The Texas Legislature’s attempts to tell teachers what they can teach is being ridiculed around the world. The latest episode involves a philosophy professor at Texas A&M who was informed he could not teach Plato.
The ridicule is justified, deserved and entertaining. But the Texas Legislature has been doing this kind of thing since before I was born. I think Texas needs a plan to avoid this recurring embarrassment that takes a longer view.
If the legislature is going to meddle in education, we ought to have an inquiry about what level of educational institution the legislature is competent to meddle in.
The world is convinced that you can’t really have a philosophy department in states where it’s illegal to teach Plato. Many Texas legislators would be willing to bulldoze all the philosophy departments, but there’s a catch: An institution can’t really call itself a university if doesn’t teach philosophy.
The university designation is the problem. But note that there are no philosophy requirements at trade schools. As far as I can tell, not a single professor who’s a specialist in Plato is employed at one of the schools that teach people how to repair cars or install air conditioners.
I think some public-minded representative should submit a bill to rename the state’s universities, starting with the Trade School of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M Trade School at College Station.
While it might be jarring for alumni to learn they might no longer have a university degree, the change would come closer to the spirt of the law that seeks to bring education into line with whatever it is that politicians can tolerate.
I think the debate on the bill would bring clarity to our thinking, even if we can’t grasp the logic taught in philosophy departments. What’s more important: public education or the kinds of things that might offend politicians?
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