| Rating: | ★★★★ |
| Category: | Books |
| Genre: | Nonfiction |
| Author: | Susan Jacoby |
Jacoby also cites the the stifling effects of religious fundamentalism on science--particularly the teaching of evolution in some school districts. Local-ism also plays a factor in other educational issues.
“In Europe,” the author writes, “the subject matter of science and history lessons taught to children in all publicly supported schools has always been determined by highly educated employees of central education ministries. In America the image of an educated elite laying down national guidelines for schools was and is a bête noire for those who consider local control of education a right almost as sacred as any of the rights enumerated in the Constitution.”
Although she cites the past popularity of learned individuals and institutions which have motivated Americans to seek knowledge beyond simply that needed for practical jobs and careers--the philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, literary lions like Edmund Wilson and Lionel Trilling; historians Will and Ariel Durant, and publishers who supported the phenomenon of the popular Book-Of-The-Month Series, et al, Jacoby sees the importance of thinking and gathering independent opinions under siege by a society that is too easily amused by the glitter and glitz of superficial entertainment and politicians and pundits who aim for the visceral feelings of their audience rather than inspiring them to reason and reflection.
Intellectualism took a hard blow in the 1960's, Jacoby surmises, in conservative quarters when universities experienced campus unrest over the turmoil wrought by war, segregation and the rise of a genuine "youth culture" for the first time in modern history. The travails of the Vietnam War, African-American demands for a greater inclusion of black American writers in the canons and the rise of a feminist intelligentsia where seen by many as a radical attack on the foundation of America itself. She cites Martin Luther King as the last social leader to speak for a cause greater than himself; those that follow have sought to curry public favor more often than they have tried to change hearts and minds.
But was it all just about the 1960's? Not to Jacoby. Academics were already mistrusted by the "folks", Jacoby insists, due to the support for radical groups after the end of the First and Second World Wars, when a "Red Scare" prevailed in both post-war periods. That some of these groups, such as the American Civil liberties Union, were simply supporting free speech as a principle and not endorsing the speaker's views was a distinction lost on the casual news-reader.
The author also cites the rise of Rev. Jerry Falwell's "Moral Majority" and the Religious Right as a major political force in the last three decades of American politics.
Whether you accept her conclusions on matters, "American Unreason" contains a lot of time-line information linking the development of American popular culture almost back to the Revolutionary period. For that reason alone, and the wealth of research it brings forth, it is a good book for those interested in American "culture wars" to pick up. Some of Ms. Jacoby's arguments are based on personal anecdotes of her early life growing up as the product of a 1950's Roman Catholic household and, later, as a early feminist-era woman news reporter for the Washington Post.
Here is the author at a recent book store reading for "American Unreason":
It sounds like an excellent winter read, when you can focus on all the points, the relationships to all, how they merge within her view, and her synopsis of how it all ended up for us today.
ReplyDeleteThanks, doug for this fascinating post...(I know some folks will be stopping by here later to look)
Thank you Catherine... it fun to have a book come along that ties so many relevant points together, and the central points here do not get lost in a bunch of printed charts and jargon.
ReplyDeleteI have a book written by the scientist Carl Sagan where he bemoans the lack of eduction in the US. The less quality education equals the more likelihood for people to gullibly accept silly ideas like alien visitations and creationism etc. They lack the ability for critical reflection. This book certainly sounds like an interesting and thought provoking read. Thanks Doug.
ReplyDeleteGood point. According to one recent study, the USA ranks 22 out of 27 industrialized nations in overall math and science scores.
ReplyDeleteI think, like the author, that national standards--and the funding to elevate poorer school districts to hire better teachers---would help. There is a new major program here called "Teach for America", where the brightest college grads are encouraged to go into teaching for two years in low-performing public (state) primary and secondary schools. Underfunded school districts in major cities like Washington, DC, Los Angeles, et al, have benefited.
I'm sure its not a silver bullet, and there are a lot of other factors like parents setting good examples, but at least the idea of starting children out young with above-average mentors is a good start.
I would agree, with you,Doug, and Iriani low scores are often indicators of kids sometimes, not eating properly, too. I think the tutorial help is an excellent idea, and perhaps a better input of more positive nutrition without all the over processed foods in tandem with school help, would make a great thing here!!! Getting off the fast food merry-go-round, (I use the merry go round a lot in my analogies, don't i)--it is important to change poor diet habits, for better ones! which actually cost less, than what they are doing now.
ReplyDeletePutting resources into families with young children is a good start, I have heard of a US programme where parents were being educated at the same time as their kids. This sort of thing should be encouraged. A NZ writer Alan Duff started a scheme here to get books into homes, this scheme targets lower decile schools (schools in poorer areas) http://www.booksinhomes.org.nz/foundation.htm I believe books in homes is incredibly important as is discussing ideas in the home rather than the stick the kids in front of a telly or playstation to shut them up.
ReplyDeleteDiet is incredibly important too, which is why the poorer families need to be supported so that they can get decent food for their kids. This is not about blaming parents for their situation, its about supporting the kids for good outcomes.
I would point out that kids can be over-tested and too many tests mean that teachers find themselves having to focus on teaching kids to pass tests rather than taking a wider view of curriculum material and learning to think, discuss and critique concepts.
Books in Homes looks like a very good program indeed.
ReplyDelete"Teaching to the test" rather than teaching to learn has been a problem for US teachers. The "No Child Left Behind" program--a Federal program that requires lots of tests for school districts to receive aid--has had its pitfalls in that regard.
I totally agree. One of the problems there I understand is the availability of soft drinks using high-fructose corn syrup in fast food. Soft-drink companies have made big inroads in getting drink and snack machines into schools. That makes for lots of empty calories readily available for young minds right in schools, and that's a trend that's only now being rolled back by parent/teacher groups.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting a review of this book Doug, which seems to go to the heart of the decline in American culture and politics. The soundbite obsession of politics is obviously meant to impress a population whose attention span cannot cope with political debate and the reason that all professional politicians are essentially the same. I don't think this is exclusively an American problem though, it is true here in the UK and I suspect all around the English speaking world. The dumbing down of culture and politics separates mass popular cultural products from deeper analysis and discussion which now largely seems to take place on the internet and hardly anywhere else. It has allowed a pervasive superficiality to abolish questions of ethics and morality and has justified modern televisual warfare that resembles video games to obscure the obscenity of war. On the other hand it has also undermined the 'glory' of conflict and the emergence of 'heroes' to some extent as well I think by normalising images of technological and remote slaughter. The flip side of this coin is a global resistance movement communicating through the blogosphere and carrying out debates on an unprecedented international scale. This I think represents a massive and unmet need that finds an outlet beyond the reach of the mainline media.
ReplyDeleteAnti intellectualism is no less a feature of British culture than it is of American culture...the ostrich like demeanour of a viewing, image consuming population of escapists hiding from the implications of history, has resulted in social somnambulism across the English speaking world, where instant gratification is the most highly prized cultural product of all.
This is yet another book I have now added to a swollen list of 'must reads' which would take at least a 10 year period of solitary confinement to get to the end of (this may be a more realistic possibility than first meets the eye?).
However, rather like the Celtic monasteries in the so-called 'Dark Ages' of Europe there is a reservoir of intellectual activity that continues below the surface babble of the soundbite media and entertainment industries.
It is here that I believe the future lies and will be the salvation of these troubled times if there is to be any salvation to be had at all. We contribute what we can to this problem solving ethos that has next to no expression in the corporate media of modern mass communications, but continues subterranean discourses like whale songs below the tempestuous waves of the contemporary cultural crisis.
Regarding "must reads", AA, I get the same feeling perusing local book stores and libraries--lots of interesting books on how we got to this "garden of delights" and how history repeats itself in the hysteria of economic "bubbles", social movements and military miscalculations. Harry Truman once said "the only thing new in the world is the history you don't know." Those leaders in the hard sciences would beg to defer perhaps, but there is a lot of truth to that I think.
ReplyDeleteHaving seen examples of British pop culture, I also have to agree. The sit-coms and reality shows which fester in the airwaves don't seem that different from what passes for time-passing. One program or game show can simply morph from one culture to the other. Luckily the British have a long tradition of serious literary and documentary work to fall back on. Some of that has rubbed off here--the links to British culture were cited by Alexis De Tocqueville as one reason why a distinct American literature and higher culture was not needed (at least had little development in the 1830's).
The analogy to Celtic monks and whale-song is just right I think. Thanks for your thoughtful observations.