Reading, Writing, and...hey, who's teaching the teachers teaching the Profs
As I get older, I see that one of the things that have changed is the emphasis on the fundamentals in schools. It seems that things like social justice, equity, community, service (and like minded attitudes) are getting more emphasis before reading, writing, and 'rithmatic. I have to blame this on my generation, the Boomers, that have taken the country to the Left. Many of the more liberal that generation decided to "hide out" in academia and have ended up teaching and passing on their views to our impressionable kids (so parents, teach your children well!). And then those self same "we all want diversity as long as they think like us crowd" have subtly put in measures so that while the outside check off boxes may all be filled (race, skin color, gender, sexual orientation, identity political group, socio-economic class, political orientation) without getting nicked in the legal radar.
Problem is, diversity of thought, of ideas, is what should be of importance - and it is not. All one has to do is to pick up the latest study of how Academia has sent money to either the Greens, the Dems, the Repubs, or the Libertarians and one will see where the culture sensibilities lie (er, it's not the last two, not by a long shot!)
And it is not changing. Why? As can be seen by some of the "suggested hiring questions", they have managed to game the system - after all, it is easier to the soul to hire those that think like you than not! And when the "system" perpetuates itself, you get tenureds like the Prof we like to call the Nutty Professor at our local educational establishment (who is so Liberal that he believes that the US should accede its sovereignty to that bastion of fine governance, the UN).
Here's a list of questions that are may be asked at the edifice of higher learning and indoctrination, University Of Massachusetts at Amherst, courtesy of its Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity:
IT'S ALL IN WHAT YOU ASK: SOME QUESTIONS SEARCH COMMITTEES MIGHT WANT TO USE
Search committees often have difficulty determining if a candidate is aware of and responsive to minority and women's issues and to issues involving the disabled and other groups requiring sensitive treatment. When prospective employees are asked, "Are you concerned about and supportive of these issues?", they will invariably give an affirmative reply. Unfortunately, that gives little indication of their level of concern or commitment. Asking some of the questions listed below may help you gain a better understanding of a candidate's position on these issues. Many of the questions suggested below do not have a "right" or a "wrong" answer. These questions should be asked by both men and women on the search committee because having only women or minority persons ask questions about these issues may give a candidate the impression that equity issues are not important to the institution as a whole. Many candidates will not have prepared answers to these questions in advance. These questions will, therefore, be useful in drawing out the candidate's opinions rather than the "correct answer".
Parentheses are used to indicate that one or more of the following words are missing: Minorities, Blacks, Hispanics, Native-American; Women; economically disadvantaged persons; disabled persons; veterans or disabled veterans; homosexuals, gays, lesbians; protected groups; affirmative action groups, etc.
How have you demonstrated your commitment to (____) issues in your current position?
Which of your achievements in the area of equity for (____) gives you the most satisfaction?
How would you demonstrate your concern for equity for (____) if you were hired?
In your opinion, what are the three major problems for (____) on your campus?
How are general issues in higher education related to (____) issues? What is the link?
Describe activities--include articles, interviews, and speeches--in which you have taken part that demonstrate a public commitment to equity.
In your current position, have you ever seen a (____ ) treated unfairly? How would/did you handle it?
In your current position, what is your relationship to the affirmative action officer? Have you ever sought his or her help in recruiting?
How many of the top people at your current or previous institution are (____ )? What did you do to encourage hiring more (____ )?
Which committee at your current institution would you consider the most powerful? How many (____) are on it? How many (____ ) have you appointed to it?
How did/would you deal with faculty members or employees who say disparaging things about (____)?
What scholarship about (____) have you read lately?
Have any students ever complained to you about sexual harassment or discrimination in any work with professors or staff? If so, how did you respond?
I found this, courtesy of Phi Beta Cons , here at MindingTheCampus.com. As the author of the article dryly put it, how would these answers be rated by a Leftist hiring board:
What can it possibly mean to ask candidates what they've done lately to demonstrate their "public commitment to equity?" Any chance that an acceptable answer would be the following: "In view of what happened in the USSR, China, Cuba, Cambodia, and many other parts of the world under communist rule, I believe that the best thing I can do to promote equity in our society is to help strengthen capitalism and democracy in every way I can and, toward that end, I actively promote Republican candidates"? Another piece of micromanagement revealed by these questions is that they're obviously meant to induce the candidate to name names of identity groups, and to express specific allegiances and particular political positions, precisely because the questions are so carefully framed. Here's another sure-winner answer: "I'm increasingly concerned about what's happening to gifted children in our society and thus I'm working in my spare time to promote charter schools and advanced placement courses."
Yeah, those will get you on the tenure track in a real hurry - in the academic unemployment line.
