In the three years and change that N2P has been operational, I've come across quite a few stories about American "educators" who care less about imparting knowledge and skills than about making sure their charges come parroting the "correct" political statements. Rarely, though, will those "educators" openly admit to caring more about ideology than about the specifics of their chosen field (this holds more for the K12 environment than in college). It's obvious to the careful observer (and sometimes the not-so-careful), but most classroom activists pay lip service to the more traditional ideals of education.
But in Australia, the president of the NSW English Teachers Association has no qualms about stating that teaching English is not the most important task for those in his field:
In the US it's known as the culture wars; the battle between a liberal-humanist view of education based on the disinterested pursuit of truth and those committed to overthrowing the status quo and turning students into politically correct new age warriors.
The editorial in the latest edition of English in Australia, the journal of the Australian Association for the Teaching of English, provides ample evidence that the culture wars have reached our shores and that those seeking to control our schools prefer indoctrination to education.
Wayne Sawyer, the president of the NSW English Teachers Association and chairman of the NSW Board of Studies English Curriculum Committee, bemoans the fact that the Howard Government was re-elected and cites this as evidence that English teachers have failed in their job.
Parents and the general public might be forgiven for thinking that English teachers, instead of teaching students the "right" way to vote, should be more concerned with teaching students to read and write and to value good literature. Not so.
Sawyer asks: "What does it mean for us and our ability to create a questioning, critical generation that those who bought us balaclavaed security guards, alsatians and Patrick's stevedoring could declare themselves the representatives of the workers and be supported by the electorate?...
We knew the truth about Iraq before the election. Did our former students just not care?...Has English failed not only to create critical generations, but also failed to create humane ones?"
Hear that, Devoted Australian Readers (should I happen to have any)? Sawyer deigns to forgive you for your unsophisticated assumption that your child's ability to think and question critically is what matters, as opposed to the conclusions they reach. By God, they did not vote the right way in the past election, so they obviously aren't properly using their critical thinking skills! How could any parent feel proud to have a literate child, well-schooled in classic literature, if the result is - horrors! - another Howard term?
And won't Australian parents be happy to hear that an educator has openly stated that he thinks it's the job of the schools to make children "humane"?
(Via Tim Blair.)
Posted by kswygert at February 9, 2005 08:52 PM