Fresno State U. Settles Sex-Discrimination Suit

Quite beautifully said, Professor Brown. And also a nice acknowledgement of the relatively normal “adolescent resistance” to teaching and learning. Of course, a classroom can never be a “conversation among equals”: the teacher is in charge and has the considerable force of institutional power at his or her command. All students know this. But helping students find and develop their own resources for their own (responsible) uses of rhetorical power in multiple situations is one of the most important accomplishments of truly good teachers. And improvements in this skill (and art) are measurable, but not easily measured, especially in easily quantifiable ways. I really want to be held accountable for my teaching; but current methods of accountability are primarily designed for bureaucratic purposes rather than educational ones.

So I agree with “benchgroup” that teachers should be held accountable, just as I regret his or her rhetorically weak and desperate use of the word “drivel” to describe Professor Brown’s thoughtful article. But a teacher–no matter how good–is only one player in the drama of any educational situation. The students themselves, as well as their parents, must also be held accountable. And I have seen no serious attempts to factor in those crucial variables in any accountability scheme I have ever come across.

Perhaps benchgroup’s inability to marshall an effective counterargument in a responsible “dialogical” encounter with Professor Brown is due to some bad teachers in his educational background. Or perhaps he simply didn’t learn very much from some very fine teachers.

Dear Mike: This is the statement I read and then re-read a few times:

“In this respect, blaming the teacher rather than acknowledging that education is part of the process of living in a complex society is a way of denying the significance of the social aspect of life.”

Yes, and by blaming the teachers a line is drawn in the sand with the teachers on one side (somehow) and everyone else on the other side. The truth is (and most of us Chronicle readers know this)–we are all on the same side. There are no sides! The ideas (philosophical and otherwise) around education are so convoluted that we can’t see straight.

For instance, the Sherbygirl noted the obsession withe distance ed. Now, I’m also not a luddite, but I don’t think that distance learning can replace classroom or face to face learning. But, some are so enthusiastic as if the learning experience is unchanged. The learning experience is clearly different. I have never had a student say that their online experiences were better than the face to face learning experiences.

I will add that the sooner that we work together with teachers–the better. Thanks for continuing these discussion with Mary (Churchill) and separately.

Very nicely put. The denigration of professors is public much more than private, so that it is not to effect the global and wealthy elite, since their professors are not subjected to the sort of denigration professors provided for the people are. We change from enjoying and participating with to measuring that which we wish to kill off or to exploit. When one falls out of love, one measures her former beloved’s many shortcomings and demands better: a face without that blemish, a much bigger . . . and bank account, etc. If you are meant to serve and not to live, then you really shouldn’t be provided with professors of life, but trainers for various sorts of servitude.