Clearly the academic world cannot be trusted to attend up for the very academic freedom you tout in this article. We got here because our professors and administrators believe that academic freedom means you agree with them. So excuse me if I look with skepticism on your rose colored view of your profession.
Temperamentally, I appreciate your efforts to combat the illiberal institution that is DEi with liberalism. I'd like to believe that fighting the illiberalism of DEI with illiberalism on the right will only create a backlash.
However, part of me thinks that fighting illiberalism with illiberalism (temporarily) might be prudent; its ugliness might remind a few left-wing people that 'free speech' isn't just a right-wing talking point.
How can you be sure that de-escalation in the culture wars is the right move at this point?
Having been on the faculty of 4 universities, I know the faculty generally over estimates their managerial ability. Just because your a great scientist doesn’t mean you can manage a lemonade stand. DEI is the death of academic freedom and freedom of speech and association.
The board of direction of any organization has two primary functions. First approve and monitor the progress of the organization’s strategy, and second to select, evaluate, and if necessary terminate the management.
It seems that the Governor and the board are not on board with the DEI strategy and it’s impact on the organization.
As a Florida taxpayer and a consumer of education ( I have 2 master degrees and a doctorate) I believe the DEI infrastructure at most universities is a costly, and adds significantly to both the burden of the taxpayer and those who pay tuition, without the benefit of any ROI on that burden.
In addition to the expense the loss of focus on the organization’s mission ie education. The additional burdens such as diversity statement for new hires and a lack of focus on academic merit as the currency of achievement is not the way to run a railroad.
In the 1950’s you had to sign loyalty oaths to get a job as an academic, now you have to write some bullshit pledge to the DEI gods.
I agree with you in theory that is the wrong way to halt the illiberal assault of DEI, what suggestions do you have? Do we just have to let this fad burn itself out which may take years to decades?
It is this very orientation that allows the Woke capture of Academic Institutions. Excising Critical Pedagogy from the Institution, especially State Institutions is not illiberal. You are most likely (purposefully) conflating the difference between students, professors or even classes that hold illiberal ideas with the Institution itself being illiberal. The former is fine the later is not.
These brief comments below show startling diversity. Everyone from woke snowflake students to cranky conservatives love to whip out their truncheons and thump the professors, who have the unenviable position of being the standard-bearers for all of societies' problems. It's interesting to me that everyone is so keen on scapegoating teachers for the absurd positions they are placed in by policymakers seeking either to punish or pander to bored, disenchanted, brain dead students. It shows just how similar the right and left are in terms of their tactics and abuse of power. I feel like the statements being made in this article are so obvious they barely needed stating. Desantis and friends could care less about "reforming" anything. They're just whipping up the lowest common denominators of their tribe into a lather so they they can enrich and aggrandize themselves. Teachers are almost as powerless as students; that's why they make such great targets for blame. DEI censorship and victimhood mentality is a cancer, but you don't replace one cancer with another and hope the afflicted recovers. Academic freedom is the tangible representation of trust with imbue our professors with. If we treat teachers as mere marionettes whose string are free to be pulled by the loudest bully--whether that bully is a pouty student who gets "triggered" or some republican jerk trying to seize power--then we prove ourselves unworthy of the many things that teachers have to teach us.
"Liberal" and "illiberal" are terms describing approaches to problems. One or both have their merit, but neither is more valuable and applicable to all humans.
Clearly the academic world cannot be trusted to attend up for the very academic freedom you tout in this article. We got here because our professors and administrators believe that academic freedom means you agree with them. So excuse me if I look with skepticism on your rose colored view of your profession.
Temperamentally, I appreciate your efforts to combat the illiberal institution that is DEi with liberalism. I'd like to believe that fighting the illiberalism of DEI with illiberalism on the right will only create a backlash.
However, part of me thinks that fighting illiberalism with illiberalism (temporarily) might be prudent; its ugliness might remind a few left-wing people that 'free speech' isn't just a right-wing talking point.
How can you be sure that de-escalation in the culture wars is the right move at this point?
Having been on the faculty of 4 universities, I know the faculty generally over estimates their managerial ability. Just because your a great scientist doesn’t mean you can manage a lemonade stand. DEI is the death of academic freedom and freedom of speech and association.
The board of direction of any organization has two primary functions. First approve and monitor the progress of the organization’s strategy, and second to select, evaluate, and if necessary terminate the management.
It seems that the Governor and the board are not on board with the DEI strategy and it’s impact on the organization.
As a Florida taxpayer and a consumer of education ( I have 2 master degrees and a doctorate) I believe the DEI infrastructure at most universities is a costly, and adds significantly to both the burden of the taxpayer and those who pay tuition, without the benefit of any ROI on that burden.
In addition to the expense the loss of focus on the organization’s mission ie education. The additional burdens such as diversity statement for new hires and a lack of focus on academic merit as the currency of achievement is not the way to run a railroad.
In the 1950’s you had to sign loyalty oaths to get a job as an academic, now you have to write some bullshit pledge to the DEI gods.
God bless Ron DeSantis.
I agree with you in theory that is the wrong way to halt the illiberal assault of DEI, what suggestions do you have? Do we just have to let this fad burn itself out which may take years to decades?
It is this very orientation that allows the Woke capture of Academic Institutions. Excising Critical Pedagogy from the Institution, especially State Institutions is not illiberal. You are most likely (purposefully) conflating the difference between students, professors or even classes that hold illiberal ideas with the Institution itself being illiberal. The former is fine the later is not.
No. The fad needs to be demonitized
These brief comments below show startling diversity. Everyone from woke snowflake students to cranky conservatives love to whip out their truncheons and thump the professors, who have the unenviable position of being the standard-bearers for all of societies' problems. It's interesting to me that everyone is so keen on scapegoating teachers for the absurd positions they are placed in by policymakers seeking either to punish or pander to bored, disenchanted, brain dead students. It shows just how similar the right and left are in terms of their tactics and abuse of power. I feel like the statements being made in this article are so obvious they barely needed stating. Desantis and friends could care less about "reforming" anything. They're just whipping up the lowest common denominators of their tribe into a lather so they they can enrich and aggrandize themselves. Teachers are almost as powerless as students; that's why they make such great targets for blame. DEI censorship and victimhood mentality is a cancer, but you don't replace one cancer with another and hope the afflicted recovers. Academic freedom is the tangible representation of trust with imbue our professors with. If we treat teachers as mere marionettes whose string are free to be pulled by the loudest bully--whether that bully is a pouty student who gets "triggered" or some republican jerk trying to seize power--then we prove ourselves unworthy of the many things that teachers have to teach us.
"Liberal" and "illiberal" are terms describing approaches to problems. One or both have their merit, but neither is more valuable and applicable to all humans.