“Academic mobbing” undermines open inquiry and destroys the soul of universities Open Future

Jul 23rd 2019
9-12 minutes
This is a by-invitation commentary as part of The Economist’s Open Future initiative, which is designed to spur a global conversation across the ideological spectrum on individual rights, open markets, free speech, technology and more. You can comment here. More articles can be found here.


In a 1951 essay for the New York Times Magazine entitled “The Best Answer to Fanatacism—Liberalism”, the philosopher Bertrand Russell laid out ten principles which he believed summed up the liberal outlook. The fifth item on Russell’s list was, “Have no respect for the authority of others, for there are always contrary authorities to be found.” This statement echoes the motto of Britain’s Royal Society (a learned society founded in 1660 for the promotion of scientific knowledge), which is Nullius in verba, meaning “Take nobody’s word for it.”

A REAL paradigm shift in education

The Washington Post

Posted by Valerie Strauss on February 11, 2013 at 6:00 am

American public education has been in trouble for a lot longer than many people believe, according to the author of the following post.

Wealth and Poverty in a University Town

Huffington Post

Rena N. Lauer

Ph.D Candidate, Harvard

Posted: 01/25/2013 6:32 pm

The cashier told the woman in front of me that she couldn't buy the sack of potatoes. WIC, the government food program for mothers and children, would not pay for starches, and so the potatoes she had chosen -- "mistaking" them for a vegetable -- had to go back to the supermarket's shelves.

New Year Resolutions

Posted: 01/04/2013 2:57 pm

Marian Wright EdelmanPresident, Children's Defense Fund

http://www.huffingtonpost.com

As New Year’s Eve countdowns wound down, many people turned to the familiar ritual of taking stock of where they are now to make resolutions for what they can do better in the new year. We all measure our accomplishments and shortcomings in different ways. Some people count numbers on a scale or in a savings account. But what if we decided to take stock as a nation by measuring how we treat our children?

Education falls victim to Greek debt crisis

Deutsche Welle

http://www.dw.de/education-falls-victim-to-greek-debt-crisis/a-16481846

As part of Greece's austerity policies, salaries for teachers and educational funding have dropped rapidly. Students who can afford private tutoring may come to depend more heavily on tutors than teachers.