On Tue, 22 Jun 1999, Jim Clark wrote:
> Hi
>
> On Tue, 22 Jun 1999, Mike Scoles wrote:
> Jim
> >
> > Al Cone's reference to the "therapy that passes as pedagogy" article is relevant
> > here. As educators, we should be have an interest in encouraging critical
> > thinking. That does not mean that we should be "tolerant" of outrageous
> > statements. In fact, we have a responsibility to point out errors in logic or
> > factual content. Sometimes that can be misperceived as name calling or a lack
> > of tolerance for people rather than a lack of tolerance for sloppy thinking.
>
> I had no problem with that part of Al's posting. It was when the
> "happy with their ignorance" (or some such quote) was attributed
> to Michael that I thought it went overboard.
>
> Best wishes
> Jim
Jim,
It was "satisfaction ... with their own ignorance and misinformation"
which, I submit is not the same at all as "happy with their ignorance"
The NY Post article I cited includes the following comment about the NYC
freshmen its author teaches:
"The trend should worry us because, unlike in the past,
ignorance is no longer tempered with humility. Rather,
after years of psychotherapy disguised as pedagogy,
ignorance is now buoyed by self-esteem - which, in turn,
makes students more resistant to remediation since they
don't believe there is a problem."
The problem, as Mark Goldblatt describes it in the NY Post article, is
far more than the problem defined by E.D. Hirsch in "Cultural Literacy"
back in 1987. The educational self-esteem movement has provided self-
justification for remaining illiterate.
Al L. Cone, Ph.D.
Professor & Chair
Department of Psychology 701.252.3467 X 2604
Jamestown College
6019 College Lane [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Jamestown, ND 58405
>
> ============================================================================
> James M. Clark (204) 786-9313
> Department of Psychology (204) 774-4134 Fax
> University of Winnipeg 4L02A
> Winnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E9 [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> CANADA http://www.uwinnipeg.ca/~clark
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