Scottish Union for Education – Newsletter No61
Newsletter Themes: the social purpose university, hate crimes, and demonstration!
I had hoped to write this editorial without using the word woke, but it’s tricky. I’ve just finished reading Neil McKay’s opinion piece in The Herald in which he tells us the ‘war on woke’ is a boundless absurdity. The article is a bit confused, but the basic point is that people who talk about woke are deluded or politically motivated by right-wing passions. The implication of this kind of article is that when readers hear the word ‘woke’, they should put their hands over their ears and look the other way. McKay thinks it’s a joke, and he’s hoping that if we all laugh loud enough, it will drown out the genuine concerns of the public. Fortunately, he’s wrong.
This week I attended the Alloa Women’s Festival and a Together meeting in Glasgow. At both meetings, people in the audience and on the platforms expressed concerns about what is happening in schools. As more parents and teachers are confronted by the consequences of Scottish government policy and the actions of activist teachers, the more concerned they are becoming. It feels as though the political class, public administrators, and journalists like McKay are living in one world, and most of us are looking on from another reality in dismay. It’s bad enough that adults must put up with so-called ‘progressive’ policies that defy common sense in all areas of our lives. It’s a great deal worse when schools are training our children to believe that they should live in fear of saying or thinking the ‘wrong’ thing.
It’s great to see people getting together to challenge the status quo. On Easter Monday (1 April), SUE will be part of the protest against the Hate Crime Act at Holyrood. (The protest begins at 1.30 p.m. and SUE will be there from 1pm – look for our volunteers.) We will bring along leaflets for you to take away. Please persuade your friends and family to come to defend freedom of speech and show that there is widespread opposition to the government’s authoritarian policymaking. If you really can’t make the demo, please take a few minutes to respond to the government’s consultation on ‘ending conversion practices’, which closes on 2 April.
Below, Stuart Waiton, SUE Chair, looks at the public discussion of the Hate Crime Act over the past week. Last week, we wrote about the potential impact of the new law on schools; this week Alex Cameron, a parent and member of SUE’s editorial board, has looked at the university sector and how it is being transformed into an arm of government rather than an arena for free thought and speech.
The social purpose university
Alex Cameron is a member of the SUE editorial board and producer of the Substack. He is a father of three school-aged children.
Towards the end of last year, the University of the Arts London (UAL) announced that it had become the first ‘social purpose university’. The UAL is a federation of six art colleges in London and is one of the top-ranking arts universities in the world. Polly Mackenzie, UAL’s new Chief Social Purpose Officer, declared that the university was part of the social purpose ‘movement of our time’, which would organise around four social purpose goals: ‘creativity, diversity, the environment and prosperity for all’. [1] James Purnell, Vice Chancellor of University of the Arts London, posted on LinkedIn that, ‘…social purpose is fertile ground. Our strategy … is built around it.’ [2]
In Scotland too, social purpose is being embedded throughout the higher education sector. In August 2022, Dundee University agreed to ‘The Blantyre Declaration – A shared commitment to social purpose’ – a partnership with Malawi’s six public universities. [3] The Blantyre Declaration proposed ‘a blueprint for good partnership and reducing inequality’. [4]
Another partnership, between the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, founded ‘Scotland Beyond Net Zero’ to tackle ‘the world’s greatest existential threat’ through combining ‘our already world-class research in climate science to boost collaborations between experts, further empower the communities we operate in, and better inform policy makers on the hard decisions they have to make for Scotland to reach its ambitious target of reaching net zero by 2045’. [5]
While Scottish universities may not publicly call themselves social purpose universities, they are certainly part of the ‘movement’ and share the same commitment to embedding the triumvirate of ‘climate emergency’/net zero, ‘equality, diversity and inclusion’/decolonisation and ‘global citizenship’ throughout university life.
Although it might be comforting to think that this represents a mere tilt in the subject-driven or skills-based academic thinking and teaching for the new century, this would be a mistake. It is nothing short of a seismic shift in our understanding of the role and function of the university in society. A liberal interpretation of the university – as a place for transmitting canonical knowledge from the past to the next generation – is being upended. The leaders of this movement make no secret of their belief that the university, as we once knew it, is no longer fit for purpose; indeed, it is highly problematic and destructive in dealing with the ‘existential crisis’ we face in today’s world.
While the ‘presentist’ idea of the role and function of the university – as an instrumentalising institution in the service of the elite – has been a long time in the making, it was in the last few decades of the previous century that it took hold. [6] The idea of the social purpose university is rooted in the ideology of ‘social justice’. It is a wide-ranging and enveloping political intervention that requires academic activists to imbibe their students in its core tenets – environmentalism, race and gender – to create a new model army of active(ist) citizens.
The focus of educationalist and academic activists is the creation of a new moral and political framework that is in sync with the beliefs of the new political elite. It is less about the transmission and accrual of knowledge for personal and societal benefit, and more a self-conscious curriculum of political indoctrination.
For all their pronouncements of enabling a better-informed citizenry and a more democratic society, it is a profound lack of faith in both that has led the new elites in education to a programme of moral and social engineering through higher education, to solve society’s problems.
The comprehensive capture of higher education by the ideology of social justice is upon us, in part, because academic activists have been kicking at an open door. Too many educationalists, thinkers and academics who were committed to the classical ideal of knowledge-based education, and who saw this coming, found themselves increasingly silenced, isolated and denounced. But perhaps too, more broadly, a failure of intellectual nerve played its part.
The nineteenth century school inspector Matthew Arnold, in his book Culture and Anarchy, said that ‘we should teach the best that has been thought and known ... so that we can see things as they really are’. [7] For centuries, this has been a widely held (if contentious) view of classical liberal education that has all but been crushed under the weight of a politicised and instrumentalised attitude to the university over the past 50 years.
The social purpose university is an explicit challenge and threat to the classical ideal of the university as a transmitter of knowledge, and with it, the role of the academic and the subject-based expert lecturer. By constricting the sphere of knowledge – and with it the idea of a liberal education – to fit narrow contemporary political and ideological concerns, knowledge is being relegated as opposed to it being of the highest order. Further, social purpose denigrates the idea of the student having the moral and intellectual resources to think critically and independently.
While the social purpose university is now entrenched in Scotland, it is not the time to beat a retreat. Although those pushing the social purpose agenda may hold the levers of cultural power at the same time, their cultural insecurity is evident in their inability to countenance criticism, preferring to silence, censor and discredit dissenters. Education is just too important to leave it to those who would rather indoctrinate.
Incorrect information in this article was corrected 15/04/24
References
1. https://medium.com/@press.office/why-social-purpose-and-why-now-4f350cd1d8ce
2. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/james-purnell-designing-university-around-/
3. https://www.dundee.ac.uk/corporate-information/blantyre-declaration
4. https://www.dundee.ac.uk/stories/universities-gather-celebration-first-anniversary-partnership
5. https://impact.ed.ac.uk/our-shared-world/working-together-to-see-scotland-beyond-net-zero/
6.
7. https://historyofeducation.net/2022/03/12/what-do-we-mean-by-the-best-thats-been-thought-and-known/
Hate crimes
Stuart Waiton is Chair of SUE.
Concerns about the implications of the Hate Crime Act in Scotland are growing, and there are even concerns being raised about the way ‘hate’ reporting is being used to target MSPs.
This week we discovered that Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser has a hate incident recorded with his name on it, following a report to the police from a transgender rights activist. At present, the police are encouraged to record any ‘hate’ that is reported to them, and you, the alleged perpetrator, will know nothing about this. In theory, this record of ‘hate’ could be seen by a future employer – if they do a police check when considering you for employment. As a result, you could be barred from certain jobs without ever knowing the reason why.
It’s worth noting that with hate crime incidents of this kind there is no crime involved. Indeed, there is arguably no hate involved either. So, you end up with a hate crime tag without hating anyone or committing any crime!
As the issue of hate is ramped up and the police and government and wider institutions promote the apparent problem of hate, reporting of presumed hate (or simply malicious reporting) is likely to increase.
I find myself in a peculiar position in this respect, as my own university has set itself up as one of the 411 hate-reporting hubs. Other universities have done likewise.
As it stands, I already receive what appears to be annual reports from students about my ‘phobias’ for various things, all thanks to the existing Tell Us page provided by the university that encourages students to anonymously report on people they feel have been offensive. A colleague calls this ‘the McCarthy page’ after the infamous US Senator McCarthy who set up ‘witch trials’ to hunt down communists in America.
I’ve been accused of racism, homophobia, and I assume transphobia, but I can’t be sure of the details of the complaints because they have been reported anonymously. I don’t know who made them or what I am supposed to have said. Thus far, thankfully, management have dismissed the accusations, but what about now that they have become part of Police Scotland’s hate hub set-up?
Logically, one assumes that such allegations will now be passed to the police; after all, this is the guidance framework, as Murdo found to his cost. Will this mean I have a record of hate against my name? Will this have implications for me or, indeed, for any other lecturer? Will any attempt for future employment be undermined by this? What about going for a promotion? What about my job?
The American author Jonathan Haidt, who writes about the ‘coddling’ of American students and the over-protection that leaves them incapable of dealing with words and ideas they dislike, usefully talks about the dangers of identity politics in universities. Showing a balanced approach, he notes that there is a potentially good side to identity politics, once seen with individuals such as Martin Luther King.
King, he notes, embraced his blackness and mobilised around it, but he did so in an inclusive way, attempting to work with white people, and indeed with any people, who supported his cause for equal treatment. This is good identity politics, Haidt argues.
Today, however, there is a new type of identity politics that is exclusive, that points the finger at anyone who is not black (for example), and that pushes, constantly, for grievance. This new outlook needs to find offence to maintain its sense of separation and victimhood, and as a result has become increasingly linked to the idea of cancel culture.
Relating to his own ‘Tell Us’–type set-up in his own university and the rise of the exclusive identity outlooks, Haidt explains that this results in academics feeling under pressure because they end up being reported ‘anonymously to HR or some other entity’. As a result, he says, ‘I’m going to think three times before I speak up’.
As the Hate Crime Act comes into force and universities become part of the McCarthyite hate-monitoring framework, the potential impact on academics, academic freedom, and a climate of open debate is chilling.
Beyond this, as we noted last week, in schools it would appear that children will also be dragged into the world of hate as schools ratchet up their reporting of kids to the police for, well, who knows what?
The fight against racism, homophobia and other prejudices often sounds progressive, but what is happening in Scotland right now is deeply troubling and deeply reactionary. We must oppose the Hate Crime Act, and institutions such as universities and schools need to take a step back and think about the unintended consequences of all this.
News round-up
A selection of the main stories with relevance to Scottish education in the press in recent weeks, by Simon Knight.
https://archive.is/RV5V9 Louisa Clarence-Smith, Teachers who use wrong pronouns could face legal challenges, unions warn. Draft transgender guidance for schools is not ‘legally sound’ says teaching union – and does not do enough to protect staff. 12/03/24
https://archive.is/b1P4U Daniel Sanderson, Police accused of parodying JK Rowling with ‘Jo’, who thinks trans people should go to gas chambers. Scottish force invents the fictional gender-critical character to illustrate a ‘scenario’ at session on hate crime. 20/03/24
https://metro.co.uk/2024/03/19/woke-linked-unhappiness-anxiety-study-finds-20489659/ Steve Charnock, Being ‘woke’ is linked to unhappiness, anxiety and depression, study finds. 19/03/24
https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/03/21/trans-ideology-is-far-from-defeated/ Joanna Williams, Trans ideology is far from defeated. Children in Scotland and Wales are still being encouraged to socially and medically transition. 21/03/24
https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/how-was-the-puberty-blocking-scandal-ever-allowed-to-happen/ Brendan O’Neill, How was the puberty blocking scandal ever allowed to happen? 17/03/24
https://dailysceptic.org/2024/03/20/r-i-p-the-scottish-enlightenment-1697-2024/ C. J. Strachan, R.I.P. The Scottish Enlightenment 1697–2024. 20/03/24
https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/03/24/the-nihilism-of-nonbinary/?utm_source=spiked+long-reads&utm_campaign=b3c936e36c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2024_03_24_02_59&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-b3c936e36c-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D Malcolm Clark, The nihilism of nonbinary. There is nothing liberating or progressive about erasing every trace of one’s sex. 24/03/24
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/23/how-covid-lockdowns-hit-mental-health-of-teenage-boys-hardest Hannah Fearn, How Covid lockdowns hit mental health of teenage boys hardest. New research findings are contrary to what had previously been thought about pandemic’s effect on children’s wellbeing. 23/03/24
https://substack.com/home/post/p-142887610?source=queue Frank Furedi, Why Mental-Health Disability Is Fast becoming The New Normal. Eroding The Line Between Health And Illness. 25/03/24
www.thetimes.co.uk/article/universities-have-forgotten-their-true-purpose-5pjlq3hwz Joanna Williams, Universities have forgotten their true purpose. Standards of learning have suffered as administrators increasingly focus on raising revenue from foreign students. 27/03/2024
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