Rise Quay
English 395
Micro essay #2
Feb 25, 1997A problem student in the 101 class that I teach and our readings and hand-outs on pedagogy have led me to ask "who is accountable for current sociopolitical conditions?"
This particular student has turned each writing assignment into Limbaughesque attacks on President Clinton (read Satan) and now has set off on a research assignment to "prove" that the "liberals" (read Satan worshippers)are ruining his life. He is particularly concerned about two events. The first concerns the "overwhelming" preponderance of homosexuals on campus, and the second relates to restrictions on the rights of protesters in the vicinity of abortion clinics. Both, he claims, are infringing on his inalienable rights as an individual.
It has always been a practice of mine to encourage students who are "stuck" on a topic (as "stuck in time" a' la "Slaughterhouse Five") to continue research in that area until they have finally presented a balanced and thoughtful argument. Frequently, as a result of this study, students discover to their dismay, that their long-held policies oppose the very beliefs systems that they have internalized. My first semester teaching here, for example, I had a avery conservative student who had served in the Navy and wished to write about "Why Gays Should Not Be Allowed to Serve in the Military." After reading each of several drafts and repeatedly sending this student back to Milner for more information,I rather dreaded his final portfolio piece. I need not have. Attached to the paper, now entitled "Gays, Lesbians, and the Military," was a note of explanation:
Ms Funk--I hope you don't mind that I've changed my point of view. I now know that I am homo phobic and that there is not one logical reason that homosexuals should be barred from military service.
This student's reading, research, and writing skills were improved by that class, but more importantly, he learned how to open his mind to possibilities of difference.
Christopher Caudwell writes about the puritain conscience which recognizes no law but that of God ("his own will idealized.") (97). Individual will. Individual judgement of right and wrong regardless of its impact on society. In my liberal (the "L" word) bashing student's mind, his will is his own. He does not recognize the ideology of his parents or the influence of far-right media on his perceptions of the university community or of the world. He demands unlimited freedom for himself and other like-minded 'individuals" at the expense of other segments of society (see Caudwell 98).
If, as a teacher in a position to influence students in my classes, I do nothing to discourage one-sided thinking, I fail. I also fail if I impose my own ideologies on my classes. But, if I open doors and encourage students to find their own path to "truth" through careful study, then I have invited compromise--and that is the beginning of change.
Who is accountable for current sociopolitical conditions? Is it Clinton/Satan? Or Newt? Look in the mirror.
ps: if anyone has any reading suggestions for my student, I would welcome them!
