Paul CantrellNov 15, 2023

From @tzimmer_history:

“Here is what actually happened in class: We had a calm, nuanced, and deeply serious discussion. That’ it. That’s the everyday normal on college campuses. But if you read the nation’s major newspapers and political magazines, you would not know that.”

I teach college too, and I am here to say: 💯 College students are so, so much better at having a thoughtful discussion about difficult issues than most of the people covering them in the press.

https://mastodon.social/@tzimmer_history/111414733576050400

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Show threadViolet Madder

@inthehands @tzimmer_history

One of the most instructive moments I experienced in college, was in WR121/122 when a classmate suddenly stood up and announced, "I feel like I'm being asked to think in ways that make me uncomfortable," and quit.

I thought the professor had been doing an admirable job of being impartial, warning us about bias, encouraging critical thinking-- but there was an article in the school paper that year talking about how conservative students felt "pressured" and oppressed. (this was in Oregon, and the classmate who quit was from Texas)

That's when I learned that trying to be objective while analyzing arguments and rhetoric... is, apparently, a leftist value and not neutral or universal as I'd always assumed. One of the more disturbing realizations I've ever experienced.

Nov 15, 2023 at 7:41pmWeb