Plan B Forum

A college textbook has come under fire from students for suggesting that Ronald Reagan was sexist and that conservatives are pessimistic about human nature and view people as ‘corrupt and lazy’.

Introduction to Social Work & Social Welfare: Critical Thinking, a textbook used at the University of South Carolina, angered one student studying there so much that she was tempted to throw it in the bin.

The book, by Karen Kirst-Ashman, quoting from various academic works, says that conservatives 'tend to take a basically pessimistic view of human nature' with 'people conceived of as being corrupt, self-centered, lazy, and incapable of true charity'.

The 40th president, it is stated, ‘ascribed to women primarily domestic functions’ and ‘failed to appoint many women to significant positions of power during his presidency’.

The book adds that Reagan 'failed to appoint many women to significant positions of power during his presidency'.

And conservatives, it is argued, 'oppose change and thrive on tradition'. Anna Chapman, 19, secretary of the school's College Republicans, was left feeling outraged.

She told Fox News: ‘I was absolutely shocked and was tempted to throw the book away. I would even write comments in the actual textbook next to some of the offensive things that I read. I didn’t know that this is what I had signed up for.’




http://campusreform.org/?ID=5441

And conservatives, it is argued, 'oppose change and thrive on tradition'. Anna Chapman, 19, secretary of the school's College Republicans, was left feeling outraged.

con·serv·a·tive
[kuhn-sur-vuh-tiv] Show IPA
adjective
1.
disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.
2.
cautiously moderate or purposefully low: a conservative estimate.
3.
traditional in style or manner; avoiding novelty or showiness: conservative suit.
4.
( often initial capital letter ) of or pertaining to the Conservative party.
5.
( init

Polemic writings have a place in college courses, and are important to aid students to develop critical thinking skills.

The 40th president, it is stated, ‘ascribed to women primarily domestic functions’ and ‘failed to appoint many women to significant positions of power during his presidency’.

The book adds that Reagan 'failed to appoint many women to significant positions of power during his presidency'.

1981

The first female Supreme Court justice – Republican Sandra Day O’Connor – is appointed by President Ronald Reagan.

President Reagan appoints the first woman U.S. Representative to the United Nations, Jeane Kirkpatrick.

President Reagan also appoints the first female director of presidential personnel, Helene von Damm.

1982
In his first two years in office, President Reagan appoints more women to serve in top policy-making positions than any other president for a comparable period of time (105 positions).

1983
The first woman appointed Secretary of the Department of Transportation is a Republican – Elizabeth Dole of Kansas. She is appointed by President Reagan.

The first time in history three women serve concurrently in a president’s cabinet – Elizabeth Dole, Secretary of Transportation; Margaret Heckler, Secretary of Health and Human Services; and, Jeane Kirkpatrick, U.S. Representative to the United Nations. [overall 18% of Mr. Reagan's Cabinet or Cabinet level appointments were women. May not sound like much today, but at the time it was far and away the highest percentage in US history. The percentage for his immediate predecessor, by contrast (who's name escapes me at the moment) was 11%]