Show Professor rating to bring about educational McCarthyism Adam Heath The Globe People love having it their way just ask the fast food industry Burger King will tell you that their business is based on fast service and having having having hav hav- ing it your way In fact that is their slogan And is there anything wrong with that Well when you are talking about Whoppers and Diet Coke no there is absolutely nothing wrong However in our wonderful world the truth remains that there are certain things that if we get it our way we could end up hurt emotionally unstable or just plain fied In example speeding is something we all do That is just a fact If we are not careful careful careful care care- ful and choose to drive like we own the world then we could have the Super Dells of the world follow us and flash a agun agun agun gun in our faces to get us to slow down we cou could d get p and face i. hefty fines or worse we could end up dead or in a coma The danger of having our own way is real and yet in one of the most important parts of our life our education we feel that we should be able to have haveit it quick easy and our own way Recently the Globe printed an article about a that lets students tell all about the best and worst of their campus Professors Which on the surface sounds absolutely wonderful I mean think about it now you can let everyone know that your Psych teacher is the worst teacher at because of they way she he grades or that sos so-and-so's lectures are like listening to your cousin Billys Billy's after chilly night at the family reunion Whatever it is people will now know about it and even better you can find out what teachers are softies and who grades easier than others And the big bigone bigone bigone one the one that in this state is probably number one on the list of things to look at- at are they conservative or liberal Do they have my viewpoint on things In theory all this sounds like it is a win-win win situation for all involved the students get a teacher they like and the teachers get students that want to be there How ridiculous can you get First on my list of why I hate this idea of rating your teachers is this You all came here and are paying good goodmoney goodmoney goodmoney money to earn a liberal oh no not that liberal word tion That means to me that you are going to be presented with challenges of all sorts including but not limited to dealing with teachers that are not easy graders dealing with long boring classes that you are not interested in being presented with new ideas God forbid that may conflict with previously held assumptions assumptions assumptions and religious ideas actually actually actually actu actu- ally having to do homework and read the book and the list could go on My point is we are here to tobe tobe tobe be presented with challenges and new ideas especially new ideas and we should learn how to deal with those things not how to avoid them I can guarantee that when you are out in the work place there is going to be a boss that you are going to disagree with but you wont won't have a to Rate your bosses The idea would be absolutely ridiculous ridiculous ridiculous lous in any professional industry industry industry indus indus- try so why should it be okay here in a place were we should be learning how to make it in ina ina ina a professional industry The next reason on my list listis listis listis is the idea of students rating their teachers is honestly an abomination Both on this online to rate teachers and the student review that happen on a regular basis here at We are not teachers we have no idea the real work that goes into it and who are we to decide what is best for forus forus forus us in regard to an educational stand point this is something that should be done by peers not by subordinates In a recent conversation with an adjunct professor he told me me his f feelings elings about the the st strident View review He said th that t the he would ask his students to put down that he requires bribes for good grades He doesn't really but he wanted to see if the department head even bothered to read the reports from the students He never has had a response back from any of his direct ors Why arent aren't these reviews done by peers who can give valid professional advice is beyond me but hey I am just the student One last thing that I want to bring up is I feel the real danger danger danger dan dan- ger of rating teachers I recently read a newspaper report but in the article it discussed discussed discussed dis dis- dis- dis cussed a watchdog in Berkley California that will pay students students students stu stu- stu- stu dents to expose their teachers that are teaching liberal liberal liberal lib lib- lib lib- eral ideas in th the classroom to warn students about what is being taught and blacklist teachers who have differing viewpoints from that of the watchdog group This I think is the grossest of all crimes against the minds of Americas America's college age students I am saddened and disgusted at the idea that anyone would buy into this sort of corrupt and immoral affront to the pursuit of knowledge As I have stated before we weare weare weare are here to be exposed to new ideas and be able to decide for ourselves which arc are right and which are wrong We cant can't be afraid to be wrong We cant can't be afraid that if we hear another another's another's er ers er's s point of view that this will somehow destroy your belief system or that we will somehow somehow somehow some some- how be irreparably changed This is simply not the case In fact we as people should make it our single duty to learn all that we can to be informed and to Most of all know how we stand on an issue By allowing ourselves to believe that we will somehow get a better education by avoiding difficult tasks going for the easy A and running professors who may have a different opinion than yourselves yourselves yourselves your your- selves you have put yourself in a precarious situation in deed |