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I see two extremes: one represented by this professor who IMHO cares too little about students --- still he deserves to keep his job. The other extreme is more

I see two extremes: one represented by this professor who IMHO cares too little about students --- still he deserves to keep his job. The other extreme is more dangerous and is about University professors actively accepting and facilitating immature behaviour by students. Where could a sweet spot be drawn along this gradient?

sonotathrowaway 4y ago
> The student petition protested that Jones’s class was too hard and that students lacked resources and help. It did not say the professor should be fired. > “We urge you to realize that a class with such a high percentage of withdrawals and low grades has failed to make students’ learning and wellbeing a priority and reflects poorly on the chemistry department as well as the institution as a whole,” the petition read. That doesn’t sound immature to me.
bastawhiz 4y ago
I doubt either of those extremes actually exist. News stories paint a sensational picture for clicks to try to get social media ablaze with "entitled gen z students want their grades handed to them" without actually digging into any details until a few thousand pixels below the fold. It would seem, from reading the story, that this was a professor who did not actually do the leg work to be a professor. Namely, providing students with more than just written resources and giving exams. Why pay a prestigious do-nothing professor a salary when you can just offer an online course that has the same level of engagement?
- ghaff 4y ago
  It can simultaneously be true that: - College students can be entitled and whiny - Organic chemistry is especially difficult for a lot of people - Semi-retired researcher may not be a great lecturer/teacher for a big hall full of freshmen
  - bastawhiz 4y ago
    None of those things are especially newsworthy. They sound like Onion headlines on their own. But when one or more of them happen which could be framed in a way that incenses the public, it becomes a news story because that's how you make money in journalism in 2022.
- enviclash 4y ago
  I am a professor and have seen both extremes. I am worrying about how to keep high scholarly standards all the time --- also on teaching, and especially when supervising theses.

sonotathrowaway 4y ago

> The student petition protested that Jones’s class was too hard and that students lacked resources and help. It did not say the professor should be fired. > “We urge you to realize that a class with such a high percentage of withdrawals and low grades has failed to make students’ learning and wellbeing a priority and reflects poorly on the chemistry department as well as the institution as a whole,” the petition read. That doesn’t sound immature to me.

bastawhiz 4y ago

I doubt either of those extremes actually exist. News stories paint a sensational picture for clicks to try to get social media ablaze with "entitled gen z students want their grades handed to them" without actually digging into any details until a few thousand pixels below the fold. It would seem, from reading the story, that this was a professor who did not actually do the leg work to be a professor. Namely, providing students with more than just written resources and giving exams. Why pay a prestigious do-nothing professor a salary when you can just offer an online course that has the same level of engagement?

ghaff 4y ago
It can simultaneously be true that: - College students can be entitled and whiny - Organic chemistry is especially difficult for a lot of people - Semi-retired researcher may not be a great lecturer/teacher for a big hall full of freshmen
- bastawhiz 4y ago
  None of those things are especially newsworthy. They sound like Onion headlines on their own. But when one or more of them happen which could be framed in a way that incenses the public, it becomes a news story because that's how you make money in journalism in 2022.
enviclash 4y ago
I am a professor and have seen both extremes. I am worrying about how to keep high scholarly standards all the time --- also on teaching, and especially when supervising theses.