Freedom and Responsibility: The Campus as Testing Ground. Plenary Session Addresses of the Annual Meeting of the American Council on Education (San Francisco, California, February 7-10, 1998).

Overview & Synopsis

The five speeches in this collection all address issues concerned with freedom and responsibility in American education, especially higher education. The first speech, "Freedom, Coercion, and Authority" is by Robert N. Bellah. Bellah argues that freedom must be balanced not only by responsibility but by authority, and urges universities not to abandon their traditional role of producing educated human beings not technicians. The second speech is "Balancing Freedom and Responsibility with the New Market Forces" by Paul A. Elsner. Elsner focuses on challenges and issues faced by the community college sector. Third, Howard Fuller in "Reforming K-12 Education in America," focuses on the unsolved educational problems of poor children, especially poor children of color in urban areas and the relationship of colleges to these areas. The fourth speech is "Higher Education for the 21st Century" by the Honorable Richard W. Riley, U.S. Secretary of Education, who addresses such issues as the role of higher education in strengthening elementary and secondary schools, the need to increase diversity in higher education institutions, and the need for well-trained K-12 teachers. The last paper is "Preparing Our Children for College" by the Honorable Donna Shalala, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Shalala reviews some Clinton administration accomplishments in education and health and urges greater involvement by higher education in such health issues as tobacco and alcohol abuse. (DB)