The following e-mail is from World Net Daily, which represents a worldview somewhere quite to the right of National Review, American Spectator, and RedStates. It is worth the few minutes that it will take to read the e-mail to gain a clearer (if more mind-boggling) sense of what folks on that far-right edge of the political spectrum think about higher education.

If you are not sure that the exercise is worth even a few minutes of your time, let me offer this tease: “Then there’s Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America’s Youth, which proves once and for all that the universities, far from being places for open discussion, are really dungeons of the mind that indoctrinate students to become socialists, atheists, race-baiters, and sex-crazed narcissists.”

I am guessing that this sentence is an indication of what the writer has in mind when he or she bemoans the terrible lack of “open discussion” on our campuses: that is, progressives may become argumentative, if not openly hostile, when dismissively stereotyped as “socialists, atheists, race-baiters, and sex-crazed narcissists.”

The categories are, of course, just code words for everything not “American” and not extremely Far-Right.

I am guessing that many progressives may, in fact, be very willing to admit to at least one or the other of these charges, except of course for the race-baiting. (More on the race-baiting in another post, which for these folks seems to mean a predisposition to making an issue out of racial prejudice and to distorting issues by making them in some way about racial prejudice, a position which somehow is then given a turn of the screw so that any reference to race can be dismissed out of hand as an attempt to gain preferential treatment simply on the basis of race.)

Finally, I feel compelled to note that, from the publishers descriptions of these books, they seems to be suspiciously like the ruse of presenting essentially the same scholarly paper under different titles. But perhaps I am simply not appreciating the many nuanced ways in which a disdain for higher education might be expressed.      

Is a Degree Worth the Debt?

Runaway costs, inferior academics and political indoctrination

It has been said you can never take a person’s education away, but that seems to be true for the debt that comes with the degree, too.

Recent graduates have been going from heavy class loads to huge debt loads, and when high unemployment is added, it could be back to living in mom and dad’s basement.

Makes the old adage “You can’t afford not to go to college” seem less than insightful.   These are the questions that are raised, and answered, in the new Is College Worth It? By William J Bennett, one of America’s most influential and respected voices on cultural, political, and educational issues, and David Wilezol, the book assesses the problems of American higher education at various levels, from runaway costs to inferior academics to poor graduation rates to political indoctrination.

It offers serious reforms and alternative methods for improving higher education so that it better serves our students.   Read the story of one who holds BA and MA degrees from Miami and Xavier universities – and has $188,000 in debt.

“My future and dreams are six feet under … I sleep in my parent’s basement and am dependent for food, gas, and health insurance.”   For many students, a bachelor’s degree is considered the golden ticket to a more financially and intellectually fulfilling life.

But the disturbing reality is that debt, unemployment, and politically charged pseudo learning are more likely outcomes for many college students today than full-time employment and time-honored knowledge.

Students often graduate having learned little, or don’t graduate at all. They are indoctrinated with liberal politics and subjected to all types of non-academic distractions. For these reasons, many students would be better served exploring other educational alternatives. Is College Worth It? addresses who is responsible for debt-saddled, under-educated students, and how do future generations of students avoid the same problems?

In a time of economic uncertainty, what majors and schools will produce competitive graduates? Is College Worth It? uses personal experience, statistical analysis, and real-world interviews to provide answers to some of the most troubling social and economic problems of our time.

Additional related titles include:

If college is worth it, for you, the next question should be “Will your college of choice pass the critical test of building your child’s faith instead of destroying it?”

Already Compromised takes a shocking look at the state of higher education, both secular and Christian, with an eye-opening assessment of American colleges and universities.   Then there’s Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America’s Youth, which proves once and for all that the universities, far from being places for open discussion, are really dungeons of the mind that indoctrinate students to become socialists, atheists, race-baiters and sex-crazed narcissists.

And Freefall of the American University is another alarming, thoroughly researched account of how today’s universities are indoctrinating students with flagrant liberal agendas and what must be done to make them institutions of truth, honor and integrity once more. Freefall of the American University provides hard evidence, in clear and unimpeachable terms, showing how today’s colleges are covertly and overtly proselytizing with leftist slants on sexuality, politics and lifestyles.

With nearly 90 percent of Christian children attending a public school parents have a vested interest in all that happens there. The award-winning DVD Indoctrination: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America provides a hard look at the true state of public education.   Its companion book IndoctriNation provides an eye-opening look behind the comfortable myths of an educational system actively working to alter your child’s moral values, worldview and religious beliefs.