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Article: Schools vs. our children's minds.(Commentary)(Forum)
- Article from:
- The Washington Times (Washington, DC)
- Article date:
- December 19, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 News World Communications, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Much has been made lately of the anti-intellectualism that permeates the American universities. Colleges are being criticized for such "junk courses" as "Vampires: The Undead" (University of Pennsylvania) and "The Biology of ER" (Purdue University). Other prominent schools have courses on juggling, on witchcraft and on UFOs. Increasingly, they are also offering "sensitivity training," "encounter groups" and other forms of emotionalist pap.
But the problem does not begin with the universities. The de-emphasis on serious, intellectual training begins in the elementary schools - and has been going on for decades. American children still are falling short of ...