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As a student, it is up to you to research the school and the professors to determine what is a good fit for you.
I consider myself to be more of a left-leaning moderate but selected a graduate school that was known for being more middle of the road precisely because I wanted to expose myself to a variety of viewpoints.
I found that there were some professors that were ultra left and others that were ultra right, both of whom I avoided like the plague. I had friends who had a variety of viewpoints and found that many of them also preferred to avoid the professors with overt political viewpoints as well.
My favorite professor graded partially on participation to ensure that no political viewpoint would dominate the class. He clearly got annoyed when one fringe contingent dominated the class and no one even knew where to go.
Yeah, ok.
Your average 17 year old is going to research every single professor/teacher at every single college they apply to?
Not going to happen.
Look, the facts are what they are; you can encounter a nut job professor at any school. My friends, who sent their oldest to St. Joe's in Philly NEVER (she's a current sophomore) expected her "professor" to end up on Watter's World. And they ain't as white as the Dr. David Parry is, by any means. They are NOT happy with Dr. P. and are hoping that he gets fired.
You shouldn't have to be beholden as a student (or a parent) paying $0 - $60K+ in tuition to the idiots aka: Professors/teachers, pushing their worldview on you/your kid. Talk about a power play.
You really think a kid has the cajones to stand up to a professor/teacher? Few and far between...because they know the game. Instant bad grade.
Here's the beauty of paying a fortune for you kid to go to college: Your professor said what? Give me a few minutes, I have to find the # for the head of the dept and the dean...
Do NOT politicize my child's classes. Of any type.
Professors & teacher only need to teach the subject matter. Keep your personal BS to yourself. Leave your personal ideology/baggage at the door. Like every other professional is EXPECTED to and in every single other profession/work place.
Just TEACH.
That is all you are paid to do and with the cost of college today? That is ALL you need to do and you'd better be damn good at it.
Kids should make informed decisions at that age. I know I certainly did. There were certain professors to avoid and others that had classes that filled up immediately. Back when I was in school, we didn't have nearly so many resources available to figure out which professors to avoid as they have now.
The issue now is that students apply to 20+ colleges. 15-25 years ago, kids didn't apply to nearly that many. They could go visit the schools to see if they were a good fit and they either elect not to apply or not to go there if they didn't get the right vibe. If you are applying to 22 schools, it's just not feasible in terms of time or money to see every school to which you apply.
I can't tell you how many people I know in all age brackets who didn't end up getting their degree at their first university. I am not talking about people who started out at community/junior colleges, but people who started out a four-year institutions thinking they'd stay. Even if you do your best to research the institution, you might still end up at a school that is a poor fit. If that is the case, then the option is to transfer, not to complain about indoctrination. As a legal adult, it's time to make your own decisions and move to a school that better fits your interests and needs, not stand around whining about it all day.
Exposure to other views is important and should be part of college. However shaming or bashing should not be permitted.
One of my daughters was often singled out by two of her professors for the "Christian" viewpoint, and then sometimes ridiculed. Luckily she is unusually smart and was able to stand up for herself. She is actually a moderate or maybe better described as a mixed viewpoint person. Very much into special privileges for gay people or trans people, minorities etc., but very opposed to abortion. Very into helping the poor, but she feels people should do it because it is right, not by force, yet she feels income disparity is too extreme and something should be done (but recognizes what is being done is not the answer. Where she is liberal, she is so with common sense so she may agree something is a good idea while recognizing it is impractical. So, sometimes her responses shocked them and left the professor silent for a while. Some amusing stories.
Your average 17 year old is going to research every single professor/teacher at every single college they apply to?
Not going to happen.
Before applying no, but in 2017 when one is checking out a school I do expect a 17 yr old to use the mass of resources available, web sites, message boards, Facebook, college visits, asking admissions questions etc... The information is out there.
As for checking out professors, once one is in college there is again no excuse for that student to not use the resources available, sites like Rate My Professor or to ask friends etc...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Informed Info
You shouldn't have to be beholden as a student (or a parent) paying $0 - $60K+ in tuition to the idiots aka: Professors/teachers, pushing their worldview on you/your kid. Talk about a power play.
In ideal world you're probably right, but that is not reality. You are going to encounter people be it your professor or boss or coworker or best friend who has a different world view than you. It's a learning experience, listen to other view points and use that to strengthen your argument against those beliefs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Informed Info
Here's the beauty of paying a fortune for you kid to go to college: Your professor said what? Give me a few minutes, I have to find the # for the head of the dept and the dean...
Heres the beauty of a legal adult going to college, there is federal law (FERPA) that prevents the school from discussing your ADULT offspring with you. So go ahead and find that number and call the professor or dean and they'll tell you that they can't discuss this with you. Period.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Informed Info
You really think a kid has the cajones to stand up to a professor/teacher? Few and far between...because they know the game. Instant bad grade
Do NOT politicize my child's classes. Of any type.
Maybe if their parent didn't rush in to fight their battles for them in high school the child would of learned how to assert themselves, to find their voice and speak up for themselves. To challenge their teacher if they can back their position up and support it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Informed Info
Professors & teacher only need to teach the subject matter. Keep your personal BS to yourself. Leave your personal ideology/baggage at the door. Like every other professional is EXPECTED to and in every single other profession/work place.
Just TEACH.
That is all you are paid to do and with the cost of college today? That is ALL you need to do and you'd better be damn good at it.
In ideal world I guess this could work but a large part of college level courses is discussions, especially in a liberal arts program. When those discussions happen both students and professor have their own ideology and those beliefs influence their opinions. And that's really the beauty of it, that you are exposed to others view points and sometimes you might change your viewpoint or get someone else to change theres.
There is no reason to fear an educational discussion, it's a good thing to have.
Bottom line, per your own (numerous) posts, you picked a school where you do not feel you or your personal philosophies fit in, you don't like the atmosphere, don't enjoy campus life, and don't like how or with what frequency fellow students socialize. You have many previous posts that vocally illustrate that you would have preferred an intensely conservative institution with no parochial associations where you believe that your already deeply entrenched sociopolitical beliefs would not be offended by viewpoints counter to them.
Yet, you chose an apparently progressive-in-overall-atmosphere private liberal arts college, and now think not only that the institution should change its atmosphere and approach to suit you, you for some reason think that the parents of adult students should for some reason band together to attempt to ensure that students are not challenged in their beliefs at the college level. Which is bizarre.
You chose poorly. The adult thing to do would be to consider what to do about it...tough it out, for whatever personal reasons, knowing that you don't feel it is a good fit, or transfer somewhere that you feel will hinder your learning experience less. It's your degree, your money, your call. Nobody is making you attend school somewhere you don't want to be. In short, grow up.
And also? Know that in the world post-college, nobody is going to alter their views to suit yours. So if living and working in a sociopolitically homogenous atmosphere, lifelong, is a priority for you, accept that you're going to have to accept a pretty unrealistically cloistered existence. Odds are, others will "offend" you with their dissenting views. Regularly.
One of my daughters was often singled out by two of her professors for the "Christian" viewpoint, and then sometimes ridiculed. Luckily she is unusually smart and was able to stand up for herself. She is actually a moderate or maybe better described as a mixed viewpoint person. Very much into special privileges for gay people or trans people, minorities etc., but very opposed to abortion. Very into helping the poor, but she feels people should do it because it is right, not by force, yet she feels income disparity is too extreme and something should be done (but recognizes what is being done is not the answer. Where she is liberal, she is so with common sense so she may agree something is a good idea while recognizing it is impractical. So, sometimes her responses shocked them and left the professor silent for a while. Some amusing stories.
Students at reputable institutions of higher learning are rarely, if ever, singled out or ridiculed by educators for their religious or political beliefs. In my experience, and from conversations with friends who have attended other institutions, professors expected their students to be capable and respectful thinkers, listeners, and speakers. They did not expect students to espouse homogeneous viewpoints on issues both political and non-political, and they most certainly did not expect students to have the same approach to problems. Part of the excitement of an academic atmosphere is interacting with bright young minds who are brave and innovative enough to challenge the paradigm. They are the ones who will come up with novel ideas and solutions.
I would say that professors at reputable institutions, even ones more traditionally aligned with "liberal" atmospheres, are more often left speechless because of a student's lack of opinion or lack of introspection. The ability to think, defend, and disagree politely? That's expected and rarely leaves anyone speechless.
If one finds his or her professors frequently speechless because of differences in opinion (that are well-thought-out and well-articulated), then it might be time to consider attending a more rigorous institution.
In what context was your daughter "singled-out" or "ridiculed"? In what context did she express her "Christian viewpoints"? It's impossible for us to sympathize since we don't have all the facts, but I do hope it wasn't blatant religious intolerance. And if it was, I hope she brought the matter to the administration's attention.
Last edited by hellopity; 02-23-2017 at 11:59 AM..
I always thought that teachers should encourage their students to think independently, learn to research, evaluate, analyze and express their views. Overall - inform themselves and build their own opinion.
In a political class they should have two projects:
1. Act like a conservatist, research and express the pros and cons.
2. Act like a liberal, research and express the pros and cons.
And THEN, build their own opinion out of all the info they gathered.
Teaching them what they HAVE to think, whom to like and whom to hate is absolutely wrong. Teachers are abusing their power by brainwashing students.
Teaching them what they HAVE to think, whom to like and whom to hate is absolutely wrong. Teachers are abusing their power by brainwashing students.
We have an account from the OP only. I would not jump to any conclusions at this point, except to encourage the OP to act like an adult and address the specific concerns with his/her educators. There are mechanisms to address these issues and the OP has said he/she has zero desire to address them like an adult. That is the real problem here.
The OP is not a K-12 public school student, but rather a young adult who has chosen a private college that is more socially liberal in character than he is comfortable with. He obviously has every right to attend or not attend. College is not compulsory, nor is it necessary that he enroll or remain enrolled at a school that is not a good fit for him.
To the OP, it is interesting that you appear to be of the opinion that parents of young adults in college ought to have a say in how private liberal arts colleges are run and what the overall political atmosphere at a given school is.
If you are not happy with the political climate at your school, and you feel it is negatively impacting your learning experience, transfer to a school that better suits your preferences. You are, after all, an adult. What does parental opinion of how colleges are run have to do with anything?
This. The OP chose that school. Sounds like it wasn't a good fit. The OP is free to transfer to another school.
I also find it hard to believe that he was "required" for a class assignment to include a couple of sentences bashing Trump in an essay. Unless he was at a flaming liberal school like Oberlin, professors don't dictate what opinions must go into an assignment.
And I'm curious why attendance of a rally was mandatory for a class. What course was that? What was the stated purpose of having students attend?
What's interesting about the OP is that he's defended his school vehemently against suggestions in his other threads that he transfer out, by saying that it was the academic programs for which he chose the school in the first place. Now, suddenly, he wants us to believe that the academics don't suit him. I call BS on the whole thing.
P.S. OP, feminism is "plain old equality", as you put it. You have an erroneous understanding of feminism. It also sounds like you're tuned into the wrong news channel. You're posting some bizarre fake news, which is alarming for someone in school to develop their analytical skills. Your posts on this thread read not like a young student at all, but like an adult from the Politics forum posting a rant disguised as an "education" issue.
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 02-23-2017 at 12:23 PM..
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