Education: Something Is Happening...

And even Chronicle of Higher Education readers do know what it is.

Yes, tenure also protects a small percentage of highly visible, career-driven, ideological extremists. But they are disdained by the majority of moderate professors. Freedom of speech sometimes means letting the Klan demonstrate. And education with character means giving teachers the protection they need to uphold standards. Otherwise, you might as well send your children on a four-year cruise...It's time to restore tough love to higher education or just call the whole thing off...., A Tough Love Manifesto for Professors, Thomas H. Benton

Prof. Benton isn't quite secure enough in his assault on the latest con in higher education to use his (or her?) own name yet, but the venue, the professional journal of higher ed, suggests that something is going on that we ought to know about. As discussed before, the bizarre, and by many accounts disastrous, 1970s pedagogy from primary and secondary education called child-centered education is now being applied at the university level. There it's called student centered education. In this pedagogy, the student guides his or her education. This is about like saying "given a choice between doing the calculus problems, playing Grand Theft Auto (IV? V? VI?), or going to an Online Casino, what should a student do?" Benton lays it down directly:

Students are not customers...teachers are not [their] employees...I will manage the class in a professional manner; that may include educating you in appropriate behavior. I will prepare carefully for every class. I will begin and end class on time. I will teach only in areas of my professional expertise. If I do not know something, I will say so. I will conduct scholarly research and publication with the aim of making myself a more informed teacher. I will return your assignments quickly with detailed feedback. I will pursue the maximum punishment for plagiarism, cheating, and other violations of academic integrity. I will keep careful records of your attendance, performance, and progress....(Tough Love Manifesto...continued, Chronicle of Higher Education...)

He's not blind to the realities of tenure-seeking, however.

It's probably safe to say that more than two-thirds of college teaching is now done by people who are routinely punished for maintaining standards. The professional survival of untenured faculty members depends on processing large numbers of students without making waves....(Tough Love Manifesto...continued, Chronicle of Higher Education...)

"Benton" has written a series of articles on this subject, including The 7 Deadly Sins of Professors and The 7 Deadly Sins of Students. I'd pay attention. Something is happening and we ought to encourage what it is.

Luther