From @MikeNayna's doc on Evergreen State, a line I can't get out of my head:
"I can't make you agree or disagree — I hate to even use that language, of agree or disagree — but when you're here you are required by your job to create an atmosphere in which all children can learn."
-
-
A broad observation: people in a hierarchy have a strong emotional reaction when those they internally accept as their higher-ups publicly debase themselves. The nature of the reaction probably varies notably depending on whether they're aggressively climbing or seeking stability
Show this thread -
I think most college students perceive the hierarchy in which they and their professors exist to be largely collaborative, and they benefit from *their direct higher-ups climbing* moreso than from climbing themselves at the expense of those higher-ups
Show this thread -
So when college students watch their professors debase themselves, repeatedly and consistently, they feel anxiety, frustration, and ultimately *resentment.* We had an agreement! YOU are supposed to be guiding ME, raising ME up, but at every opportunity you're lowering yourself!
Show this thread -
I don't think it's surprising that they try to bring themselves under the umbrella of the figures that are capturing the social capital & power, and one way to do that is by attacking a perceptibly weak element of resistance: the few who are neither capitalizing nor capitulating
Show this thread -
After all, if the resistance succeeds, where does that leave them? Who knows. Their direct higher-ups have already irrecoverably revealed themselves to be unworthy of their position. There's no going back, which is what the resistance appears to be aiming for.
Show this thread -
One implication of this story I'm telling (which may be closer to or further from the truth, but definitely isn't the whole truth): **the behavior of the students is largely a dependent variable.** The table is set by a few instigators & a critical mass of faculty fully yielding
Show this thread
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
What do you mean by 'pedagogy as gaslighting'?
-
I'm talking about the way we treat children like toddlers and young adults like children, and all the attendant ideas about what they should expect from themselves and their interactions with the world
- Show replies
New conversation -
-
-
I took some classes here for two semesters right before the debacle. If you have any questions that I could possibly answer I’d be happy to.
Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.