She went on “In this class, homophobic comments, racist comments, will not be tolerated.” She then invited the student to drop the class.
Which the student is doing.
http://mu-warrior.blogspot.in/2014/11/marquette-philosophy-instructor-gay.html?
PS: The comments are fun to read.
Contingent Cassandra brought this matter to our attention in this comment [link], in which she linked to an InsideHigherEd article about it.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that McAdams described events in the classroom as if he'd been a first-hand witness, but then later admitted that only the after-class conversation was recorded, and that his account was not even directly quoting that event. In the comment section on his blog, we are invited to read another account. I may be biased in my interpretation of McAdams' blog, but I do think it's a case of him yelling "there's fire" after having been told of what was perhaps steam.
Is there a way to separate the linked articles from the real posts. Most of these articles I see on Facebook or are distributed by "well-meaning" colleagues already. I come to the page to see new material from the readers. Maybe you could just put links in the sidebar or something so that the page would only feature original material, which is sort of what you promised us. Thanks. No offense.
ReplyDeleteNo offense taken, Reg. I've decided that I like something on the page every day, even if it's just a quick linked article. I think the sidebar idea has merit, and if we ever get too busy with original material I'll consider it. Cheers.
DeleteThe RGM
No offense, Reg, but you could always start your own blog and make your own rules.
ReplyDeleteWithout regard to the merits of this case, do those in the majority ever encourage debate about an issue?
ReplyDeleteReading the actual details of the case, not the gibberish posted by the McAdams twit, it looks to me like a combination of three things.
ReplyDelete1. An inexperienced instruction. That's not a criticism or a flaw or blame-casting. We were all inexperienced once, and some days I still feel like I am. It took me five years to figure out how to manage a class even halfway.
2. A student with an axe to grind. Who the hell records their professor? That's actually a clause in my very long syllabus: no recording without permission, and lectures remain my intellectual property.
3. A situation where the inexperienced instructor was valiantly trying to keep a class focused on the topic at hand, while a student with a dull axe was desperately trying to get her to descend into a "controversy" rabbit hole. The discussion topic, applying the ideas to the reading to current events, inherently leads to such rabbit holes, and that's where the inexperience comes in. If I were to do an assignment like that (and I have -- I sometimes teach stuff that contains controversial stuff about religion and science), I would have contingency plans in place.
None of this, though, is the instructor's fault, and I hope that her department realizes that and gives her a pat on the back and makes her a cup of tea, and says "this is some of the shit you'll have to eat as a prof. Sorry."