At the risk of being burned at the stake on Boise State University’s blue football turf, I’d like say a few not unkind words about Prof. Scott Yenor who, himself, is pretty short on kind words.
Yenor holds views of women that might have been acceptable in 1946 - post WWII. “Barefoot and pregnant,†would seem to cover it.
For those of you not familiar with Idaho happenings, lots of folks in the potato state are having “hissy fits†about a speech the good professor made in Florida some weeks ago. A speech in which he said women should be discouraged from becoming engineers or doctors or anything else of an advanced educational nature or career. Men? O.K. Women? Stay in the kitchen.
Well, clothing on a lot of otherwise liberal-leaning folks has been shredded, a pillory is being considered and demands have been made that someone in the BSU hierarchy remove Dr. Yenor from the payroll. Some students are even skipping classes to take to the streets to protest Yenor and demand he be ousted.
Well, let’s just call a “timeout†and do some rethinking.
First, on the “Rate My Professor†website at BSU, students ratings go from “Best professor I’ve ever had†to “Don’t take his courses - he’s scattered and makes disparaging remarks about students.â€
I’ve always thought of college as a place to be exposed to new ideas, new people - many of whom were very different from people I’d known before. I believe colleges call the process “critical thinking.†I also believe too many of them these days are forgetting that process.
And that’s where Dr. Yenor comes in. I find his thoughts repulsive, denigrating, contemptible, etc., etc., etc.
BUT, I also find his thoughts challenging and useful. His out-of-touch teachings should be looked at through the lens of “critical thinking.†It’s just fine if more people take umbrage with Yenor’s positing. But, it seems to me, again, using “critical thinking,†the ground he’s staked out - angering as it is - demands students adopt the use of “critical thinking.â€
Challenge him with fact - preferably face-to-face. Process his words. Chew ‘em up. Spit ‘em out. Get off the streets and the campus quad and “get after it†with logic. With research. With reason. With passion. Don’t accept Yenor’s despicable reasoning. Throw it back in his face. Stand your ground. Use some of that “critical thinking.â€
Seems to me that, rather than oversized umbrage, shrill talk, shallow efforts to get rid of Yenor, outraged students - and off-campus criticism - Yenor is offering a chance to learn - to organize - to challenge.
I’ve interviewed George Wallace, George Lincoln Rockwell, Richard Nixon and a few others for whom I hold nothing but anger and vitriol. Those three, in their prime, were liars, racists, anti-Semites and as despicable a bunch as you could devise. Each died in disgrace. Each died pretty much alone. Their deceits and warped thoughts went with them.
Hateful as they were, they could not stand up to critical thinking. In interview after interview, if the inquisitor had examined their words and actions, applied the principles of critical thinking, the results of that work showed in a more knowledgeable result. I’m thinking, expressly, of David Frost’s face-to-face with Nixon. Classic use of critical thinking to process Nixon’s deepest thoughts.
I’ve given a few lectures in some very fine classrooms and theaters at some very fine universities. Normally the subject matter dealt with the great old institution of journalism and related issues. I can’t recall a lot of what I said but I distinctly remember angering a few professors and staff who were making a good living ill-equipping a lot of media wanna-be’s who were eager for media “stardom.†There was a distinct absence of critical thinking in the classroom.
Prof. Yenor offers sexism, misogyny, contemptible ideas and words. He is at one end of a continuum of thought. There is another end to that continuum that offers reason, truth and acceptable thought.
Critical thinking can be a most useful tool to guide a young mind. Examples of its application in everyday life are all too rare. Prof. Yenor to the contrary.