Beyond that, her post runs counter to the kind of model of higher education that Horowitz, Neal, Balch et al. imply exists at our colleges and universities today.  They would have us believe that faculty members see students as a monolith of naïve and powerless consumers who need to be converted to the politics of the radical left rather than experiencing a "real" and "balanced" education.  This of course makes sense in a world where you see education as a delivery system in which your main goal is to control the outcome.

But higher education, as Crazy's post demonstrates, is more complicated than that.  Her model of higher education teaching, which I think is much more in line with most faculty members' thinking, clearly involves an expansive and complex notion of what can happen in the college classroom (thank goodness).  At the same time it is grounded firmly in where her students come from intellectually and culturally.   She is not trying to convert students, but rather encourage curiosity, to encourage complex thinking, empower students, and broaden their world view-not impose hers.

Ultimately though it was her passion and commitment that came through (and came through again in a more recent post concerning her development as a teachers) and I think we need to hear more of that in the public arena.  The attacks of Horowitz and Company gain traction because not enough people understand what really happens in college classrooms, the investment faculty make to ensure that happens, and why that is so critical for our country's overall strength-both culturally and economically. 

That is why we launched the Campus Voices campaign and are encouraging students and faculty to participate in our Student Voices and Faculty Voices video/essay contest to gather those stories.

But to add to that effort, I want to see if we can generate more discussions like those Dr. Crazy initiated.  So I am challenging faculty to tell us why they teach and do the work they do and why academic freedom is critical to that effort. 

First of all I challenge all the other Free Exchange bloggers to weigh in here at Free Exchange or on their own blogs with their thoughts on those questions.  But I am also going to tag five other bloggers and ask them to weigh in on the matter and then tag five other bloggers to tell their stories.  My choices to start this meme are:

Crooked Timber's Michael Bérubé
Tenured Radical
The Constructivist
New Kid on the Hallway
Sherman Dorn

So "tag" you're it.  Let's hear what folks have to say and we will try to keep track of that here at Free Exchange.   And for all of you who aren't blogging but have a response, add them to the comments.