The numbnut Republicans over at the Arizona State Legislature are at it again. Senate Bill 1542 passed the Senate Government Committee 4-3 along party lines and is headed for the Senate floor. Put simply, the bill would:
- Forbid public K-12 and college instructors from giving their partisan political opinions while teaching.
- Forbid specific endorsement or opposition of candidates, legislation or court action as well as any social, political or cultural issues of a partisan nature.
- Mandate three hours of instruction annually to tell teachers what is expected under the law.
- Forbid instructors from impeding military recruiters on campus.
- Punish those who break the law with possible suspension, firing, certification revocation or $500 penalty.
On Wednesday, the Senate K-12 Committee voted to kill the same idea, 5-3, when it was called Senate Bill 1612. Republicans then sought approval in the Government Committee under Senate Bill 1542 on Thursday.
Given that evolution is seen as a "social, political or cultural" issue of a "partisan nature", I think we can see where this is going. I say bring it on ... I'm not going to stop taking sides in class when talking about creationism just because an idiot like Thayer Verschoor says I should.
And yes, I'm in a bad mood - a perfectly good break in San Francisco ruined by this,
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It's incredibly dismaying, maddening, and repulsive behavior on the part of our elected representatives, but it's hardly surprising. The Republicans have been assaulting academic freedom for a long while as part of their "shoot the messenger" strategy for obliterating facts that are politically inconvenient. I especially like this:
Forbid public K-12 and college instructors from giving their partisan political opinions while teaching.
Translation: make sure that teachers in public institutions are not able to say that will upset either campus Republican groups or fundagelical parents. The surveillance oversight committee will be headed by David Horrowitz, who now prefers to be referred to as "Uncle Joe".
David Horowitz has just weighed in.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/blog/index.asp
David Horowitz: "for the record I strongly oppose SB 1612, the Arizona legislation that would bar university instructors from advocating "one side of a social, cultural or political issue that is a matter of partisan controversy," or taking sides in any court case, or opposing legislation."
Good God!! Horowitz has said something I agree with:
Okay, I retract my snark about Horrowitz. Apologies and congratulations to him for being reasonable (for once).
Just mentally replace "David Horrowitz" with "a resurrected Joe McCarthy" in my post above.
THREE HOURS of instruction annually on such a law?
My brain hurts just thinking about it. Staff development is cruddy enough as it is...
College students are adults
That seems to be up for debate these days and not just in legislative circles. In my line of work, I often must contend with helicopter parents determined to insulate their kids as much as possible from the perceived difficulties of college life. This continues to baffle me to no end because, when I was going to college (ASU Class of '93), my parents never exhibited that kind of behavior. This was not because they didn't care but because they knew I had to find my own path. That path definitely had its rough patches, but it was when the going got tough that I learned some valuable lessons both in and out of the classroom. It is worrisome to me that some are seeking to make the classroom experience an insular one. This would not only well and truly hamstring instructors but be a tremendous disservice to students as well because there are no equivalent safeguards in the real world.