College students tend to be more politically left wing than right (in general) when compared to the general population. Rick Santorum recently claimed that colleges are "“indoctrination mills” that ridicule and isolate young conservatives". He goes on to say that higher education exists to challenge what parents have taught their children including religious and political beliefs. In a sense, he is accusing the education system of brainwashing youth into thinking a certain way.
Frank Bruni, the author of the article, Its a College Not a Cloister, attacks Santorum's anti-college claims by questioning his true intentions. Santorum's wife home schooled all seven of their children, and because of this, Bruni suspects that Santorum is simply afraid of his children being influenced by outside opinions. Bruni writes "The likelihood is already strong, when you rear kids, that you’ll turn
out rough copies of yourself, whether you mean to or not. Home schooling
is like firing up a Xerox machine to seal the deal." He says that public education is a very important part of developing ones own opinion rather than simply inheriting it from ones parents.
I personally believe school introduces alternative viewpoints and can be very influential on a student, but in the end it is up to the individual to decide what they believe. College, and school in general, invites youth to make their own decisions and draw their own conclusions about right and wrong, and about what they want to do with themselves. Home schooling has its benefits but lacks the diversity of opinion that can be provided from public education. Experiencing outside viewpoints is necessary for proper development of personal beliefs.
Do you believe the education system is influencing youth to think a specific way? Or does it simply introduce youth to other viewpoints and allow them to decide on their own?
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ReplyDeleteI believe that there is a large double standard concerning politics in education. It is a commonly accepted view that if while progressing through school, you take a left wing stance on politics then you are only being original and open minded. On the other hand if you happen to take a right wing stance then you are labeled as unoriginal and old fashion. These opinions are unfair and undermine the concept of allowing students to make their own choices politically. It is a proven fact that the majority of children acquire their political beliefs from their parents and for Frank Bruni to accuse Rick Santorum of brainwashing his child is an absolutely ridiculous statement. Rick Santorum is simply teaching his children what he believes to be right just like any other parent would do. I do believe that children should decide for themselves what to believe and politically neutral public schools are a good means of achieving that concept. However I also believe that the child’s parents should also be a big part in how the child’s opinion is formed.
ReplyDeleteThis is not black and white; it is difficult to say whether the education system is influencing youth to think a specific way or if it just introduces different viewpoints. Through my personal experiences I have begun to lean toward the side that the U.S educational system does sway students to believe a certain way. History books are based off one side of the story, if you look into an author and their background it seems to show one side of the story usually favoring what people want to hear. Authors usually leave out the details that can allow students to have a viewpoint on both sides. Also teachers, even though they are not permitted, tend to teach their opinions or at least emphasize on that matter. Students who are home schooled will only see one side, their parents.
ReplyDeleteThe reason why I believe that college students tend to have a more liberal opinion is because of our status in society. We are pretty much separated from the rest of the world, we tend to not be in charge of a great deal of money, and we do not have a steady career yet. I believe all these attributions lead us to take on a liberal opinion because we see all the individual rights that go along with liberal viewpoints. As college students, we are at that stage in our life where individual rights are crucial to us.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that the education system is influencing our youth in specific ways. If anything, it gives us more viewpoints because our teachers show us all the viewpoints out there, rather than just focusing on one.
The point of college is not only to learn from you professors, but to also learn from one another. A college brings together thousands of people from different backgrounds which allow a student to view things in a new light. Some students must get out from behind their parents shadow in order to get their own opinions. No matter how influenced you are your parents’ viewpoints will always affect how you see things, but in order to fully grow and mature you need to be able to come up with your own opinions. However, colleges don’t seem to push any political views as each college is different. There are colleges that have conservative views and there are colleges with liberal views. The student can decide which college he or she attends, which will impact the influence of other students on that student. However, staying at home confined to the ideas of your parents alone would be extremely harmful to a student’s views. Moreover this confinement can bread extremists who not only never learn about other views besides that of their parents, but never learn to deal with others who have opposing viewpoints. So, that student can be at risk of becoming arrogant and can lack the ability to see things in any light but their own. Most of the time this is not true, and the parents of homeschooled children allow them to gather their own opinion on things. So, the influence a student receives from a college is almost always beneficial in teaching the student to view things in different lights and to socialize with people with different views.
ReplyDeleteI feel that where you go to school will affect how you think. I went to a catholic school all my life and definitely have different views than a public school kid. I agree also that it is up to the individual to decide what he or she believes though. To say the education system is “Brainwashing” our youth is a very bold statement that I can’t agree with. I do agree though that it has effects on people.
ReplyDeleteI think that school influences the students. Many teachers only teach what they believe. The teacher tends to teach only about what they think is relevant or true. Last semester, I had a teacher who went on for an hour saying how foolish someone would be if they believed in Christianity and stories in the Bible. He tried to make people believe his side of things. Ultimately it is up to the student to decide on the viewpoints that they wish to believe are true.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the fact that teaching institutions are more democratic in a way, because they challenge beliefs instead of going with standard and accepted traditions. Most teachers are democrats and coming from a family that both parents were educators I know this is definitely true. I think the problem is that we spend so much time at school that of course it affects our opinions on things, but it is not a problem. From about the age of four or five we are in school until we are about twenty-two. The percentage we spend at school compared to at home is significantly greater so we do not really get the same values our parents want to instill in us if they are Republican. As humans we are influenced by what is around us so it makes sense that we will seem to be Democratic at a younger age. When we are young we like to challenge authority push the limits so it makes sense that we would be more left wing, but older people tend to be republican so the real question is why this shift happens.
ReplyDeleteAs much as it pains me to have to agree with Rick Santorum I think he is right on this one. Due to the increased exposure with others the educational systems requires, our society is becoming more tolerant of people of differing backgrounds. This movement to treat all as equals strongly differs from the ideals of social conservatives. So as the members of society receive more exposure and there is a general shift in our belief system and the past conservative ideals are beginning to look more and more ridiculous. Like all groups we try to suppress these “ridiculous” ideals. So in a way yes the educational system is changing our way of thinking due to the fact to participate in it effectively we have to be cooperative and tolerant of our colleagues. Mind you I don’t think this is a bad thing but it almost guarantees the demise of social conservatism.
ReplyDeleteThe great thing about a college education is that you are learning for yourself. When something becomes interesting to you, you study much more efficiently. During high school, most students hate their classes, their teachers, the dean of students etc. At that age everyone is continuously telling you what to do and nobody is asking you what you think. In college, we learn to develop freedom of mind, where hopefully we can forget most of the bullshit we were taught during our earlier years and develop a consciousness of our own. It challenges us to question our previous beliefs and be analytical and not take anything for granted.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I believe that education allows kids to see the world/ opinions from all different fronts. I think that is a place where kids can make their own decisions/ make their own opinions. Professors in college do have an impact, but as for me I've already made my opinions and my beliefs. The glory of school is that you get to hear from teachers, fellow classmates, and your parents. You get to hear so many different opinions to create your own. Therefore I do believe that education influences youths/ college kids opinions, but in the best way. It shows all the different opinions of the world vs. homeschooling which just shows your parents.
ReplyDeleteCollege is a major lifestyle change for everybody. For religious families, I'd imagine it's a bit terrifying, because your child is thrown into a melting pot with nobody to "shield" them from things that would make them question their faith. An extremely large percentage of the American population is Christian, and as such, this is probably a common perception, when in reality, nothing is being forced upon students; they are simply learning to think for themselves.
ReplyDeleteI believe that education is important for developing one's unique opinion. Someone can see things and interact with other people that may have different opinions. It does influence their opinions because it shows them a broader view on the many subjects they learn about and with that expanded knowledge they are able to develop their own opinion. This opinion is better than it would be if they were only taught from one side of it.
ReplyDeleteI believe that higher education simply exposes students to other viewpoints, and leaves it up to them to decide. There is nothing wrong with finding out more about whats out there and not restricting yourself to one belief before considering the rest. As long as the information is presented in a way to teach, not necessarily to persuade, than I see no reason why to think that the youth are being "corrupted" in college.
ReplyDeleteI believe that going to different schools do affect one's choices and beliefs, but it is not just schools that do this. Workplaces, your group of friends, and being around family all have this same affect. I feel like people shouldn't worry about who has what viewpoint, because in the end it will always be the individual's choice to choose which viewpoint they want to follow. Being surrounded by different kinds of viewpoints and opinions, is better for an individual because it allows this person to choose based on facts and to not be too biased about different things. The individual can truly choose his/her own opinion without anyone else choosing for them.
ReplyDeleteCollege is an education based setting that can bring students to a new ideas or thought processes. Everything in society in some shape or form influences our beliefs, but ultimately it is individual interpretation that defines what we actually believe and what we decide to do based on those beliefs. If his viewpoint is that it will cause blasphemy on an individual level, specifically on how they view the world, then the beliefs are not to strong to being with. I believe that college provides excellent tools for growth, especially regarding new idealogies to live by. It is up to us in the end to make the decision.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the education system is, like many things in the world, biased. Everything has some sort of bias in it, and it is very hard to keep from including bias in arguments and ideas. Now although there is bias in most everything that doesn’t mean that this will have a direct influence on people in school. Even though the schools may make students to think in new ways that are similar to that taught at the schools, doesn’t mean that the student have to believe it. In the end it is the choice of every person to evaluate their ideals and morals, so no matter how much a school may teach students to think in different ways, it is ultimately up to the student. But in the end, I do believe that schools allow students to form their own opinion about events and ideas, although that may be influenced by the school depending on how the information is presented.
ReplyDeleteThe education system, like every other system, in my opinion, is bringing up people a certain way. But like all systems, there will always be people who break away from the norm set by the system so I don't think it is too bad because even though the schools may make student think a certain way, the students can always deviate from it. The things that we are taught are mere guidelines and from there, students can choose what to believe and where to go. Education is important and shouldn't be looked down upon
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