Sarah Palin, anti-intellectualism, and the plight of the liberal arts
I have a piece by that title in today’s Education Gadfly. I argue that the Republican Party can hardly be the standard-bearer for a rigorous liberal arts education for all when it goes gaga over candidates who quite obviously don’t embody that sort of education themselves. But the Democrats aren’t much better, obsessed as they are with the narrow, utilitarian goal of getting all students “college and work ready.” Case in point: In the nine major policy addresses he’s given in his six months as Secretary, Arne Duncan has never once mentioned “history,” “literature,” or “geography.” Meanwhile, he’s used the phrase “charter schools” an astounding 29 times. Read more here.
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July 16th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
“liberal arts???????” are we talking about K-12 or higher education?
And I wouldn’t equate intellect with “liberal arts” in either venue.
July 16th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
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July 16th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
please don’t put Duncan’s picture next to hers. That’s a joke.