The Changing Motivation for Higher Education and Its Outfall
Looking
back on the past 50 years, it appears that the motive for urging young
people to go to college has shifted from equipping them to be
intellectually and economically successful or equipped for service to
subjecting them to indoctrination.
Two kinds of indoctrination are at issue here. One is reinforcing a secular humanistic worldview and converting those who have grown up with a biblical worldview. The other is ideological/political indoctrination.
Both kinds of indoctrination have come to rely not only on logical persuasion but on limiting students' right to think and speak for themselves. Part-and-parcel of this is denying access to points of view contrary to the official view, infringing not only on the free speech, religion, and peaceable assembly rights of students (and faculty), but also those of others.
This has had a negative impact on graduates of these institutions. First, the number of graduates in various fields has outstripped the number of positions available, which had diminished the economic value of the degrees. Second, the promotion of university education with the expanded availability of student loans has resulted in ballooned faculty salaries and expansion of costly-to-maintain university facilities, raising the costs of education, with the end result of enormous student loan debt per graduate.
Another result is the philosophical and ideological imbalance in professions receiving large numbers of indoctrinated members. Just a few of these professions are public education, journalism, pediatrics, social work, and clinical psychology.
Coupled with the example of civil rights suppression in universities, this has contributed to a decline in civil discourse. If this continues and grows, it may to lead to civil war.
The question for us is, "What can and should we do to remedy this distortion of our educational system?"
One solution proposed by many is shifting the focus of federal education aid by including post-secondary vocational programs, such as are found in most community colleges. Another is working to restore and protect the First Amendment rights of students and faculty. This should include countering bias in granting of tenure as well as the hiring of faculty and reviews of grading criteria used by the instructors and professors. Additionally, university administrations should discourage the badgering of students who have worldviews or political leanings which differ from those of the professor.
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Update: Here is the outcome of a lawsuit related to bias in colleges and universities: https://www.westernjournal.com/court-delivers-243000-lesson-college-discriminated-pro-lifers/
Two kinds of indoctrination are at issue here. One is reinforcing a secular humanistic worldview and converting those who have grown up with a biblical worldview. The other is ideological/political indoctrination.
Both kinds of indoctrination have come to rely not only on logical persuasion but on limiting students' right to think and speak for themselves. Part-and-parcel of this is denying access to points of view contrary to the official view, infringing not only on the free speech, religion, and peaceable assembly rights of students (and faculty), but also those of others.
This has had a negative impact on graduates of these institutions. First, the number of graduates in various fields has outstripped the number of positions available, which had diminished the economic value of the degrees. Second, the promotion of university education with the expanded availability of student loans has resulted in ballooned faculty salaries and expansion of costly-to-maintain university facilities, raising the costs of education, with the end result of enormous student loan debt per graduate.
Another result is the philosophical and ideological imbalance in professions receiving large numbers of indoctrinated members. Just a few of these professions are public education, journalism, pediatrics, social work, and clinical psychology.
Coupled with the example of civil rights suppression in universities, this has contributed to a decline in civil discourse. If this continues and grows, it may to lead to civil war.
The question for us is, "What can and should we do to remedy this distortion of our educational system?"
One solution proposed by many is shifting the focus of federal education aid by including post-secondary vocational programs, such as are found in most community colleges. Another is working to restore and protect the First Amendment rights of students and faculty. This should include countering bias in granting of tenure as well as the hiring of faculty and reviews of grading criteria used by the instructors and professors. Additionally, university administrations should discourage the badgering of students who have worldviews or political leanings which differ from those of the professor.
------------------
Update: Here is the outcome of a lawsuit related to bias in colleges and universities: https://www.westernjournal.com/court-delivers-243000-lesson-college-discriminated-pro-lifers/
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