Educational Malpractice???

[Pacifist Patriot]

I've already posted this in the Florida forum urging action, but wanted to bring the general topic here. I heard about this last night and nearly spit out my teeth.

HB837 in the Florida House will permit students attending colleges and universities to sue their professors upon hearing anything they don't like or any grade they don't agree with. The bill is named "The Academic Bill of Rights," but it is anything but right. If the bill passes the House and Senate, and the vote is coming up at the end of the month, then college faculty may be sued for "educational malpractice" in the same manner as doctors. The bill rips away teacher authority in the classroom and shifts the burden of proof from the student to the teacher.

The situation in Florida is dire. If every single democrat in the state house and senate were to walk out, the Republicans would still have the quorum necessary to carry on business as usual. It's chilling, absolutely chilling. Who in their right mind thought this was a good idea?

[Atman]

1. Suing doctors is a no-no, but suing professors is okay?

It is abundantly clear where the right-wing stance is on this.

If you don't like the non-religious academic class you're in, if your professor insists that evolution occured, then you can sue him. Sue over INFORMATION you don't like. But NOT if a doctor leaves a scalpel in your abdomen.

Right. The Right. The Party of Ignorance.

[acmejack]

3. Consistency is not their strong suit

These people are amazing in the breadth of their hypocrisy.

[Pacifist Patriot]

6. I know I can be a hypocrit, but the major difference is that...

when my hypocrisy is pointed out to me I can recognize it for what it is. They are blissfully oblivious. It's dissociative.

[FreedomAngel82]

11. Either that

or they don't give a damn. They're trying to make education be based on their beliefs whatever the hell that is.

[Atman]

15. There is a place for teaching "beliefs"

It is called "Church."

Schools are a place to teach facts.

[Pacifist Patriot]

4. *slapping forehead* I had completely forgotten...

a couple of days ago I received one of those obnoxious recorded messages from the Republican party urging me to support tort reform. Ah, the irony.

[ihaveaquestion]

2. It's all a part of their plan - control the message and

you control the population. There may be nothing we can do to stop this bill in Florida, but it will probably be opposed in the courts.

[Pacifist Patriot]

5. That was my first thought...

Or knee-jerk prayer actually. "Please let sanity in the courts prevail!"

[FreedomAngel82]

12. Exactly

And they're doing it now while they have the power. I've never seen republicans work this fast.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

7. Awesome.

I'd love to file suit against anyone teaching creationism as if it were fact and make them prove it in court.

[tigereye]

8. that is horrifying

college is about challenging your ideas, not kowtowing to people's prejudices. What's the point of going to college, then?

[Pacifist Patriot]

9. Precisely.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

14. I agree it's horrifying.

I'm just pointing out that it might have the unintended consequence of forcing them to prove their own backasswards theory in courts.

You're absolutely right though.

[FreedomAngel82]

13. That's right

That's their plan. So if you're a non-believer in that you can sue the teacher for teaching creationisim. So it can go both way. Of course they'll try to get you and not some person suing over evolution. But they don't get it can go both ways.

[Pacifist Patriot]

16. Not getting that it can go both ways is why they stepped in...

it when they went after the mayor of Orlando. Who wants to bet the charges were dropped because a dossier hit someone's desk regarding Martinez and Hood? Oops!

[FreedomAngel82]

10. What the hell?!

This is fucked up! You can't sue your teachers because they teach science and you don't believe in it! Or if you make a "c" and you THINK you deserve an "a" you could sue your professor? What a bunch of SHIT!

[Pacifist Patriot]

18. Astounding, isn't it?

Gee, I could have been a 4.0 student in college if I'd had this option.

This is what I wrote to my state rep.

I am pleased to see that you have neither sponsored nor co-sponsored HB 837, the "Academic Bill of Rights." I was absolutely shocked, and subsequently chilled, when I became aware of this initiative. I am a graduate student with no intention of entering academia and can still recognize what a danger this is to the American principle of free thought. If students are unhappy with their classroom content they have the ability to engage in productive debate with the professor, drop the course, or complain to the school's administration. The idea of legislation permitting such a law suit is nothing short of absurd. I urge you to vote against this bill and influence your colleagues to dispense with it immediately.

[Toots]

17. Another form of intimidation..bully the professors into only teaching

right wing talking points. The right wing has no history of entertaining scientific inquiry so they need to muzzle teachers. It is the modern form of book burning.
The right is terrified of legal actions. They think the left feels the same as them. The difference is the left has nothing to fear from the courts while the right lives in terror they will be held accountable. Let the law suits fly. I'm sure that most will be considered nuisance suits where the person bringing suit has to pay all court costs including the other sides legal bills. Every profession needs to be held accountable. That is only right.
The difference is the right is terrified of accountability while the left is not..

[Pacifist Patriot]

19. One wonders what lobby is behind this...

Insurance companies take such a beating in Florida that they need to find other types of policies to sell?

[FreedomAngel82]

20. Yep

They're just terrified people and want us all like them. They want us to not have anything on tv except golf, maybe cspan and Christian networks and faux news. So if you do a report on something religious and you get a "c" instead of it being for grammer etc. they can claim that they got the "c" because the teacher is liberal and hates religion and can be told to move their grade up to an "a" and find loopholes to get a 4.0 average in college and not even work for it! :mad: As a college student I'm PISSED AS HELL! I'm there to learn. Not any of this shit.

[Pacifist Patriot]

23. Yep, I'm busting my tail for my degree. I hate the thought that...

it could be cheapened in an academic climate that fears challenge.

[rniel]

21. So the professor

Will Give A's for everybody. Regardless if they have done any work. For fear of being sued.

[Lars39]

22. Nope, they're not nazis, nope, nope,nope.

from thehistorylearningsite@http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/Nazis_Education.htm:

<snip>Enforcing a Nazi curriculum on schools depended on the teachers delivering it. All teachers had to be vetted by local Nazi officials. Any teacher considered disloyal was sacked. Many attended classes during school holidays in which the Nazi curriculum was spelled out and 97% of all teachers joined the Nazi Teachers' Association. All teachers had to be careful about what they said as children were encouraged to inform the authorities if a teacher said something that did not fit in with the Nazi's curriculum for schools<snip>

[BoogDoc7]

24. Argh...

I'm all for more freedom in the classrooms for conservatives, but not along the lines for suing because you don't like what's taught (especially in the subjective nature of any liberal arts class). Grades? There needs to be a provision to protect students in case you get a prof who lowers your grade because of your political positions, but the courts should be a last resort method.

[ultraist]

25. There are provisions to contest grades

Every University has a grievance procedure. This recent action is a way to empower spoiled brat conservatives. It's overkill and not necessary. Suing should be a LAST resort, after all remedies have been exhausted.

The RWers are on a campaign to intimidate liberal professors and water down our educational institutions and they are using OUR TAX DOLLARS to pursue their religious agenda.

[Pacifist Patriot]

26. I agree. I had to argue a grade once.

It took three semesters, but at the end the professor actually apologized to me. Go figure, rational arguments won out instead of bullying and badgering.

Any student who has done due diligence through the process of engaging in dialogue with the professor, appealing to the department head and then appealling to the university's final grievance authority will either have learned something along the way or can't be taught.

Americans are already too far behind academically. This is all we need right now.