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"It is really not a question of liberal versus conservative."
In an article in the Southeast Missourian, ACTA president Anne Neal supplied this pitch-perfect description of HB 213:
"This is really an issue of professional standards," said Anne Neal, president of the group."This a question of higher education accountability, making sure students are guaranteed a quality education in the classroom."
Said Neal, "It is really not a question of liberal versus conservative."
She said a recent study, commissioned by her group, found that nearly half of the students at the nation's top 50 universities found politics was frequently interjected into classes, even when it had nothing to do with the subject.
A third of the students surveyed said they felt they would receive lower grades if they disagreed with their professors, Neal said.
Posted by cmitchell on January 25, 2007 at January 25, 2007 10:38 AM
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"This is really an issue of professional standards,"
Well, it ought to be, but it isn't. A fundamental part of the problem is that college teachers are not professionals. They are not, for example, rigorously tested in their skills by testers with no interest in the outcome of the testing (as in professional contexts, such as law and medicine). They are, further, not held to professional standards in their work and conduct, as is done in professional licensing and review contexts (think, again, of licensing and disciplinary processes in law and medicine). Anyone who can convince a graduate school somewhere to issue a Ph.D. in return for tuition can teach at American colleges, including political activists with no skills or interest whatsoever in teaching and scholarship.
Anyone can convince some grad school somewhere to trade tuition for a diploma.
Anyone.
Until college teaching becomes a profession, unprofessional (even abusive) conduct will not only persist, but become increasingly common. You can't rationally expect professional conduct from people who simply are not professionals.
Posted by: Federal Dog at January 25, 2007 02:34 PM