'A Return to the Past...With A Wrinkle'
Blog, June 23, 2011
Dear Diane,
Yes, yes to your declaration of "where we stand" on Tuesday. I can quibble with a word here and there—a "can't" vs. a "shouldn't," and an overly enthusiastic endorsement of the schools of yesterday which so appalled me when I started teaching in 1962. It's wise to remember past achievements, but the pre-war schools of America also played a role in the sorrier part of our national history.
I'm a revolutionary in spirit—this cannot continue! But I'm a "reformist" in practice since it is, in fact, the fastest way to get to where I want to go. And, indeed, there are times, I believe, when it's best to close a school and rebuild. But when and how is an issue we haven't discussed. Let's take that on next year.
But, of late, I have a new worry! The corporations have already launched a new round of attacks on postsecondary education. Hardly their first attempt to muscle in to the money to be made in this field, as well as the opportunity to impose their ideals on the nation. Yes, its not just the dollars they see. I grant the fact that, like me, they have a vision. It's just not mine.
The argument's in favor of everyone going to college—regardless of their real interest and preferences—if they