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This really is a pointless article of he said, they said. There is nothing at all to be gained in reading it. There's no actual evidence of who was in the wro

This really is a pointless article of he said, they said. There is nothing at all to be gained in reading it. There's no actual evidence of who was in the wrong or what the real story is. (You could easily argue after 20 years in the game he fully knew all the students wouldn't actually get a F, even this is unknown)

DanielBMarkham 12y ago
I agree there is nothing of immediate value here. The story is part of a larger narrative. Those interested in that narrative will enjoy watching how it plays out.
- madaxe_again 12y ago
  The larger narrative is the commoditisation of education, degree-mills, disgruntled educators who find they are no longer able to educate (the word comes from educere - to lead or to draw from, and implies a two-party process) their disengaged students, and the even larger narrative is the result of entitlement culture, which is part of the broader narrative of social change in north america, 1770 - 2015. I know far too many talented and insightful educators who have found themselves either unemployed or fleeing to commerce.. those who remain are increasingly embittered, embattled, or just don't care. Things will get better when and if folks stop believing that all of their dreams will come true because they're a unique special flower, and start realising that most of life requires knowledge and hard graft, if you want to achieve anything worthwhile - and that you are just another head of corn in a field of billions.
baldfat 12y ago
Happened at the College I use to work at (Systems Librarian and in Student Life) Whole class plagiarized their papers and it wasn't a he said she said. Clear as day guilty. Some of the papers were word for word the same (The kids forgot to change words). Professor gives the complete class a failing grade. College within a week lets all the Seniors graduate and changed their grades to C and fires the Professor. Professor appeals and is re-hired. Than he is fired 2 years later due to complaints that his classes are to difficult. Once again appeals and is rehired. He is now the easiest professor to get a D or C as long as you don't cut three weeks (AKA 1/4 of the class). You have to do projects for different grades. D = writes out 50 words and their definitions with hand drawn pictures. C = Pass a definition test of a possible 100 words (Super Easy). B = do research and turn in a short half page synopsis of your findings with printed out web pages or copies of books. A = write one 10 page paper and get at least an 80 on the paper with his simple rubric (AKA Jr High level). Only 10% actually ever attempt an A and he has a perfect Bell Curve the past 15+ years now. His lectures are incredible deep (Philosophy and Theology) and you can either sit there and learn very little (Most do) or you can engage him and he will give the best lecture tailored for whoever tries hard and talks during class. When my friends who were alumni would come to visit I always took them to this professor's class and they were blown away at how foolish they were to dismiss him and think of him as a easy C or B class. So this actually happened and it caused a professor to just not engage his classes brains or challenge them academically due to fear of being fired again. Philosophy and Theology field is incredibly competitive and there would be over 150 applications for his position if it ever opened up. You also would than be a person who was fired trying to get into a field where hundreds trying for the same job.
- helyka 12y ago
  This is a shame. When I first started college I felt that citations were always a burden. Five years later and two degrees I wouldn't even dream about writing without citing my work. If these kids want to cheat, they shouldn't be rewarded. But hey, the more the kids fluff off the less I have to worry about my field of study being over populated by people that can ACTUALLY do the job..
joshaidan 12y ago
I wish this article reached out to the students and tried to tell their side of the story. Good journalism usually tries to hear from both sides of the story--or at the very least give an explanation as to why they couldn't get comment from the students.
- slayed0 12y ago
  At least one of Horwitz’s students, senior John Shaw, disagreed with the professor. “Just ridiculous. I had never had a problem in the class. I thought I had done pretty well, done pretty well on the first test, and then I get an e-mail saying I am going to get an F in the class. It was overwhelming,” Shaw told KPRC. I don't blame you for not finishing the article but they did get a comment from at least one student.

DanielBMarkham 12y ago

I agree there is nothing of immediate value here. The story is part of a larger narrative. Those interested in that narrative will enjoy watching how it plays out.

madaxe_again 12y ago
The larger narrative is the commoditisation of education, degree-mills, disgruntled educators who find they are no longer able to educate (the word comes from educere - to lead or to draw from, and implies a two-party process) their disengaged students, and the even larger narrative is the result of entitlement culture, which is part of the broader narrative of social change in north america, 1770 - 2015. I know far too many talented and insightful educators who have found themselves either unemployed or fleeing to commerce.. those who remain are increasingly embittered, embattled, or just don't care. Things will get better when and if folks stop believing that all of their dreams will come true because they're a unique special flower, and start realising that most of life requires knowledge and hard graft, if you want to achieve anything worthwhile - and that you are just another head of corn in a field of billions.

baldfat 12y ago

Happened at the College I use to work at (Systems Librarian and in Student Life) Whole class plagiarized their papers and it wasn't a he said she said. Clear as day guilty. Some of the papers were word for word the same (The kids forgot to change words). Professor gives the complete class a failing grade. College within a week lets all the Seniors graduate and changed their grades to C and fires the Professor. Professor appeals and is re-hired. Than he is fired 2 years later due to complaints that his classes are to difficult. Once again appeals and is rehired. He is now the easiest professor to get a D or C as long as you don't cut three weeks (AKA 1/4 of the class). You have to do projects for different grades. D = writes out 50 words and their definitions with hand drawn pictures. C = Pass a definition test of a possible 100 words (Super Easy). B = do research and turn in a short half page synopsis of your findings with printed out web pages or copies of books. A = write one 10 page paper and get at least an 80 on the paper with his simple rubric (AKA Jr High level). Only 10% actually ever attempt an A and he has a perfect Bell Curve the past 15+ years now. His lectures are incredible deep (Philosophy and Theology) and you can either sit there and learn very little (Most do) or you can engage him and he will give the best lecture tailored for whoever tries hard and talks during class. When my friends who were alumni would come to visit I always took them to this professor's class and they were blown away at how foolish they were to dismiss him and think of him as a easy C or B class. So this actually happened and it caused a professor to just not engage his classes brains or challenge them academically due to fear of being fired again. Philosophy and Theology field is incredibly competitive and there would be over 150 applications for his position if it ever opened up. You also would than be a person who was fired trying to get into a field where hundreds trying for the same job.

helyka 12y ago
This is a shame. When I first started college I felt that citations were always a burden. Five years later and two degrees I wouldn't even dream about writing without citing my work. If these kids want to cheat, they shouldn't be rewarded. But hey, the more the kids fluff off the less I have to worry about my field of study being over populated by people that can ACTUALLY do the job..

joshaidan 12y ago

I wish this article reached out to the students and tried to tell their side of the story. Good journalism usually tries to hear from both sides of the story--or at the very least give an explanation as to why they couldn't get comment from the students.

slayed0 12y ago
At least one of Horwitz’s students, senior John Shaw, disagreed with the professor. “Just ridiculous. I had never had a problem in the class. I thought I had done pretty well, done pretty well on the first test, and then I get an e-mail saying I am going to get an F in the class. It was overwhelming,” Shaw told KPRC. I don't blame you for not finishing the article but they did get a comment from at least one student.