicated the professor's answer precisely, rather than giving us a 'good bullshit' version) that a student might conclude that Israeli policies have been imperfect or not totally moral? Ought kids never to think such a thing in their efforts to study the middle east?
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They don't need to be force fed one side, and intimidated into accepting it as truth.
*************************************

It was one sided. It didn't tell the whole story. People who are connoisseurs of the news can distinguish between BS, half-truth, bias and fairness--or at least shop widely to get a balance. Kids with no interest in the news, and intellectually lazy will just snort up whatever it put in front of them.

Since the overwhelming percentage of profs are liberal--

and since humans overwhelmingly leak their views--

and since profs are still categorized as humans--

You are wrong.

As becomes readily apparent when one breaks down this post by Lash, much is claimed to be so - and claimed so through the implicit suggestion of carefulness and balance - but for which absolutely no evidence is forwarded. It is neither careful nor is it balanced. It is opinion posing as something else.
It is based on case studies, conducted by the author. I'm in the environment we're talking about, and I am experiencing the issue being discussed. That said, I admit that people of all political stripes are guilty of bleeding their politics into their work, when applicable. In teaching, it is VERY applicable. The overwhelming number of professors are liberal. It is quite easy to arrive at the conclusion that universities are pushing liberal bias on students. And accurate..

(Sorry about *s. This computer refuses all requests for other distinction of text.)

Statistics bear me out. I have attended two small colleges. I have taken two Composition courses. My daughter and my son have each taken one Composition course, representing the classroom technique of four different Composition profs. I can comfortably say that if these four instructors have almost identical classroom formats---which is opening the classroom to dialogue and mild debate over current political and social issues, and then assigning an essay for a grade on an aspect on that issue---that my use of "many" was erring on the side of caution. I do realize these schools are Southern and bounded by two states, so even though it is 100% of the Composition classes represented, it may not be universally representative. This is why Lash says it is so.

Or any book to offer other than a liberal viewpoint or agenda...? Not bloody likely.

blatham...Another truth claim..."there are widespread grading penalities". Are there? How is this established? No evidence of any sort is provided for the claim?
lash...Yes. Conversations with actual people in this situation are better than any other measure.

Sociology is almost completely spoonfeeding liberal ideals to students. While I happen to agree with most of what Sociology engenders, some of it is bullshit, and unveiled liberal propaganda which children are forced to accept and restate on tests as fact. You can't deny it.