Are Public Schools, Colleges "graduating" shallow students unable, unwilling to debate ideas?

April 13, 2012 | Ralph Mitchell

[mitchell001]

This year's GOP Presidential Primary and General Election have exposed a serious and dangerous demographic among the voting public, the media pundits, party leaders and graduating students. There appears to be a strong inability and unwillingness to openly and objectively discuss, debate and consider political policy ideas for improvemnet and reform of the government. The 2 most obvious pieces of evidence are the voting public and media's shallow coverage of the Energy, Social Security Big Ideas of a smart candidate like Newt Gingrich in favor of heavy coverage of stay-at-home mom coverage, shallow Romney business background bragging point, etc. The other evidence is the generally glassy-eyed look that many public school and college graduates give when presented with Gingrich's Energy and Social Security ideas. The schools, colleges and media "dumbing down" of America has really taken root in political life (ie. election of Obama in 2008, elevation of Romney in 2012), cultural life (MTV, Jersey Shore lifestyle) and religious life. America.....take back control of your children's education via vouchers and competition among public and private schools, before it is too late.

[Jeff Chandler]

shallow students unable, unwilling to debate ideas . . ..

.

"you know: morons."

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[pfflier]

As a retired high school teacher my answer is an unqualified -"YES".

If you get in a discussion of facts with these nimrods their response is dogma and/or ridicule, just like obummer.

[Boogieman]

Yes, of course. Where have you been? It was already like that 15 years ago when I was in school. In the few instances where you were encouraged to debate ideas, there were usually only 2 acceptable positions: the liberal one, and the ultraliberal one. I imagine nowadays the only 2 acceptable positions are the progressive and the communist.

[Still Thinking]

Are Public Schools, Colleges "graduating" shallow students unable, unwilling to debate ideas?

Well, duh! Newly graduated liberals can't be open to debate because:

1) Liberal dogma is so obviously true, who would even want to debate for the other side?

2) They can't be taught to be open minded because how then do you indoctrinate them in liberal groupthink? Same applies to the teaching methods themselves. If you want to come to a conclusion in line with liberal dogma, you obviously can't take an honest walk through the issue, you have to propogandize and call it a day. Propagandizing, while the results it produces can be brittle, can't produce open minded people.

[Little Ray]

Hmmm. Lets see. Go against the flow on any of a large number of subjects in high school or college and watch your GPA and/or social status plummet.
OR shut up, keep your head down and do what work is required and you’ll graduate.

Not a hard choice for most boys, I suspect.

[lonestar]

There appears to be a strong inability and unwillingness to openly and objectively discuss, debate and consider political policy ideas for improvemnet and reform of the government.

They will feel at home on FR where group thinking is allowed and independent thinkers are banned.

[wintertime]

mmmmm...mmmmm....mmmmm!

[Still Thinking]

This is the result of prickly Union staffed institutions where thinking your own mind and saying it is dangerous for a kid. The whole point of political correctness is to dictate student’s point of view on society, environmental science, politics and history and to limit their knowledge to that which supports the politically correct point of veiw.

But the danger (or them) in doing that is that all it will do is build resolve to be good at parroting bullshit, only to screw every liberal you ever meet in some anonymous way, for their having had the audacity to attempt that.