Mark B. Cohen - Notable House Speeches, Academic Freedom

Notable House Speeches, Academic Freedom

"... Mr. Speaker, it is very difficult to know what academic orthodoxy is. Orthodoxy and independence are really in the mind of the beholder. If one believes that the United States was right in fighting the Revolutionary War over 200 years ago, to a British scholar that is ideological orthodoxy.... Whomever you quote, Mr. Speaker, there is no way to quote all people, and the idea that every course has to be a reflection of diverse perspectives on every issue kind of limits the amount of material you can cover in any course.... There is not and there will never be any universal agreement as to what is relevant in any given course. Every course on a college campus is somewhat different based on who is teaching it. Let us face reality; let's protect the reputation of our state colleges and of ourselves, and let us vote "no" on this resolution."

Read more about this topic:  Mark B. Cohen

Famous quotes containing the words notable, house, academic and/or freedom:

    Every notable advance in technique or organization has to be paid for, and in most cases the debit is more or less equivalent to the credit. Except of course when it’s more than equivalent, as it has been with universal education, for example, or wireless, or these damned aeroplanes. In which case, of course, your progress is a step backwards and downwards.
    Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)

    Strictly speaking, one cannot legislate love, but what one can do is legislate fairness and justice. If legislation does not prohibit our living side by side, sooner or later your child will fall on the pavement and I’ll be the one to pick her up. Or one of my children will not be able to get into the house and you’ll have to say, “Stop here until your mom comes here.” Legislation affords us the chance to see if we might love each other.
    Maya Angelou (b. 1928)

    If we focus exclusively on teaching our children to read, write, spell, and count in their first years of life, we turn our homes into extensions of school and turn bringing up a child into an exercise in curriculum development. We should be parents first and teachers of academic skills second.
    Neil Kurshan (20th century)

    In April 1917 the illusion of isolation was destroyed, America came to the end of innocence, and of the exuberant freedom of bachelor independence. That the responsibilities of world power have not made us happier is no surprise. To help ourselves manage them, we have replaced the illusion of isolation with a new illusion of omnipotence.
    Barbara Tuchman (1912–1989)