Hat tip Campus Reform
Don't think that Florida State University is just some football factory that is known for little else than turning out stud quarterbacks who get into tons of trouble off the field. No Sireee. If you have a kid going to FSU who is not a football player, he or she may be taking a political science class from Professor William Claggett and listening to personal opinions such as this:
http://www.campusreform.org/?ID=6248
OK. So some anonymous "right-wing" student (probably a member of the College Republicans) covertly recorded Claggett "expounding" in the classroom. That is not the way I would have done it. I would have had the video camera in full view, and if I was legally in my rights to videotape would have proceeded openly.
But does this sound to you like a professional university lecture? To me this sounds more like some guy rambling on in some bar. Is this the type of education our families are paying for their kids? Hardly. As negatively as I feel about MSNBC, I don't trash that network or any other network in my class. Nor do I promote my beloved Fox News in my classes. I don't even discuss this stuff. Of course, I teach English as a second language, not political science. But can we not teach a subject objectively and present both sides of an issue and let the students make up their own minds?
When Nixon was in office, we routinely referred to him as "Tricky Dick." An older neighbor of mine was asked by a history teacher, shouldn't you be more respectful, he is the president. OK, the kid replied, "Tricky Richard."
ReplyDeleteBut yeah, this professor is wasting the kids time. If he wants to do stand-up comedy, he can do that after hours.