Oops, I did it again? Arnn strikes differing tones in Tennessean, USA Today op-eds

Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn penned two op-eds last week to try to explain his remarks about teachers and education programs. “Teachers are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country,” Arnn said at the event attended by Gov. Bill Lee, who has refused to repudiate the comment.

One of Arnn’s op-eds appeared in The Tennessean while the other was published in Gannett’s flagship USA Today. They struck surprisingly differing tones. In the USA Today piece, Arnn started out by declaring “I have said this many times, in public and in private, and will likely say it again.” He also said he’d apologize to Lee if he caused him any embarrassment.

Arnn did not pledge to “say it again” in the Tennessean item and also made no offer of apology to Lee. Both op-eds are dated July 18 and it’s unclear why Arnn took differing approaches for the national and local audiences.

Here’s the top of the Arnn piece in The Tennessean:

At a recent event with Gov. Bill Lee, I remarked that “Teachers are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country.” I’ve made similar critiques of the education bureaucracy my entire career.

This does not contradict my deep and abiding affection for teachers. After the students, the most important people in the college where I work are teachers (the maintenance workers are third — and I tell everyone this often).

Dumb can mean “unintelligent,” which I did not mean. Dumb also means “ill-conceived” or “misdirected,” which is, sadly, a fitting description for many education schools today.

And here’s how Arnn started out in in USA Today:

During a recent event in Nashville, I made news by saying, “Teachers are trained in the dumbest parts of the dumbest colleges in the country.”

I have said this many times, in public and in private, and will likely say it again. This time it was important because Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee was present. Many were outraged. I was not speaking for the governor, and I would rather do anything than embarrass him. If I have done that, I apologize to him.