Emeritus Professor Serves as VP, Leads Discussions for the Shared Learning Association of Chapel Hill
Henry Jay Becker, Emeritus Professor of the UC Irvine Department of Education, is continuing to stimulate thinking and support lifelong learning as Vice President of the Shared Learning Association of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
While a professor in the Department of Education, Dr. Becker taught courses and conducted research in the areas of survey research, evaluation research, educational technology, instructional reform, computer usage, statistical analysis, sociology of education, middle school curricula, high school reform, school restructuring, social studies education, and mathematics education.
Currently a resident of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Professor Becker is leading Shared Learning Association discussion groups that explore the following three theories of how conservatives and liberals differ at their roots:
- Thomas Sowell's contrast between "constrained" and "unconstrained" views of human nature--i.e., human perfectability and the degree to which public policy can be effectively designed through the use of expertise--rationality--vs. the wisdom of cultural traditions. (A Conflict of Visions, Thomas Sowell)
- George Lakoff's theory of the deep cognitive basis for people's preferences for either a "strong father" form of family and of national leadership or a "nurturant parenting" form of family and national leadership. (Whose Freedom?, George Lakoff)
- The basic sociological perspective that it is economic and social reference groups that determine people's politics: e.g., people's identification with corporate interests and wealth vs. their identification with those groups' adversaries--consumers, labor, and environmentalists.
In describing his "retirement" activities, Professor Becker comments, "This is the perfect venue for me: I'm forced to read, to take notes, to verbalize my understanding, and to listen to counter-arguments, without having to do the even harder work of writing a coherent essay or designing a research study!"
Professor Becker also is presenting a class on Energy, Climate, and Water.
Delivering this class is forcing me to try to understand what is known and what remains unknown about man-made global warming; to assess the realistic likelihood that solar and wind energies will ever provide more than a small fraction of needed energy supplies; to understand the environmental impact of new forms of oil and natural gas drilling; and to assess the possibilities for carbon capture and sequestration to manage the CO2 problem. These are all way too technical to really understand but worth the effort to learn something about since the consequences for our children and grandchildren are so great.
Professor Becker welcomes communication at hjbecker@uci.edu.
