Academics

Future leaders in business, government, and civil society need more than just job skills. The following articles defend the value of liberal education, with a focus on academic quality and rigor, fundamental knowledge, and the ideas that have shaped Western Civilization. They also scrutinize academic programs that have departed from these ideals in the name of progressive ideology.




Report on teacher certification riles education establishment

“Teacher Certification: Stumbling for Quality” is the title of a major report released in October by the Abell Foundation that has vexed the vociferous education establishment. The report, by Kate Walsh, tackles the assumptions that undergird the regulatory policies that all states have implemented, mandating teacher certification as the way to ensure good teachers.


Feminist teach-in links “fundamentalism” in the Middle East to (natch) the U.S.

“Women Fight Fundamentalisms: Before and After September 11th” was the topic of a two-day “teach-in” at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. Discussion was not, however, limited to the fight against that “fundamentalist” version of Islam. As the title clearly indicates, the topic was women fighting “fundamentalisms” (plural). And one speaker discussed similarities between President George W. Bush and Osama bin Laden.




Free Speech for Some

On October 5 the American Association of University Professors issued a statement denouncing criticism of professors opposing the war on terrorism by those who seek to “demonize” them.




Combined teach-in will focus on the fight against fundamentalism

“Women Fight Fundamentalisms: Before and After September 11th” will be the topic of a two-day “teach-in” at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University. The teach-in will build upon the national consensus forged on Sept. 11 against the extremist, militant interpretation of Islam wielded by the terrorist al-Qu’eda organization, Osama bin Laden and Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban. That aberration of Islam is particularly vicious in its treatment of women. The topic of the teach-in is not, however, limited to the fight against that “fundamentalist” version of Islam by women. As the title clearly indicates, the topic is women fighting “fundamentalisms” (plural).