Children and Higher Education

What's to be added?

Source: www.pbase.com/munichpride/image/49844677

There was a post today on Guardienne of the Tomes about an Inside Higher Ed career advice piece to a graduate student who was feeling guilt about not spending enough time with her 3 year old. I have mixed feelings about Guardienne’s comments and feel that her not having any children herself, empathy may not be high on her priority list. Her comments included the following, “Needless to say, any prof teaching graduate classes worth his/her salt will say no.” This in reference to professors allowing a toddler in the class on a regular basis. I agree that a child that young would be less than likely to remain quiet and not disrupt the other students and/or professor. Interestingly she singled out graduate classes, I would assume that any class, undergraduate or graduate, would likely be disrupted by a 3 year old. However, there are always exceptions to any and all situations. I have attended campus meetings where someone had their infant in a carrier seat and still managed to be productive during the meeting. How would a parent leaving to deal with a child be any different than those who wander in and out going to the bathroom or to take a call?

Having taught graduate students myself, it is hard not to overempathize with parents, single or otherwise. I have had a student drop my all day class due to their internal conflict over how this affects their relationship with their child. I have also had graduate students bring their children to class with permission on occasion. Now, personally I think that forcing any child to spend even a few hours in a class that they have zero interest in would be torture for them. The only time the other graduate students were concerned/upset was the day that we were discussing intellectual freedom and academic libraries which led to a discussion about limiting pornography which led to an intense discussion about academic freedom and what that entailed. It was one of the most best discussions in my class, ever, and a student approached me at the break expressing concern that another student’s son had been listening. I explained that as he had been quiet and didn’t disrupt the discussion there was no reason to ask that a 13 year old leave the room. I also noted that it was the parent’s role to determine what their child was ready to be exposed to, not mine or hers. I acknowledged that she had a right to feel uncomfortable but that those were her feelings to deal with. Let me note that others in the class thought that the young man looked exceedingly bored throughout the entire discussion.

I attended some of my mom’s lectures with her while she was working on her degrees and I also got to spend time with her in an art studio. These memories are really strong ones for me and I remember them fondly, although the lecture on phallic representation in the Ashanti culture was a little confusing since I was 12. I remember the other students turning around to look at me during the lecture looking concerned. How could they know that my mother never limited my exposure to “real life” and allowed me to form my own opinions about art from my own level of understanding? I thank her for encouraging me to have an open mind and to learn from any and all opportunities.

Intellectual freedom tensions

On the CBC website today there was a story about the Alberta Human Rights Commission dismissing a complaint against Ezra Levant for republishing the controversial Prophet Muhammed cartoons that caused a global uproar in 2005, in his Western Standard magazine. The complaint was filed by the Edmonton Council of Muslim communities whom Mr. Levant refers to as “radical” on his blog. I went to school with Ezra Levant during my undergraduate degree but never had a class with him, thankfully. Even then, it was far easier to ignore his rantings for the irrational crap they were and are. However, having lived in the US for a few years and having worked with the IF community within the American Library Association, my perspective on free speech has changed.

On a personal front, the vicious and delusional rantings of someone like Ezra Levant bother me. As a librarian, I support his right to publish his ideas while staying within the hate speech law which I am sure he understands thoroughly being a lawyer. That doesn’t stop him from skating on the edge on occasion. In Canada hate speech has been criminalized and I agree that, “advocating genocide, publicly inciting hatred, and wilfully promoting hatred” towards identifiable groups justifies criminal charges. Reprinting even controversial cartoons in his personal magazine doesn’t meet this standard even if that was his goal. I think the fact that the Western Standard has ceased publication speaks to the fact that the majority of Albertans and Canadians don’t support Mr. Levant’s extremist positions. Perhaps the best thing that we can do until he can be criminally charged for his evangelism, is to ignore him. That will likely be far more painful, take away an audience for his views.

Why I am proud of my profession

Even though I get frustrated with my professional association I never doubt that this a worthwhile profession.

“Resolution on the Use and Abuse of National Security Letters”

http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/statementspols/ifresolutions/nationalsecurityletters.htm
RESOLVED, That the American Library Association condemns the use of National Security Letters to obtain library records; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the American Library Association urges Congress to pursue legislative reforms in order to provide adequate protection for each library user’s Constitutional right to be free from unwarranted and unjustified government surveillance, including:
* Judicial oversight of National Security Letters (NSLs) requiring a showing of individualized suspicion and demonstrating a factual connection between the individual whose records are sought by the FBI and an actual investigation;

Elimination of the automatic and permanent imposition of a nondisclosure or “gag” order whenever an NSL is served on an individual or institution;
* Allowing recipients of NSLs to receive meaningful judicial review of a challenge to their NSL without deferring to the government’s claims;
* Increased oversight by Congress and the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice over NSLs and FBI activities that implicate the First Amendment; and
* Providing for the management, handling, dissemination and destruction of personally identifiable information obtained through NSLs; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the ALA communicates this resolution to the Offices of the President and Vice President, Congress, ALA members, and state chapters; and that ALA urges its members, state chapters, and all library advocates to ask Congress to restore civil liberties and correct the abuse and misuse of National Security Letters.

Adopted unanimously by the Council of the American Library Association

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Washington, D.C.