Back to the Basics

The Higher Learning Commission is the organization that gives St. Norbert College its accreditation, and SNC is required to have its accreditation reaffirmed during the 2011-2012 school year. A main theme reiterated in the criteria for accreditation is that the school should provide curricular opportunities that promote social responsibility. The Commission wants SNC to ensure that we are socially aware and responsible individuals and to set goals for our behavior related to those "vitally important" needs. One way that SNC helps us become socially responsible is through course offerings. SNC offers an upper-level economics class that teaches students about the "economics of gender discrimination" and the "gender earnings gap." There is an upper-level philosophy class that uses "case studies" to explore "environmental pollution and resource depletion" and "job discrimination." Even a geology class achieves this goal by placing special emphasis on "environmental issues in the context of the unequal global distribution of resources." If you're taking a class entitled "American Political Thought," you've been addressing "the proper role of government in addressing social problems" all semester long.

It seems the Commission wants to produce young adults capable of making morally and politically correct decisions. But who thinks that moral and political correctness can only be taught effectively in a classroom? I think we should take some responsibility for our own morals outside of the classroom.

If you want help learning about diversity and inclusion, invite an international student to dinner. If you want to draw moral conclusions, meet with a Norbertine Father or with members of your family. If you want to develop your political beliefs, read as much news as possible, volunteer for campaigns and make decisions on your own. Above all, your decisions about the kind of person you want to be and the life you want to lead should be developed through a series of very personal, individual interactions. The small class sizes at SNC do foster discussion, but after a certain degree everyone needs to bear most of the responsibility for their own moral development.

That being said, course material should not be chosen based on whether it is socially responsible nor whether it will help students rectify inequalities. Course material should be chosen because it is historically significant, factual, and challenging for our ability level. I feel bad for professors in the humanities and liberal arts who feel pressured into trying to fix all of the world's problems in 16 classroom hours per week. I'll be on your side if you decide that you want to teach students rather than mold them.