[Teaching_Composition] McConnell @ Bob Jones :-)

[Doug Downs]

Charles asks, "...Would we still be asking how logically he challenged
the prevailing beliefs at Bob  
Jones U.? Or would we call it thought control?"

Um, the position I would take would be, "what was he smoking when he
decided Bob Jones was the place for him?"  :-)  So, maybe the analogy
holds for someone who hasn't the love for multiculturalism seeking to
teach in the NY school system.  

Ultimately, I guess we're not able to have much of a conversation about
this particular example -- Bill's point that we simply don't know enough
about the circumstances is well taken.  
Cheers -
Doug



Dr. Doug Downs
Asst. Professor, Composition & Rhetoric
Dept. of English and Literature
Utah Valley State College
800 W University Pkwy, Orem UT 84058
LA 114w
801-863-8572

>>> "Charles Nelson" <charles.p.nelson@gmail.com> 09/15/06 4:30 PM >>>
I'm actually inclined to agree with Bill that because the step of  
removing McConnell from the program was extraordinary, there is  
likely more to this case that what we have been able to glean from  
the limited information available. Still, I wonder how many of us  
would take a similar position if we reversed some of the components  
of this case. What if McConnell were enrolled at Bob Jones University  
with a GPA of 3.78, supporting a liberal ideology, opposed to  
spanking, wanting to teach multiculturalism instead of American  
culture, and was removed because his beliefs were not compatible with  
those of the education program at Bob Jones U.? Would we still be  
asking how logically he challenged the prevailing beliefs at Bob  
Jones U.? Or would we call it thought control?

On a side issue, is it appropriate to compare pre-1960s educational  
beliefs (not that all in education is mere belief) with pre-1960s  
medical practices? With medical practices, we can at least look at  
statistical differences in recovery rates for particular procedures  
between one time and another. Beliefs, however, are just that: beliefs.

Charles Nelson
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