by cofty 25 Replies latest social current
I found this to be a thought-provoking film on the trend in higher education.
Oubliette drew my attention to a brilliant article recently called "The Coddling of the American Mind". Please have a look at the film, click the link and check out the links in the article. I would love to hear your thoughts.
Yes I heard a good discussion about this on radio 4. Apparently an academic at a leading American university has written a book about this mind "coddling". One of the triggers for this train of thought was a viral of a colleague being verbally attacked and called a racist by a student.I think the scene was triggered by a discussion over Halloween costumes of all things. The students had put out flyers requesting that costumes be toned down in order not to offend delicate sensibities.
Anyway basically this coddling has resulted in a kind of thought fascism on American campuses where new or different ideas are stifled by the radical left if I can call it that. I will watch the vid ....funnily enough some sites claim that is the case here..that there is an orthodoxy of thought on JWnet and if it gets broached it results in at least a dressing down and occasionally being banned.
OK watched it. Pretty poor.. Heavy handed and predictable.
However we can all complain about this stuff but since my sons just been diagnosed with dyslexia I am probably not the best person to give an opinion...I say thank goodness for readjustment scoring to make things fairer for those with a disability.
But I get that average people with average backgrounds may be disadvantaged. In my experience its still who you know and how personable or likeable you are that guarantees success. I call it the David Nivan effect.
Great short film - kind of a nightmarish version of the issues the authors, Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, raise in the article.
Thanks for sharing.
I did laugh when I saw this
I am very concerned that our schools are shutting down the free flow of ideas. The correct solution to ideas you don't like is to argue against them with better ideas. If I wanted to get an education that meant regurgitating stuff without thinking about if for myself, I could go back to the Kingdom Hall.
Diogenesister, our granddaughter was diagnosed with dyslexia last year. After a year of working with a physician and working a tutoring program on the computers she is now reading and writing fluently.
The correct solution to ideas you don't like is to argue against them with better ideas.
I was born dyslexic as well. They wanted to hold me back in kindergarten. My dad refused and sent me to one of those private jw schools. When I came out I was thoroughly brain washed, but my reading skills were 2 years above my grade level.
My son struggles with his reading and writing due to the chemo he is on. I would be appalled and fight any program to lower standards. We have applied for presonal aid which he will be receiving next year and I'm confident he will catch up and surpass his classmates within a year.
