Academe: April 2008 Archives

So elections for chair of faculty senate are coming up soon, and our office has agreed to publish the "leadership statements"--I know--of the two candidates in our faculty/staff newsletter.

One of the candidates is a professor of english, the other is an engineering prof.

One leadership statement is three pages long, the other is 3/4 page.

One statement contains a metaphorical deconstruction of the purpose of the position complete with flowery language and a one-page biographical sketch of the candidate; the other is pretty much a laundry list of stuff the candidate did and stuff he promises to do.

So, which candidate authored which statement?  A poser, I know.

I laughed long and loud when I read these documents side-by-side.

Okay, so you're a professor of philosophy teaching an intro class that has approximately 400 students in it.  Your stated cell phone policy is "No texting/talking on the cell phone in class."  One day, you notice a chick in the front row just texting like the wind.  Do you:

A:  Ask the student to stop texting in class

B:  Confiscate the cell phone

C:  Storm out of class in a huff and send a long, racially-tinged diatribe to all the students as well as the college administrators

D:  Tazer the holy hell out of the kid and stand athwart her unconscious body screaming "ATTICA!  ATTICA!"

If you're this guy, you'd choose C, then sit back and watch the collective freaking out begin.

Follow-up poll:
You're an academic, and you come across a story about a professor who walks out of his class because a student was texting during the lecture, then followed up by sending a long, racially-tinged diatribe to all the students in the class as well as select college adminstrators.  Naturally, being an academic, you are SHOCKED! And must post a reply.  Are you more horrified at:

A:  The fact that the professor punished 400 students for the actions of one

B:  The fact that the professor dragged race into the whole kerfuffle--and then use said shock to segue into your thoughts on diversity/politics/what is WRONG with you people in general...

C:  The fact that the academy is still using the outmoded "lecture" method of teaching--and then use said shock to segue into your thoughts on pedagogy in general...

D:  The attitude of entitlement pervading "kids these days"--and then use said shock to segue into your thoughts on giving professors properly obsequious respect...

E:  The fact that more people don't do this--then use said shock to segue into your thoughts on classroom management tactics in general...

F:  The fact that the professor misused/misspelled a word in his rant

G:  The elitism apparent in everyone who picked option D in this poll

H:  The fact that tazers aren't standard issue to professors in large lecture situations