NIHILISM IN ACADEME

A former Democrat and admirer of Zell Miller describes what she was taught as "literature" in an American university: "Senator Miller would have been outraged had he been in an English department where the very idea of "family" is questioned and attacked. He would have been shocked while listening to discussions of sadistic child pornography discussed with aplomb... He would have been shocked to see the family portrayed as an institution of evil and oppression, of patriarchy; to see motherhood presented as "territorialization" in women's studies.... He would have been shocked to read discussions by acclaimed scholars of performance studies of transgendered sex workers who assert power over men through pornographic performances.... He would have been shocked by the glib arguments of graduate students trained by the radicals who ask: why defend your particular family over the family of the enemy? Who is to say?"






NO SCHOOLING, NO DRIVING

A bit bureaucratic but it may be one of the few effective disciplinary measures left these days

"On the first day of school for many students, Gov. Tim Pawlenty moved to crack down on truancy Tuesday, announcing plans to require good school attendance as a condition for getting a driver's license. Pawlenty said he has told his commissioners of education and public safety, Alice Seagren and Michael Campion, to draft rules that would require students younger than 18 to submit a form certified by their schools proving they have a good attendance record when they apply for a driver's license.

The process will take some time, but the rules could take effect as soon as this spring, meaning attendance during the current school year would count, he said. "There's no question that there is a strong correlation between consistent and steady attendance in school and academic success," Pawlenty said. "Students who don't attend school regularly don't learn, and they don't ultimately succeed academically."

A similar proposal was one of Pawlenty's main education initiatives last session, but it stalled in the Legislature. He said his administration will use its rule-making authority to accomplish many of the same things. The governor and his commissioners called it a common-sense approach because there are few things as important to a teenager as driving".

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