Fascinating documentary on life at a Fundie "University"

[artschooldropout]

Link to part 1:

So much snark potential here. It's kinda like Jesus Camp: The College Years.

[DomWackTroll]

Thanks for the link! I'll definitely be watching this one.

[Carla Bruni]

Love how they compare themselves to the Ivies. Yeah, no. The basis of any quality education is academic & intellectual FREEDOM.

Also, in the other parts, they talk about how they teach Biblical "science", among other equally ridiculous things. How does this place maintain accreditation?!

[IReallyAmHopewell]

This is the college for high-flying homeschoolers who want to take Dominion. They've beaten Harvard at debate......... If you want to see a real nightmare look at Hyles Anderson College in northern Indiana or Penscacola Christian U

[Daenerys]

This is the college for high-flying homeschoolers who want to take Dominion. They've beaten Harvard at debate......... If you want to see a real nightmare look at Hyles Anderson College in northern Indiana or Penscacola Christian U

What's Dominion?

And yeah, although their education is hugely biased and strange (science class OMG) it does seem to be pretty effective when they have got so many people into the Government and are absolute BEASTS at debate.

[Carla Bruni]

I'd argue, in light of the latest headlines, that the US government does not attract our best & brightest, and a good debate team does not a solid university make...

[tropaka]

Dominion - goal for Christianity to become the central authority in public and private life...Theocracy...

This is the college/man (Farris) who fired a prof who suggested that works other than the Bible (like those of Plato, for instance) might be of use in education. A number of other profs quit in solidarity. Forget academic freedom.

[FearLyss]

I watched this last night and wanted to come here to discuss but then I got high . . .jk :?

Holy fucking shit! These students weren't being taught how to think for themselves, just to repeat what they've been taught. I just felt so sad for them. They are so sheltered, then they go to college, where the sheltering continues. I felt like I was watching a bunch of christian animatronics.

The most shocking thing for me was to see how everything was about politics. I knew this was their goal, but for some reason, I was really upset by it. It scares me. I don't give a fuck what people believe, but their goal to force everyone to follow their rules (based in their religion) is terrifying.

And when the women spoke during class, I wanted to cry.

[Dutch_girl]

That guy gives me shivers down my spine.. and not in a good way

[DomWackTroll]

Okay, I watched it, and now I'm having to re-charge my gaydar because it went off so many times-- on both sexes.

[Jana814]

Okay, I watched it, and now I'm having to re-charge my gaydar because it went off so many times-- on both sexes.

I watch the first 3 parts!! I agree w/ u on the gaydar thing!

[wayward]

Took a look at their academic catalog. It seems like the only math class offered at PHC is "Euclidean geometry," which most people take sophomore year of high school. The fundie colleges do seem to lack academic rigor -- IIRC, Pensacola Christian College supposedly offers a major in "engineering," but graduates from non-accredited schools are usually not eligible for professional licensing.

[Kellbells]

Confession: I thought evil things about the way that kid was handling the sausage. No, I'm not a 15 year old nor am I male. Carry on...

Edited for riffles.

[CynicMom]

Highlights:

Not-gay-at-all high school senior skillfully handling sausage (end of part 1)

A Holt kid (Jacob Holt)? Isn't this a family we follow? He looks like he hasn't had enough food. (interviewed in part 2)

Students being made to sign an agreement to, among other things, "resolve all arguments Biblically" (what, with stones??) (first part of part 3)

Also, they were separated by gender. (why??) (same part)

The claim that Christianity is better than other religions because it's older (????????????)

International Equality is a myth, because little countries don't have what it takes to force peace on Africa. (part 3.5)

Asshole mansplaining to women about the importance of traditional gender roles. Woman, "I think women have it harder than men." Also the problem with women leaders is that men are assholes. (part 4 4:50)

[salex]

Okay, I watched it, and now I'm having to re-charge my gaydar because it went off so many times-- on both sexes.

Something I am wondering about-- gaydar isn't needed for people who are "out" with their sexuality. I wonder how many of the pings we are getting on "hidden sexuality" might be just sexuality in general--heterosexuality or homosexuality, both are equally stifled wtih these kids/people. Not to mention the "holy mannerisms" my husband's hetero nephew developed when he was a young minister (he is not a minister any longer) that seemed pretty darn swish, but were affectations he developed as he developed his ministry, apparently to look/seem more pastorial.

.

I find the bit in part 2 that mentions they are proud to be homogeneous since they bring in home schoolers who are much like one another. Most universities try to give a mix of new and different people, not here you are, all the same.

[GenerationCedarchip]

I have to admit that I was watching this with great interest because I've known plenty of PHC grads - you can't go to court in parts of Virginia without encountering them. A lot of them are very smart, though the lack of science ed. in that school is really sad. Less well known is that tons of these grads are now starting to reach pretty influential roles in lobby shops, state government, the military and some of the academic institutions(at least the liberal arts departments.) For a small and sill relatively obscure school, they punch way above their weight when it comes to exercising influence. Scary place.

Interestingly enough, there's a not so subtle rivalry going on with Liberty. Liberty is a much bigger school but their graduates tend by and large to be nowhere near as successful. Living in Virginia I get to hear some of the snotty comments made back and forth.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I find the bit in part 2 that mentions they are proud to be homogeneous since they bring in home schoolers who are much like one another. Most universities try to give a mix of new and different people, not here you are, all the same.

One of the goals of most universities is to force people to confront people who are different from them and who have different ideas from them, so that they can sharpen their beliefs in conflict and gain new perspectives.

Fundie learning, on the other hand, is all about accepting truth from authority. The ideal environment for that is one where everyone agrees on the authority figure. At the most extreme they only argue over the precise interpretation (in what they sincerely believe is the best literal way - no "it's a metaphor" here, no no no) of what exactly the agreed-upon authority figure said. Dig into the text and find meaning in that limited sample of words, from the same background.

I have no doubt that a lot of them are very bright people. But they're playing a different game than most colleges are, from the beginning.

[MrsYoungie]

Highlights:

Not-gay-at-all high school senior skillfully handling sausage (end of part 1)

A Holt kid (Jacob Holt)? Isn't this a family we follow? He looks like he hasn't had enough food. (interviewed in part 2)

Students being made to sign an agreement to, among other things, "resolve all arguments Biblically" (what, with stones??) (first part of part 3)

Also, they were separated by gender. (why??) (same part)

The claim that Christianity is better than other religions because it's older (????????????)

International Equality is a myth, because little countries don't have what it takes to force peace on Africa. (part 3.5)

Asshole mansplaining to women about the importance of traditional gender roles. Woman, "I think women have it harder than men." Also the problem with women leaders is that men are assholes. (part 4 4:50)

Where's my brain bleach when I need it? That girl explaining how men don't like it when you want to play frisbee (or some such rubbish) was hurting me.

Jacob Holt was one of the fellows in the Washington interview segment. Is he one of "our" Holt family?

[lemonhead]

That guy gives me shivers down my spine.. and not in a good way

That guy (I assume you mean Farris, the college pres/chancellor) is also the founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association. Google "michael farris abuse" to find lots of interesting information about his views on child abuse and parental rights. My parents were never dues-paying members of the HSLDA, but they drank the koolaid nonetheless. He holds some extremely troubling and harmful views, and this documentary was frightening and bizarre at the same time.

Fun fact: PHC does not have "real" regional accreditation as we think of it; it is accredited by the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, the same body that accredits such academic gems as Bob Jones, Heritage Bible College, Pensacola CC, and the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology (a school founded by Dan Allender and now led by Keith Anderson, purveyors of a particularly toxic flavor of "Christian" psychology). But I digress. Suffice to say, this kind of accreditation in no way indicates any degree of serious academic rigor, and also explains how they get away with teaching creationism in biology classes.

[NurseNell]

Interestingly enough, there's a not so subtle rivalry going on with Liberty. Liberty is a much bigger school but their graduates tend by and large to be nowhere near as successful. Living in Virginia I get to hear some of the snotty comments made back and forth.

VA is also home to the very conservative Catholic Christendom College. That where Doug is a Tool's brother goes, or has graduated from. Yes, Doug is a Tool's brother and mother are Catholic. The difference at Christendom is that real math and science is taught, along with philosophy.

I have a high school classmate who has her doctorate in nursing and teaches at Liberty. I never understood how she ended up in that environment. Her family were generic Protestants, nothing conservative. She's been married twice. Liberty would be the last place I'd expect to find her teaching.

[Miggy]

The Christianity is old so it must be right argument made me laugh. I always counter this with "So does that mean Hinduism, Buddhism & Judaism are even more right?" Amazing how many Christians, even liberals, are unaware of how much older the Asian religions are. (I am Christian but I have actually bothered to learn something about other religions.)

[Megan]

I have to admit that I was watching this with great interest because I've known plenty of PHC grads - you can't go to court in parts of Virginia without encountering them. A lot of them are very smart, though the lack of science ed. in that school is really sad. Less well known is that tons of these grads are now starting to reach pretty influential roles in lobby shops, state government, the military and some of the academic institutions(at least the liberal arts departments.) For a small and sill relatively obscure school, they punch way above their weight when it comes to exercising influence. Scary place.

Interestingly enough, there's a not so subtle rivalry going on with Liberty. Liberty is a much bigger school but their graduates tend by and large to be nowhere near as successful. Living in Virginia I get to hear some of the snotty comments made back and forth.

I remember hearing about Falwell wanting Liberty to be like Notre Dame and BYU - to be a university young Evangelicals can follow in sports and hear about all the time (Maybe from Kevin Roose's book about studying there?). They're going more for being accepted in the NCAA or something in order to gain social power. Patrick Henry wants to take over politically and they've been scarily successful.

[marmalade]

With that kind of accreditation, what law schools will take their grads? How can a Christian law school ever hope to be able to defend itself against the laws, which are secular?

The "science" lesson made me want to pull my hair out. How can supposedly educated people teach young earth creation? Hell, their justifications for everything were laughable.

I remember the Harris twins went there, already expert debaters before they set foot on campus. I wonder what they're doing now that they've given up the Do Hard Things: The Tour! gigs?

[ohnomoe]

That creeped me out. My mental alarm bells went off immediately when the politicians and school founder were explaining why they love homeschool kids from this university so much. I'm sure those kids are smart but that cannot think for themselves without the assistance of the bible.

Or maybe I'm wrong. Hoax or real? http://queerphc.wordpress.com

[lilwriter85]

Thanks for the link, I'll watch it tomorrow.