Tag: anti-intellectualism

In this 20-part series, I explore the root causes and effects of academic disengagement in K-12 learners and explore the factors driving American society ever closer to being a nation that lacks intellectualism, or the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge’s sake.. Today’s parents are hyper-aware that parental actions in the formative years can lead to problems in later life, and the widespread disagreement about which actions are harmful leads to great stress and confusion .  Raising children safely to adulthood is no longer sufficient to earn the label of a “good” parent. A glance at any handful of parenting blogs …

Continue reading “Disengaged Students, Part 16: Too Much Parental Concern, But Not About Education”

In this 20-part series, I explore the root causes and effects of academic disengagement in K-12 learners and explore the factors driving American society ever closer to being a nation that lacks intellectualism, or the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge’s sake. The worship of celebrities and athletes in contemporary culture perpetuates the devaluation of intellectual thought. Particularly when it comes to impressionable children, the way certain Americans (and not others, often equally worthy) are placed on pedestals steals some validity from intellectual pursuits. The Legend that Michael Built Those learning to become teachers today may not quite remember the phrase …

Continue reading “Disengaged Students, Part 13: Athletes as Heroes”

In this 20-part series, I explore the root causes and effects of academic disengagement in K-12 learners and explore the factors driving American society ever closer to being a nation that lacks intellectualism, or the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge’s sake. In her book The Age of American Unreason Susan Jacoby discusses “middlebrow” culture, the product of the early and mid-20th century push for middle-class people to attain higher levels of sophistication through easily accessible literature, art and music. As the name implies, middlebrow leanings are an intermediary between highbrow and lowbrow cultures. Middlebrow pursuits, such as purchasing expensive encyclopedias …

Continue reading “Disengaged Students, Part 12: A Call to Revive Middlebrow Culture”

In this 20-part series, I explore the root causes and effects of academic disengagement in K-12 learners and explore the factors driving American society ever closer to being a nation that lacks intellectualism, or the pursuit of knowledge for knowledge’s sake. It is not only traditional authoritative bodies, like government and religion, which have promoted anti-intellectual thought. Widespread beliefs fueled by the people can be just as dangerous to intellectual progress. Consider the paranoia that erupts when a particular group is associated with a crime, or with anything that threatens the American way of life. Anti-Muslim thought ran rampant in …

Continue reading “Disengaged Students, Part 10: Paranoia and the Pressure to be Anti-Intellectual”