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This professor sounds incompetent. When the student refused to stomp on the word Jesus, it would have been the perfect moment to teach the class about the power of religious symbols and freedom of religion in the US. He could have pointed out to the class that while no one is prohibited from stepping on the paper, no one is compelled to either. Apparently that was beyond his comprehension.
I'm amazed at the number of idiots out there with a PHD after their names. No doubt a pseudo-apology will be issued and he will continue his malpractice on the taxpayers' dime.
Once one idiot gets a PhD and then sits on the dissertation committee for the next PhD it become easier for that idiot to get it. It grows exponentially over time.
Once one idiot gets a PhD and then sits on the dissertation committee for the next PhD it become easier for that idiot to get it. It grows exponentially over time.
Well, this is an unranked University. The professors there are hardly at the top of their field.
Its interesting how MOST IDIOTS will back down when under public spotlight!
What is even more interesting is how vicious, vindictive, and self-righteous they can be when they think they are free from it. Bullies are people who use their power to intimidate and/or punish others and that is what that professor was trying to do. I hate bullies.
Quote from the article: Faculty and students at academic institutions pursue knowledge and engage in open discourse. While at times the topics discussed may be sensitive, a university environment is a venue for such dialogue and debate," the school told WPRC in an email
Anybody think that the school would write the word Mohammed on a piece of paper, and ask students to stomp on it, in an effort to open dialogue?
Me neither.
I like that I did NOT see in the article that the attending teacher (obviously not a well educated Professor) is Vice Chair of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party.
Have you given up on the idea that the kid deserved an F?
If the story is that the kid didn't participate in the assignment (which is what the kid claims) then an F is reasonable for the assignment/participation. Not for the entire class, however.
If the story is that the kid participated but refused to stomp on the paper (which is in line with the assignment), then an F doesn't seem appropriate.
If the story is that the kid behaved outrageously, then he should have been suspended. There is nothing reported that the kid behaved outrageously. But that's the only reasonable situation in which suspension could be warranted, IMO.
I still stand behind the idea I (and others) mentioned earlier. We don't have the entire story.
If the story is that the kid didn't participate in the assignment (which is what the kid claims) then an F is reasonable for the assignment/participation. Not for the entire class, however.
If the story is that the kid participated but refused to stomp on the paper (which is in line with the assignment), then an F doesn't seem appropriate.
If the story is that the kid behaved outrageously, then he should have been suspended. There is nothing reported that the kid behaved outrageously. But that's the only reasonable situation in which suspension could be warranted, IMO.
I still stand behind the idea I (and others) mentioned earlier. We don't have the entire story.
I don't think we have the entire story either but I absolutely believe if it got out of hand, the fault lies with the professor. He knew he was assigning a potentially problematic exercise and he should have been prepared to defuse any over-the-top reactions. If he didn't know that was a possibility, I almost think it's worse because that is an indication that he himself is not culturally sensitive, and he had no business doing the exercise or, in my opinion, even teaching the class. Being culturally sensitive means acknowledging and accommodating all cultures as much as possible not just the cultures the professor deems worthy.
The kid participated, even if that participation was refusing to stomp on the paper. Obviously, the kid participated in a discussion about the exercise or the professor would have no grounds to ask the school to suspend him. Providing the kid wrote down something on the paper, he participated. I don't think even these yahoos are stupid enough to claim complaining about a professor to the proper channels justifies suspending a student.
If the kid behaved outrageously enough to be punished, the professor should be sanctioned even more, it was HIS responsibility to keep the situation under control. Ask any teacher, of any level - the instructor is the one responsible for maintaining a safe classroom environment, including an emotionally safe one.
Universities need to better vet who they allow to teach these type of classes. Way too many of the instructors come in with their own agenda. Considering that these type of classes are supposed to eliminate that type of behavior, it really is ridiculous and, in case no one picked up on it, I have a real beef with that.
I like that I did NOT see in the article that the attending teacher (obviously not a well educated Professor) is Vice Chair of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party.
Nothing like hiding the details.
Apparently this group has issues with Christianity.
Media fail: Stomp Jesus FAU professor is a Dem. Party official
While the incident has made the news, the media has failed to report a key component of Poole’s resume: He is vice-chairman of the Palm Beach County Democratic Party. His recent actions add fire to an already-disturbing pattern of hate coming out of the local party.
Mark Siegel, the former chairman of the county Democratic Party, was forced to resign in September under a barrage of criticism over an anti-Christian tirade at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.
Siegel, who is Jewish, told an interviewer at the convention that pro-Israel Christians want to see Jews “slaughtered.”
“Oh no, the Christians just want us to be there so we can all be slaughtered and converted and bring on the second coming of Jesus Christ,” he said at the time.
The assignment clearly was intended to cause emotions to be inflamed. It wouldn't have mattered which religious figure was part of the assignment. When you involve insulting someone's religion into a subject, it is going to inflame passions. The professor should have known this when he came up with this idea. The professor should never have assigned this. Many academic types get stuck in their own world and forget about the real world effects their ideas might have.
The second thing I think is a bit scary is that a big part of intellectual life and academia is learning and hearing from opposing opinions. So many important figures in world and academic history have studied with and been lectured by people that held completely opposite points of view. If we are at a point where all university studies are now indoctrination into the viewpoint of the professor, we have degraded from where we used to be in terms of diverging viewpoints. George Bernard Shaw and GK Chesterton were the best of friends despite having opposite viewpoints.
These cultural sensitivity course requirements are really silly. Its just another fluff course that the university makes big money off of that serves no valuable purpose. Universities are meant to be institutions of learning not institutions of trying to force a viewpoint on someone.
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