'Just the Way Things Were' or Malicious Intent?: One Professor's Effort to Facilitate Truth--A JRLE Student Voices Essay
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| Title: | 'Just the Way Things Were' or Malicious Intent?: One Professor's Effort to Facilitate Truth--A JRLE Student Voices Essay |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Mansfield, Katherine C. |
| Source: | Journal of Research on Leadership Education. 2007 2(2). |
| Availability: | University Council for Educational Administration. Curry School of Education 405 Emmet Street PO Box 400265, Charlottesville, VA 22904. Tel: 434-924-6137; Fax: 434-924-3866; e-mail: ucea.org@gmail.com; Web site: http://www.ucea.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 7 |
| Publication Date: | 2007 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Opinion Papers |
| Descriptors: | African Americans, Discussion, Gifted, Critical Thinking, Instructional Leadership, Discussion (Teaching Technique), United States History, Genetics, Selection, Racial Attitudes, Intelligence Quotient, Mexicans, Anglo Americans, Whites, College Faculty |
| Geographic Terms: | United States |
| ISSN: | 1942-7751 |
| Abstract: | During a class discussion, a professor placed a quote on the overhead by Lewis Terman, former Stanford professor, APA president, and vicar of IQ testing and gifted education in America. The passage stressed that Mexicans and Blacks are born morons, not capable of learning, and should be segregated from Anglos in special classes. In addition, in Terman's view, these people were dangerous because of their fertile breeding and should be sterilized. A pair of students expressed general uneasiness with the racist discourse, but most quickly dismissed the intentions of the author as malicious. The general consensus seemed to be "that's just the way things were back then" and that a very "minute percentage" of the human population is truly motivated by hatred in ideology or action. The author protested passionately by sharing past human indiscretions as well as the current trend in anti-immigration dialogue and the surge in Klan activity. The author argues that Terman approached his research and mentoring relationships with a clear socio-political agenda that included the segregation and tracking of American schools, as well as the annihilation of the "unfit" that was used to construct eugenics laws in the United States praised by Adolf Hitler in "Mein Kampf" and used for courtroom defense in "The Nuremburg Trials." It is imperative that those occupied in the praxis of leadership engage her/his students in critical thinking and provoke dialogue concerning the philosophical scaffolding of educational leadership in multiple fields and contexts. |
| Abstractor: | ERIC |
| Number of References: | 10 |
| Entry Date: | 2012 |
| Accession Number: | EJ958855 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | During a class discussion, a professor placed a quote on the overhead by Lewis Terman, former Stanford professor, APA president, and vicar of IQ testing and gifted education in America. The passage stressed that Mexicans and Blacks are born morons, not capable of learning, and should be segregated from Anglos in special classes. In addition, in Terman's view, these people were dangerous because of their fertile breeding and should be sterilized. A pair of students expressed general uneasiness with the racist discourse, but most quickly dismissed the intentions of the author as malicious. The general consensus seemed to be "that's just the way things were back then" and that a very "minute percentage" of the human population is truly motivated by hatred in ideology or action. The author protested passionately by sharing past human indiscretions as well as the current trend in anti-immigration dialogue and the surge in Klan activity. The author argues that Terman approached his research and mentoring relationships with a clear socio-political agenda that included the segregation and tracking of American schools, as well as the annihilation of the "unfit" that was used to construct eugenics laws in the United States praised by Adolf Hitler in "Mein Kampf" and used for courtroom defense in "The Nuremburg Trials." It is imperative that those occupied in the praxis of leadership engage her/his students in critical thinking and provoke dialogue concerning the philosophical scaffolding of educational leadership in multiple fields and contexts. |
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| ISSN: | 1942-7751 |
