Academic Freedom?

Who needs that?

This one is disturbing.

Over in Ohio, a Republican Senator has introduced a bill into his senate to "prohibit instructors at public or private universities from "persistently" discussing controversial issues in class or from using their classes to push political, ideological, religious or anti-religious views."

Senate Bill 24 also would prohibit professors from discriminating against students based on their beliefs and keep universities from hiring, firing, promoting or giving tenure to instructors based on their beliefs.

Mumper, a Republican, said many professors undermine the values of their students because "80 percent or so of them (professors) are Democrats, liberals or socialists or card-carrying Communists" who attempt to indoctrinate students.

He doesn't want us discussing controversial issues in class.

Well, what does he think we're going to talk about, then? How to fold napkins? How sweet a given poem is?

What does this guy think education is about?

No, don't bothering answering that. I know exactly what this guy thinks education is about. He thinks it's about reinforcing the worldview that already exists -- his worldview. Which is, after all, the perfectly correct worldview.

He's not interested at all in empirical evidence or critical thinking or examining evidence or defining terms or true knowledge as opposed to true opinion or whether an unexamined life is worth living or teaching kids about any of that.

Probably he doesn't want kids taught any of that. That's probably exactly what he means when he talks about "undermining values."

Joan McLean, a political-science professor at Ohio Wesleyan University, said Mumper’s legislation is misguided and would have a chilling effect on the free-flowing debate that is a hallmark of democracy.

"This is not the kind of democracy we think we’re spreading when we hear President Bush’s words. What we’re celebrating is our ability to not control information."

Besides, McLean said, who would define what issues could not be discussed?

Don't be silly, little lady. Rep. Mumper would, of course.

http://www.dispatch.com/election.php?story=dispatch/2005/01/27/20050127-C1-04.html

(Via Atrios http://atrios.blogspot.com/)