Education is by Nature a Battlefield

Thank God we care enough about its missions to engage in the battle.

Why is education always in the middle of political controversy?  The real question is how could it not be?

Let’s focus on post-secondary (college and university institutions).  The key to understanding this “battle field” is that they serve multiple purposes, all critical. 

First, they preserve and share the traditions and knowledge of the past.  Not alone, of course, but as a key part of essential efforts to preserve our cultural legacy.  They archive and curate (make available for study and appreciation). What traditions? How should they be taught? How should they be presented? Who will be offended?

Second, they support the critical thinking and detailed research that extends and expands our understanding of the world.  They are leading centers of research, on many fronts, that add to our store of knowledge.  And in concert with making scientific and technological contributions to our future, they also encourage, nurture, curate and produce works of imagination and fine art.  Again, not alone, but in partnership with other public and private institutions.  Who gets funding? What gets funding? Where does funding come from? What is art? What is science? How should research by shared?

Third, they undertake specific programs of personal development for both the traditional “college age” student and for an increasing number of students of all ages. 

To succeed in this third objective universities must attempt to offer both an accurate account of the past, an objective analysis of the present and a critical, even skeptical, way of thinking, that prepares students for productive work and a satisfying life. This inevitably means that they are encouraged to take a critical approach to parts of what they have learned before arriving at the university, as well as current information and misinformation Furthermore, shouldn’t they leave college with higher standards for acquiring, assessing and using new ideas? Any room for conflict here?

Only a few would argue with these three objectives.  It is not their intrinsic worth that occasions conflict, it is the questions raised above and the attempt to achieve all three under the guidance of a single institution.  Scarce resources, individual careers, choices of what to conserve and what to research and how to teach, and the natural tendency of a critical perspective to create conflict, all cause controversy at universities--controversies that spill out across society and become inevitably partisan in the political arena.  I’m sure if you think about it you can come up with many examples of how this happens.

It seems to me that we have two choices with regard to these controversies.  We can take sides and, whether civilly within the framework of public debate, or aggressively in political forums argued or advance our position, or we can stand aside and try to respect the different interests involved and support the overall objectives of the university.

It is this latter position, supporting our schools against critics that seek to deny their basic value, that should be our primary mission.

Engage in the many serious questions I’ve outlined above to the extent that you have relevant expertise and interest. They are, as I’ve said, important in their own right as well as the source of our “weaponizing” the role of colleges and universities. I appreciate the passion and the concern of those in the forefront of these battles.   

However, I see no value at all in either a full or partial attack on the institutions themselves and what I believe is their mission and worth.  In fact, I believe they should receive a larger share of national respect and wealth so they can continue to more generously, and with less conflict over scarce resources, make their essential contributions to our common life. 

When you attack colleges and universities, you attack our ability to learn from the past and shape our futures. Banning books is burning seed corn. Allowing only ideas you agree with, is plowing salt into the furrows.

No one’s comfort, no ones, whether students or trustees; no one’s ambition, whether office seekers or religious leaders, can be allowed to stand in the way of our colleges and universities and their celebration of rational thought, revered beliefs, great works of art and bold consensus-breaking ideas.