indoctrination101

Indoctrination 101

A version of this article appeared in The Carllon, the University of Regina's student paper in January 2003 when I was a prejournalism student. It may have helped me get into journalism school. I heard from another student there that a professor, Thomas Pawluck, had read this to his class and stated, "This is good journalism." Although he went on to say, "Now, there's some things here I wouldn't agree with," he nevertheless thought the critical thinking espoused in the article made it a model to follow.

Indoctrination 101

by Lee Harding

Are you getting an education or an indoctrination? Most of us came to university to get the first; unfortunately, we often get the second. Our classes include a lot of spin, selected facts, and selected opinions. If we remain ignorant of this fact, we won’t realize what we DON'T know.

If you don't believe me, think about it for a moment. When is the last time you heard a conservative in your political science class? How about someone who thought America was a force for good in the world? Did anyone tell you the Israeli case in the Middle East Conflict? Did your Indian Studies prof call residential schools anything besides assimiliation? Any creationist Biology profs? Any fundamentalist religious studies profs, or even non-pluralists? Any women's studies professors who believed in patriarchy and the nuclear family? Any sociologist who dared say homosexuality was wrong?

Of course not, and we all know that. All these positions are deemed wrong or even extreme. They are relegated to the sidelines where no one believes them. No wonder that we don't either! From the time our university experience begins, we are exposed to a consistent and almost uniform perspective on most issues. Questions get the same answers, and others are never asked. Our new friends (fellow students) carry the same views and enforce the tradition. To disagree is to risk not fitting in. Besides, coming out of high school, you don't know much, right? Only what your family taught you and what your "uninformed" mind reflected on. You come here to get a "real" education. Really?

Whether consciously or unconsciously, that is what many of us thought--and that is what makes this whole situation more dangerous. The fool who knows he's a fool doesn't harm anyone. In his humility, he defers to those who know more than he does. But not the university graduate. He or she now has "higher" education. He graduates believing things the dominant culture does not. But instead of realizing his educational process was part indoctrination, he believes his views are superior, now informed by an "education." He believes things that society doesn't, and changes that society into his own image.

The Police (the band, not the cops) sang about this in Spirits in a Material World:

Poets, priests, and politicians

Have those to thank for their positions

Words that scream for your submission

And no one's jamming their transmission

Yes, but they should have sang about educators, media, and entertainers. They will form our thoughts more than any of these leaders. Who is jamming the transmission of your professors? Will you?

If we really want to learn about an issue, we must research the other side ourselves. While our classes should allow us to do this, that does not always happen. Professors often give us the essay topics we should pursue, or at best, leave it completely open except for their approval. This last part is what gets us, because we know they will not approve some topics. Even if professors do approve, they remain the ones who mark these papers. When writing essays, few students have the courage to state opinions contrary to the professor's. Some just want to get their mark and get out of there. Writing something contrary means we have to be smarter and more careful in the way you state your argument, and often students lack the resources, skills, and courage to do that.

This belief perpetuation is a process much older than ourselves. Let us remember, our professors were once students going through the same thing. (The only exceptions are those who went through the 1960's revolutions. Their group solidarity allowed them to rewrite the rules and throw off almost all of the old ideas). Ultimately, education is like biology. In speciation, populations of organisms leave their old environments for new ones. As these new populations become isolated and interbreed, they eventually develop characteristics that other isolated communities do not. Their descendants continue those same characteristics, with only slight microevolution. They differ from other populations, even though they can breed with whoever they want in their "school."

This is why the average student here will be left-wing. Our professors are largely left wing, and teach out of their bias. Previously naive students learn, and are discipled by these professors. On and on the process goes, left-wingers teaching others to be left-wingers. The left talks to the left and agrees that right is wrong. But is it?! You may never know because so few from the right have a platform or a foot in the door to defend their views.

Realize that you need to think critically when your professors teach you. Don't just look at their credentials, and say, "They must know better." History has repeatedly shown that ideas can become vogue, permeate academic circles, and then fall out of favour. (Flat earth, anyone?) When you walk out of here with your diploma, remain open to new ideas, even if they contrast what you've been taught. Better yet, do that right now! This will win you an education, and not just an indoctrination.