A moment from a SE Louisiana university

[Chomskyite]

I am showing the students a series of clips from television shows in which politicians or pundits are arguing over a current issue. One of the issues was about the Bush administration's use of wiretapping without FISA approval. My objective for showing all these clips was not to endorse any position being taken by any of the speakers, but to point up how in written argument we are able to provide support (evidence, statistics, anecdotes, testimony etc) that we cannot provide in a TV appearance, which is why TV debates are so unsatisfying.

Without provocation, not really responding to anything I said, one college freshman girl who never has said a word in the class till today raised her hand and said the following:

"I think the president should be able to listen in on any phone call he wants because we were attacked and if you don't have anything to be guilty about, you shouldn't be worried."

Most of the class (many affluent, preppy white kids) mumured assent.

"Even reporters?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Well, that's a topic you could write about. It's something you care about, so it is something you should definitely do research on and write about."

It was a chilling moment, but I had to react as a teacher of writing and not as a person who values the Constitution or knows American history.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

1. We're turning into Good Germans

Next thing, they'll tell you that all Muslims are terrorists, and should be made to wear crescents to identify them before they are all taken away to camps where "Arbeit Mach Frei".....

[wtbymark]

2. she was baiting you

you skirted it the only way you could, sticking stricktly to the curriculum. I would watch for her to bait you again. that was a RW talking point ver batum

[Chomskyite]

6. Exactly

Although my teaching is VERY much informed by my Leftism, I refuse to behave or speak the way the Right-wing wants me to. What I teach is rigorous critical thinking. There's nothing more subversive. If some kids want to spew Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity at me as I'm doing it, I'm happy, because I KEEP teaching AND REQUIRING critical thinking, which the Rushes and the Hannities cannot survive.

[SmokingJacket]

10. Good for you!

We need 100,000 more of you.

I used to teach writing, too. One of the things that surprised me most, when I first started, was that so many students don't understand the concept of backing up their ideas with evidence.

"It's my OPINION," they would say. "It just IS."

I think once students learn that everything they espouse must be backed up with specific arguments, a lot of the knee-jerk crap begins to fall away.

[Coexist]

7. Bingo!

She was trying to ferret out a response that she could distort to prove something. But what.

[coalition_unwilling]

3. Give her a 'D' to screw up her GPA (prevents her from getting

into professional schools, e.g., Business, Law or Medical). (At the U. of Wisconsin, you could re-take a class to 'fix' your GPA if you got an 'F' but not if you got a 'D'.)

[punpirate]

4. Kind of makes you wish you could...

... summon up Tom Paine on the spur of the moment and let him lecture a bit, doesn't it?

But, it does make one wonder where we're headed. I hope you let her know that her starting point for research should be the 4th Amendment....

[pacalo]

5. She needs to peel down to another level of thought...

How can she be so sure that the one listening in on private citizens can be trusted? Do these private citizens include political opponents & journalists, & the information gleaned from private conversations used against them to maintain control over all dissention?

Would she have trusted Nixon?

[BOSSHOG]

8. Ignorant Trash

I didn't serve in the military so some dumbass yahoo would allow carte blanche spying by the executive branch. If you have nothing to hide is fucking bogus. And how does she know she has nothing to hide? She's just regurgitating an evil right wing yakking point.

[jus_the_facts]

9. Why does that surprise....coming from a RED state like Louisiana?

:eyes:

....anybody who thought Katrina opened eyes and changed minds around here are quite mistaken....it only reinforced most peoples already CLOSED minds about the plight of others who're lesser than themselves. :nopity:

[AnnInLa]

11. Never underestimate the ignorance of the

Murican Sheeple. They do not have critical thinking skills. Having never known life without civil liberties, they cannot perceive that theirs are under attack. The desire for a big-daddy security blanket is larger than their desire to examine things too closely. Ignorance is bliss.