This article from yesterday's edition of Today's Links prompted me to investigate a topic that my grandfather and I have discussed on a few occasions: Are college professors as a group predominantly liberal? And, more pertinently, how (if at all) does it impact those being taught?
I never believed him when he told me that there had been surveys which confirmed that the majority of college faculty members characterized themselves as "liberal" versus "conservative." Apparently, there have been. This article from The Washington Post is a bit old, but it proves me wrong all the same. I particularly like this quote:
"It's hard to see that these liberal views cut very deeply into the education of students. In fact, a number of studies show the core values that students bring into the university are not very much altered by being in college."
I would be interested to know how the conservative K-12 teachers figure into this picture. It makes since that college-aged students are less influenced by their professors' political opinions, but does that hold true for younger learners? According to some (again, borrowing a link from yesterday, I apologize), Gen Y is "inherently conservative." Is this because we were taught in grade school by conservative teachers?
I don't know that I can really draw any conclusions on the matter, but it's intriguing. What are your thoughts?
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2 comments:
I believe, unless a parent does such a bad job of raising their child that they lack any form of backbone, having a student from a conservative home will only serve to broaden the perspective of the student, not negatively warp her perceptions of morality.
As a politically aware liberal who attended a Catholic high school, I was lucky enough to realize "they" (meaning those on the other side of that great divide of political opinion) had just as many positive aspirations, goals, and agendas as my fellow liberals in arms, even if they chose to approach the issues from a completely different perspective with sometimes conflicting goals to my own. Their love for fellow man was just as strong, which helped me develop deeper tolerance and understanding.
Oops! I do know the difference between "since" and "sense"...sorry for the typo!
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