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Well, I'm glad that you all haven't experienced it. In other threads, a lot of posters agreed that this sort of thing seems to happen in the lesser universities. I agreed, until I saw the article re: Obama's speech.
Now, I know that college campuses are notoriously liberal and political. But when you actually have a president telling students not to get involved in party politics, there is obviously something going on.
On a bit of a side note, I was less than impressed that the pres seemed to be urging students to focus on their daily lives rather than what is going on in Wash, as I think that it is a good thing that citizens know what is going on in politics. I just don't want my profs' opinions about it in their lectures. Moreover, I have always learned that very good teachers present balanced perspctives of issues, and the liberal bias is so prevalent (and so unprofessional) that it really irks me. In short, profs are not supposed to be doing this; lecture halls are not forums.
Treeluvr: that is exactly what I am talking about. It is inappropriate to broach such issues in any classroom, especially when they have less to do with the material and more to do with the prof's personal opinion re: politics.
And no, K-Luv, that wasn't what I was talking about; if I were sitting in your ecology class, I would have found such a tangent completely relevant. And that is why I am so angered: it isn't even the agenda that angers me so much as the fact that I have paid money for the knowledge that has earned these profs Phd's, and instead, I am walking out of class at the end of the semester with no new knowledge except that regarding the profs opinions regarding U.S. politics (I'm majoring in French).
But it sounds as if you have hit on the source: Liberal Arts. Moreover, I am hoping that it is just the particular university that I am attending, or the particular profs that I have had. However, the pres' comments make me wonder...
I have had some extremely liberal teachers which I would not get along with at all. I got into a nice argument with a feminist entertainment teacher who was convinced the WNBA doesn't get enough attention because it is women playing basketball. I proceeded to tell her its because it is slow and boring compared to the NBA. It is like watching Division II NCAA basketball compared to Divison I. They proceeded to use me as an example even though the few other dudes in the class agreed with me except not so vocal.
The other time was with a Cuban teacher who fled as a kid so obviously he was very liberal. This was back in 2005 in the middle of going "back" to Iraq. I proceeded to say we should stay since we are already invested. I created a new uproar with the liberal students more than the teacher but he egged them on. My Libertarian viewpoints didn't get along very well in my liberal arts classes which was the bulk of my core.
Obama stating to ignore party politics is idiotic. Don't they say college is where you truly figure out who you are as a person? Politics is one important subject to realize where you stand instead of saying...I can care less.
Politicians and lawyers are examples of "alligator mouth, hummingbird butt" in action. Why would you put any faith in people who do more talking than actual doing? My college career amounted to the teachers talking, I regurgitated what they said on paper and I got an "A". When most students challanged the teacher their grade went down. The pride and ego of these many of these teachers only gave them a podium for their own point-of-view, which are to protect their political jobs and tenue.
Great idea. Although I think he should have addressed it to the profs instead. However, there is some consolation in knowing that the faculty were probably listening to the speech as well.
Am I the only one who is fed up with having to sit through politicized college lectures?
Funny, I've never sat through the so-called political lectures in my classes. Granted, I live in Kansas and all of my classes are in the business sector, but all my professors focus on the material at hand. I've only had one professor force his political beliefs on his students, and guess what class he taught? POLITICAL SCIENCE! So, I don't know what you're talking about.
With that said, I wish our president would practice what he preaches ... just a thought ...
Funny, I've never sat through the so-called political lectures in my classes. Granted, I live in Kansas and all of my classes are in the business sector, but all my professors focus on the material at hand. I've only had one professor force his political beliefs on his students, and guess what class he taught? POLITICAL SCIENCE! So, I don't know what you're talking about.
With that said, I wish our president would practice what he preaches ... just a thought ...
This was my thought exactly. Not only is he addressing the issue to students (who really aren't the ones who are obsessed with political ideologies and viewpoints), he also sounded like a complete hypocrite. Or perhaps he wishes that American citizens didn't know or keep up with what is going on in Washington...? Apparently, he doesn't realize that leaders--whether they are presidents or porfessors--are very influential
I have had some extremely liberal teachers which I would not get along with at all. I got into a nice argument with a feminist entertainment teacher who was convinced the WNBA doesn't get enough attention because it is women playing basketball. I proceeded to tell her its because it is slow and boring compared to the NBA. It is like watching Division II NCAA basketball compared to Divison I. They proceeded to use me as an example even though the few other dudes in the class agreed with me except not so vocal.
The other time was with a Cuban teacher who fled as a kid so obviously he was very liberal. This was back in 2005 in the middle of going "back" to Iraq. I proceeded to say we should stay since we are already invested. I created a new uproar with the liberal students more than the teacher but he egged them on. My Libertarian viewpoints didn't get along very well in my liberal arts classes which was the bulk of my core.
Obama stating to ignore party politics is idiotic. Don't they say college is where you truly figure out who you are as a person? Politics is one important subject to realize where you stand instead of saying...I can care less.
The funniest thing is that most people that I know consider me a liberal. I'm really not; I consider myself an independent b/c I don't care for the machinations of either party, both of whom are hypocritical critics of the other. I think it's all bull****, which is why it pisses me off to have to hear about it in lectures when I am paying to hear something that might actually be useful towards some actual work in my area of expertise.
But I think that what I object to the most is that, if politics is going to be incorporated into lectures, students should at least be allowed to voice an opposing viewpoint rather than just sit there like as if they were mindless sponges. In fact, isn't that part of what being a liberal is all about? Dissension? Which makes me think that these "liberal" profs have actually turned the corner towards communism.
I don't pay for or go to college to hear a bunch of biased profs grandstand in a classroom. Obviously, the profs are in a position of power and it is very difficult to contradict them even when a student is allowed to do so. I am just appalled, though, at their abuse of their power
And yes, I completely agree that Obama's comments were idiotic. He should take his own advice and ignore party politics as it might actually give him an opportunity to focus on his job, and then maybe even understand what is actually going on in the country.
It's no surprise that Obama gave a political speech at a commencement - that's what every president does. Did anyone hear or read the speech? Obama blasts anti-government rhetoric at Michigan commencement speech :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: 44: Barack Obama (http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/2223166,obama-michigan-speech-050110.article - broken link) I think this sounds very reasonable,
"His advice: If you're a regular Glenn Beck listener, then check out the Huffington Post sometimes. If you read The New York Times editorial page the morning, then glance every now and then at The Wall Street Journal.
"It may make your blood boil. Your mind may not often be changed. But the practice of listening to opposing views is essential for effective citizenship," he said."
My college's instructional faculty, at least in my experience, was pretty apolitical. If you knew a professor outside of the classroom (as was fairly common at a small liberal arts college), you might have known their personal politics, but I don't recall anybody using their lectern as a stump upon which to expound upon them in the classroom setting. My college had an overall left-leaning feel among the student body (I do recall there being a small student republicans group, but them not being the overwhelming majority), but not as intensely liberal as some similarly sized colleges, mostly due to a loose church affiliation and a small but vocal contingent of religious right types who kept the mix from being exclusively crunchy granola, Birkenstocks, peace, love, and Wellstone (it was MN in the mid to late nineties)-buttonville. But as I recall, any politicization came from student-led groups, not from the classroom.
I personally wasn't very politically tuned in in college, partisan politics or world events-wise, myself. I was in a typical academic bubble, and had there not been a few demonstrations about Kosovo courtesy of some of the student groups, I wouldn't have known anything at all was going on at the time...basically, if it wasn't literary research and found in the stacks, I didn't know about it those four years. I didn't really start becoming interested in politics until a few years later, when I became a journalist (which I didn't study in college).
"His advice: If you're a regular Glenn Beck listener, then check out the Huffington Post sometimes. If you read The New York Times editorial page the morning, then glance every now and then at The Wall Street Journal.
"It may make your blood boil. Your mind may not often be changed. But the practice of listening to opposing views is essential for effective citizenship," he said."
Sounds great to me! My blood boils every morning, reading my local paper's letters to the editor, and I feel the better and the more energized for it.
It's no surprise that Obama gave a political speech at a commencement - that's what every president does. Did anyone hear or read the speech? Obama blasts anti-government rhetoric at Michigan commencement speech :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: 44: Barack Obama (http://www.suntimes.com/news/politics/obama/2223166,obama-michigan-speech-050110.article - broken link) I think this sounds very reasonable,
"His advice: If you're a regular Glenn Beck listener, then check out the Huffington Post sometimes. If you read The New York Times editorial page the morning, then glance every now and then at The Wall Street Journal.
"It may make your blood boil. Your mind may not often be changed. But the practice of listening to opposing views is essential for effective citizenship," he said."
Except, as a politician, he doesn't exactly live by that model.
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So, I don't know what you're talking about.
