A short revisit of the liberal-bias-in-higher-education argument

Michael Berube has a nice article about this in today's NYTimes Sunday magazine:

Every responsible teacher should think of the classroom as a relatively safe space, free of intimidation or coercion. But in return, every responsible student should realize that the classroom is only relatively safe, because arguing about ideas isn’t risk-free. Of course, students sometimes have qualms about taking classes with overtly partisan professors. “As conservatives,” Julie Aud, a student at the University of Indiana and press secretary for her chapter of the College Republicans, told CBS News, “we should never have to feel uncomfortable in the classroom because of our beliefs.” Perhaps so, but as students, you should expect to feel uncomfortable about your beliefs as a matter of course — that is, if your professors are doing their job properly, and keeping the floor open for every reasonable form of debate and disagreement.

Amen.

Someday I hope to grow up and have a house like Alain de Botton:

The message of my house is “Calm down,” which is good, because I am a sort of anxious person.
...
The library has floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and is a very, sort of, happy space, where people tend to feel excited because there are many books they can pick up and read.
...
When I was living here and there, I always said to myself, If I ever owned a house, what I’d really want is a carpenter to make me a giant desk. So now I have a desk that goes from one end of my study to the other. It is a very satisfying object.

Eddie Izzard

BBC America is doing a marathon of Eddie Izzard stand-up and I'm having a lovely nostalgic moment - sitting on an old mattress on the floor of the apartment Amelia shared with two of her Swarthmore friends, that summer spent as DC interns, with Brett bringing out homemade biscotti and yummy coffee. Izzard in the background just might make continuing to grade this first homework assignment bearable.