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the petty bourgeois citizens living in a small community. It's the type of
story you have in all countries,
Schilda
in Germany,
Abdera
in ancient
Greece, Gotham in the United States-the kind of citizen who builds a
house and forgets the windows and tries to carry the light for the house in
boxes. Freud used another story, about the simple-minded inhabitants of
the ficti tious ci ty of
Schilda
who had been given a horse to help them in
their work. The city, the society, the horse, the school system-of course,
for Freud the horse was human sexuality. At first the citizens were very
content with the animal-it was hard-working, pretty to look at, strong,
and obedient. It had only one fault, one drawback-it ate oats.
Thus, the citizens decided to wean the animal from this disadvantage.
They were clever enough not to do this from one day to another: every
day they gave the horse one stalk of oats less. Finally, the happy day had
come. The horse was still working. Of course, it was working less, it was
not so pretty any more, and much less obedient. But it was weaned from
eating. The citizens celebrated this success with a great banquet. But how
did the story end? Sadly enough, and in one single sentence: "On the next
day, the malicious animal died."
Our school systems must be spared this fate. As far as this story regards
the universities and academic life, you know more than
1.
Thank you for
your attention.
Edith Kurzweil:
Thank you, Kurt Scholz. The next speaker is Rita Kramer.
Rita Kramer:
Good morning. Seven years ago I published a book subti–
tled "The Miseducation of America's Teachers." Its reception by the
educational establishment was something like that accorded the more
stringent judgments of Jeremiah by the ancient Hebrews. I shall continue
my lamentations this morning, noting that nothing has changed. How
many authors can look back and say, "I have no reason to modify a word
of what I wrote years ago about a situation that is supposed to be volatile,
ripe for change, and subject to political influence from various directions?"
It is not a happy fate. But it does enable me to summarize what I wrote
then with no disclaimer that any of it has ceased to apply.
What I found as I made my way through schools and departments of
education in colleges and universities around the country was a culture
that varied little from one institution to another despite the lip service paid
to "diversity." A uniformity of attitude characterized the young men and
women preparing to take their places in the nation's classrooms, as it did
those who were preparing them for that day.
I started with the belief that at the center of the learning process stands
the teacher capable of inspiring the student. I hoped to meet some of the
