Anti-Intellectualism Affects Quality of Education

I have been reading Susan Jacoby's The Age of American Unreason, and while I am really enjoying it, I also find much of it very depressing. The role of anti-intellectualism in undermining education is quite clear, both historically and in modern times. Moreover, it is clear that anti-intellectualism varies considerably from region to region.

Mississippi leads the U.S. on many indicators of religiosity, and those of us who live here know that it is not just some abstract form of religion that pervades our culture but evangelical fundamentalist Christianity. Thus, it seems reasonable to speculate that our state would come out near the top on a per capita measure of biblical literalists. Is it any wonder that our educational system is in shambles?

Jacoby's book is helpful in understanding the historical factors which led to widespread anti-intellectualism in the South, and it is worth noting that she does not consider fundamentalist Christianity to be the only cause. Regardless of the causes, it is clear that public attitudes toward education play a role in public attitudes toward funding education.

When I see that our governor is advocating even larger cuts to education, I am outraged. Part of this comes from my understanding of the utility of education in lifting people out of poverty and combating the many other social ills which plague our state. Part of my reaction comes from the idea that one does not improve a seriously failing system by cutting the budget even further. Part of it comes with my amazement that our elected officials are placing their own job security above the good of our state by refusing to raise taxes to support public education. And yes, part of my reaction comes from my belief that anti-intellectualism is playing a role here.

Undoubtedly, a strong and adequately funded system of public education is essential for Mississippi if we are to have any hope of advancing our position on the many lists of social ills. But this need seems to be so intertwined with the pervasive anti-intellectualism in our area that I'm not sure they can be meaningfully separated. We need a cultural shift in how education is valued.

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