Attacking the Therapeutic Society
The Clare Booth Luce Policy Institute has run a review of Christina Hoff Sommers' and Sally Satel's book, One Nation Under Therapy: How the Helping Culture Is Eroding Self-Reliance. We'd give the review a five, on a scale of 1-10, but the book sounds pretty good. Link. Excerpt:
Sensitivity monitors not only whitewash recess, but also history books and standardized tests. For instance, a narrative on black inventor and scientist George Washington Carver, who found many new uses for peanuts, was expunged from a Riverside Publishing national achievement test because, among other politically correct reasons, it might offend students who are allergic to peanuts. Likewise, a story that compares a decaying tree stump that houses a variety of insects, plants and animals to an apartment complex was removed because students “who have grown up in a housing project may be distracted by similarities to their own living conditions. An emotional response may be triggered.”
Satel and Sommers correctly note:
The idea that kids can cope with only the blandest of stories is preposterous. Staples like “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Jack and the Beanstalk,” and “Hansel and Gretel” delight children despite (or because of) their ghoulish aspects. Kids love to hear ghost stories on Halloween and to ride rollercoasters, screaming as they hurtle down the inclines. Therapeutic protectiveness is like putting blinders on children before taking them for a walk through a vibrant countryside.
