academic freedom and something you can do

[Iverson]

A teacher was fired for making anti-war comments in a North Carolina community college classroom. Where the hell is anyone supposed to encounter critical review of ideas if not in college!!!

Her name is Elizabeth Ito. You can check out her story on the commondreams.org website or you can go here:
http://www.communityforpeace.net/elizabethito.htm

There is an address and phone provided on the website. I'm not posting it here, because I want people to take a few seconds and read it, please.

I'm sure that even a simple expression of support would be welcome.

Thanks in advance.

[buddhamama]

1. kick

thanks for the info,Iverson.
scary times we're living in.

[uptohere]

2. the poly sci class maybe

but I got all my such discussion in a more appropriate setting than business writing. She screwed up, should have done it after class.

[Iverson]

3. good grief!

If she's not teaching political science, then put a muzzle on her!?!?
Sorry, but even a less than perfect venue does not limit faculty speech, or at least it shouldn't.

To my eye, teachers screw up not by uttering impermissible speech at imperfect moments, but instead by failing to engage students with ideas.

But that's OK. Those who disagree are free to write letters cheering on the administration for trying to end her career.

[uptohere]

7. muzzle ? of course not

would you find it acceptable if the checker at the grocery store took 20 seconds to tell you their opinion of the state of the price of tea in China before ringing you up ?

And I'm in the dark as to what "faculty speech" is. So far as I know its educating people on something that they have a demonstrated knowledge of for a living.

Now, offering to have a discussion on any topic, even Bush and the war, after class for anyone who opted to join would have been perfectly acceptable and probably a lot more productive. Even Ms Ito admitted that offing no input to the kids was wrong.

[Iverson]

10. interesting comparison

"Acceptable" is a curious term about the hypothetical cashier. I would likely find it noisome, but I would not use it as a pretext to ensure that she's out of a job. But hey, I'm quirky that way.

Now, if the setting is not the grocery store but is instead the very place where inquiry and free thought is supposedly at its very highest, then I might even argue that that's a teensy-weensy relevant difference.

"Even Ms Ito admitted that offing no input to the kids was wrong."

And I agree. And for this imperfection, end of career? How very wise and just.

[bryant69]

12. Self Serving

We are getting just her account of what happened; and naturally she has a vested interest in presenting herself a certain way.

[Iverson]

15. Did you look at the links?

http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031770864028&path=!localnews&s=1037645509099

The Winston-Salem Journal is hardly a shill for the instructor. Nor did she present herself as perfect.

What does it take for free speech to get the benefit of the doubt around here? Has the climate of intolerance of dissent from the official line even infected DU?

[bryant69]

16. Free Speech

Never meant you could say whatever you wanted where ever you wanted and suffer no consequences whatsoever. She was in a classroom, and chose to go off in an emotional tirade (as she puts it) that had little to nothing to do with the subject matter). Why does she get the pass?

And as for free speech, why do I get the feeling we'd look at this totally differently if she got up and praised the war?

[Iverson]

17. incorrect assumption

"And as for free speech, why do I get the feeling we'd look at this totally differently if she got up and praised the war?"

Perhaps you have projected into me what you wish to discover in order that your argument seem stronger.

Likewise, I never argued that faculty may say whatever the hell they want at any time. She does not "get a pass" in my book, unless keeping one's job is a pass. I had always thought there were possibilities in between zero reaction whatsoever and getting fired.

Let us be clear: her firing occurs in a cultural moment of intolerance of dissent. The substance of her speech was relevant. Had she spoken about vacuum cleaners, she would not be out on her ass right now. Rationalizing that intolerance is the game of the right wing.

[uptohere]

13. apparantly the students found it to be nonsense

and stealing the time from a customer as well as the employer is grounds for dismissal.

But if you read the account it was the refusal to insure that this admitted mistake would not happen again that was the grounds for dis-continuing her employment, not the act itself nor the ommission of discussion.

Inquiry and free thought on the subject matter. On the subject matter. See related post apparantly from an academic or something akin to that. Ms Ito is a business writing teacher. That does not make her qualified to discuss geopolitics.

[Iverson]

14. on nonsense

Education-as-commodity is nonsense, but unfortunately too much of the public buys it uncritically.

When the content of classroom speech is dictated by whether or not students object to administrators, education is effectively dead.

[uptohere]

18. tell that to someone without a degree or certification

Education is a pre-requisite for many occupations. And, particularly in technical education, the quality of the teaching given will determine whether or not you are able to pass the subsequent exams that you take to obtain the certification that raises your pay scale.

And you better believe that pricing for this commodity is based on expected benefit derrived.

Those kids needed to learn about business writting. They signed up for it, they paid for it, they had a right to expect it. Listening to someone rant on politics was not part of the deal.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt if the kids seek to discuss the topic insted of business writting that they came for but that didn't happen.

The renaissance was a long time ago. Better wake up and smell the coffee Iverson.

[Iverson]

21. I just did.

Thanks for the wisecrack about the renaissance being over. I cannot agree that it logically follows that education is therefore a function of power relationships.

The Topeka school board picked up your customer model argument a little while ago, with the result that evolution temporarily couldn't be taught in science class without also teaching creationism. Before that, Lyszenko figured out how to pander to authority in the Soviet Union. That neat little trick set back the whole country's agriculture by a generation.

Better wake up and smell the coffee yourself: you are sacrificing more than merely one faculty member to whom you can feel superior. We are in a cultural moment of intolerance of dissent. Pander to it at your peril, and mine, and higher education's.

[Cheswick2.0]

4. kick

Amazing how fascist this country can be.

[HereSince1628]

5. Academic freedom is terribly misunderstood by faculty and the public

If you look at how it evolved academic freedom concerns the right of an instructor to make expert choices about what should be included in their class.

Academic freedom doesn't protect activities that are off-task. Since I wasn't there I can't judge whether her comments were on or off task.

[Iverson]

6. and along those lines ...

None of the administrators who fired here were there either.

[uptohere]

8. topic-war task-business writing

I wasn't there either but finding a connection seems like a remote possibility.

[buddhamama]

9. war is bad for business?

war certainly has an effect on the economy.

[uptohere]

19. actually war is good for business

but it has nothing to do with business writing.

[HereSince1628]

11. Actually, the argument for war may be an example of bad bus. proposal

The purpose was outside the mission statement
The means proposed don't guarantee that objectives will be met
The arguments were wrong and/or very suspect
The expense forecast and the time frame of implementation were overly optimistic
There were poor mechanisms to include the trustees (Congress) in feedback and assessment
and etc.

Whether that approach was used I don't know. But as a college prof of many years experience I can tell you that faculty try to put some zip into classes by using controversial examples and counter examples.
I can well imagine a creative English instructor doing this.

Faculty I have known sometimes did not recognize they have a responsibility not to take unfair advantage of their pulpit.

Stifling speech on a campus is controversial because academic institutions both provide a venue for questioning and stretching ideas and a model community for the behavior of enlightened citizens. But even in a model community there are rules of "fair play."

[uptohere]

20. I agree but as you read, nothing of the sort was done

just a rant by a young lady who felt like ranting.

And now she has probably stiffled her educational career all for a lack of the manner of cleverness you describe.

Perhaps education was not really for her to begin with.

[creativelcro]

24. "Academic freedom is terribly misunderstood by faculty and the public"

Also, if you are not tenured there is no such thing as "academic freedom"... -CV

[patdem]

22. While in school I wrote the most fascist paper imaginable

I had a job with an oil company (yecht) and part of my job was to alphabetize the delivery tickets. The delivery tickets were by address. So since the job was SO boreing I masterbated my mind(oops the M word) and came up with a way that people could live that would make my job MUCH easier...LOL!!!

We were told to 'write a proposal'...we were not told what type of proposal, so I rearranged the entire population so that their social security number would establish exactly who the person was. This would determine where they lived...down to the house number. Whether they were born to wealth, what their auto license number was...man...talk about TIA..with one number you would know the political party one's parents belongs to, and if you had changed, their status in society, where they lived and if they you had moved up the social ladder. It was all tounge in cheak, but my teacher looked at me in the strangest way when I got my paper back. LOL :bounce:

[Iverson]

23. kick for a new day

n/t