Is college really a form of indoctrination?

One of the common tropes in politics is the notion that colleges indoctrinate and brainwash students into extreme left-wing ideologies. Almost every social conservative says this as well.

I'm in my third year of college, and I haven't seen any form of indoctrination. In fact, the only thing that comes close was my far left Writing professor who had no problem telling the class about her politics, but I would hardly call that indoctrination, though.

It seems to me that the so-called "indoctrination" is just a form of gaining life experience. For example, imagine a student that grew up in a very conservative home. All the people that person knew growing up were those just like him, in terms of race, religion, political viewpoints, etc. When he decides to go to college, he becomes exposed to a whole new way of life as well as people he never even knew existed. Over time, this student might even start questioning his religion, politics, family values, etc, and become more liberal as a result. Because that's exactly what happened with me and I don't feel indoctrinated, even though I am still fiscally conservative to an extent. I just became exposed to groups of people I had never engaged with before and ended up becoming more tolerant and aware. This is also what helped me my identity because I was surrounded by people who were accepting instead of people who wanted to repress me.

So is such a scenario really a form of indoctrination, or is it just a result of being exposed to the outside world instead of being sheltered? I'm leaning towards the latter, but I'm curious as to what you guys think.

 

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People who get a perverse thrill from 'indoctrinating' others would be drawn to colleges, schools, etc since it gives them a platform and a feeling of 'authority'

I think professions like teachers and professors can be attractive to narcissistic and megalomaniac personalities - I believe law enforcement or positions in management do as well

How a person chooses to dress or present themselves isn't a true identity

 

True, it's not an identity in and of itself, but it can be an extension of one's identity.

 

It's superfluous and should not be a significant factor of one's identity

 

Take a Sociology class. That should be all the proof you will ever need. Even though I graduated a few years ago, I take a few classes here and there, because I honestly like school. I couldn't believe the constant bombardment of left-wing viewpoints in some of the classes I've taken recently.

It's kind of fun, though.

Teacher: "Women make 70 cents on the dollar, even though they do the same work, because of male chauvinism."

*raises hand*

Me: "If that were true, why would any business owner hire a male worker? If he could get the same work done while saving 30% on labor costs, why wouldn't he?"

Teacher: "Hmmm.... well.... that's an interesting point. The thing is, men benefit in a lot of ways that aren't always visible and obvious. Women remain at a disadvantage. Which brings us to our next topic..."

 

My situation is very similar to yours. Indoctrination is a strong word but what they do to you at University isn't benign either. Be very careful.

 

---There is indoctrination in every social group and setting. It is difficult to understand that your are being indoctrinated if you don't at first accept that you are a resource and people are vying for your use. It begins from infancy. Your gender role is a very clear example of indoctrination: "boy's don't play with dolls, and girls don't play in the mud.". As you age other nuances are added: your race, social class, hair color, eye color, accent, dress etc etc etc. Every single detail about you is recruited in an effort to define you and your social parameters. Once they've been set, you will govern yourself according to the identity foisted upon you and no longer need to be looked after, only appeased from time to time in the interest of maintenance.

 

I honesty think it requires more talent to be a fast food worker than it does to teach a left-wing sociology class (not to mention the only future anyone will be looking at with a sociology degree is a future in the fast food business anyway)

 

I don't think your experience is indoctrination AM. It sounds like it's a result of a bona fide education.

Education allows you to question, in fact it just about demands it. But it wants you to find your own answers, not provide them to you. That being the case then indoctrination through education is not possible.

 

In college you have to do your own research and there are no dogmas in science , if you find something that contradicts the established theories go on and try to publish .

Potentially all our interactions with other people can be forms of indoctrination , any book you read & any site you visit . If you fear that your reasoning skills are not good enough to keep false ideas away either train yourself or prepare to live a very confusing life .

 

Conservatives that hate higher education (or education in general) are just afraid of facts, and who gives you facts? Colleges. These conservatives hate science; they hate critical thinking (and actually go so far as to ban critical thinking in grade school classes when possible); they hate people that question their false claims. The more you learn the more you know they're lying out their bums. Pretty much all of their policies are based on lies or ignorance. Oh, and they certainly don't want women getting an education, learning to be independent and able to take care of themselves. That makes them feel useless and out of control.

In a number of college classes, you're taught to try to prove your own ideas wrong. That's how science/critical thinking works. You take an idea you think is true, and you test it by trying to prove it wrong. Do you think conservatives want you doing this to their ideas which are very easily proven wrong with a slight amount of thinking and research?

None of my college classes were left or right leaning, unless you count relying on facts as left leaning, which conservatives generally do. Just look what they say about the news: any news that points out facts that counter conservative claims or make conservatives look bad is considered left leaning and biased. In their world, "biased" means "not on our side," just like "persecution" means "not letting us persecute others." Up is down and down is up. Education is indoctrination, and indoctrination is education.

 

As compared to the US Marine Corps? Doubt it.

 

Alot of it has to do with being sheltered. There is no hiding the fact that America (south especially) has had racial problems. The reason things are getting better is due to kids going to college, getting educated, and finding out that people that may look different to them, are actually the same as they are.

The same can be said for religion.

I say, give all the information and let people make a decision, rather than trying to piecemeal what you only want them to know.

A good movie that sums this up would be "The Waterboy"

 

It depends on the college and the professors. A smaller private college is going to have a worse effect, left or right, as they have some very big fish in some very small ponds and there is no way to schedule around them in your major. Some can be quite heavy-handed as to what is "correct" and what is "acceptable".

 

In my opinion, college seems to be over-hyped. I guess it' fine to knowingly and willingly spends 10s of thousands of dollars to broaden your social circles and maybe change the way you think. I don't know that we should pretend college is about getting a degree to help you get a job--- or give you specialized skills to make you stand out. Unless you are going to be a doctor, or lawyer. In some ways, college seems to prolong adolescence and prolong legal adults from taking responsibility of their own lives

 

Its been 20 years since I've graduated college but I don't think its changed much. Its an institution with a utopia philosophy sheltered from reality. I was indocrinated---and it took the real world for me to put everything in perspective. I was taught that capitalism was destructive, existing only because it depends on the backs of the poor and thus keeps people poor. I found through real life experience, that capitalism is what motivates a work ethic and gives the opportunities people need to advance and succeed. Its the ladder for the poor. I was taught that traditional roles for women kept them vulnerable and powerless. Yet, years later.....I discovered that I was truely empowered while staying home with my kids. During college I could have easily made a show of turning my back on the America flag and the principals it stands for. Now I appreciate where I live, and what I have.

I came from a liberal progressive family with no conservative principals in place. I had no firm principals going in and was the perfect candidate for indocrination. I think when college students go out into the real world they learn the opposite of what many professors and academics never have the chance to learn. Many times professors have been in the same academic environment for their entire work lives...its all they know.

 

Indoctrination is up to the individual. Many of us think for ourselves, however, many of us are very lazy and are perfectly happy thinking what someone else tells us to think. College is the perfect place for lefties to target these malleable individuals. Can you think of a better place if you were them?

 

You're projecting again. Telling Democrats what to do is like herding cats. But Republicans NEED a daily dose of authoritarianism. There is seldom any real difference at all between any two Republicans.

 

I hear the same thing about public education as well. Expect for my liberal government teacher that I'm more upset with not talking about the elections, I don't care what she preaches in that class, and my former European history teacher, I never once got indoctrinated in a liberal agenda. It's just a bunch of hogwash for people who don't want to send their children to school to hear more about the world is all.

 

Im not projecting anything. Where else are you going to find a better group of malleable people in which to try and indoctrinate? The answer is you arent. Collecge is the perfect place for lefties to hypnotize and ensnare their future voting block. Thats why theyre there.

 

A wonderful post!

I'm a lot older than you are, but going away to college gave me the same expanded perspective that you are enjoying now.

I had the same experience with my professors as well. We had some liberals, some conservatives, and others who never talked about politics or social issues at all. There was no indoctrination going on.

There's no crime in being exposed to the outside world. In fact, it's the best thing that can happen to most people.

You get your curiousity engaged and you get to explore possibilites that you may have known nothing about had you stayed in your comforatable bubble.

We didn't have Fox News or even the internet when I was in college.

The constant bombardment of fear, appeals to ignorance, racism and xenophobia that populate this forum every day certainly existed in parts of America. After all, it didn't take the internet to give voice to the KKK, Father Couglin, Joe McCarthy or the John Birch Society.

It's sad really.

When your world view is shaped by fear of the world, fear of change, and fear of the future, the world is a dark place indeed!

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Had you gone to one, they would have started you in remedial English.

 

Higher education is often quite enlightening, so the benighted are naturally leery of it.

Is there some sinister conspiracy to cloud the minds of the young by a cadre of intellectuals?

Collegians do not ape their professors in dress, music, and other cultural matters. They typically rebel against them. So pretending that they are co-opted by a concerted regimen of rote learning is exceedingly silly.

Is learning conducive to establishing critical thinking and forming a breath of perspective that is liable to influence one's outlook? One would certainly hope so.

Knowledge is good, and those who suspect it would do well to overcome their fear and give it the old college try.

 

It sounds like your were ripe for youthful rebellion and alienation, a not uncommon academic odyssey.

 

I had plenty of youthful rebellion and alienation from middle school to high school. After a few years of washing dishes and realizing I couldn't get a job that required a person to count change (which back then....was how cashiers did it--no computers and all math skills), I went to college with an attitude to advance and do well. I saw the teachers as "enlightened" and smarter then the "rest of us". That put me at a disadvantage.

I don't regret it---and learned much--about the world, a certain world view and about myself. But the final part of one's education is the "real world". Some people who stay in public service--jobs paid by the government---never see true capitalism or true America and doesn't understand how it works and are clueless in many area.