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[geonerd]

It seems as if she has tried to find a middle ground. There are so few support structures for adjuncts, it makes me sad that someone who is clearly at least trying is being vilified in the NYT.

"You are not permitted to ask questions in class" is "a middle ground"? On what planet?

No, she asked the student to write down questions he had and she would address them in class at a later date or on an individual basis.

We don't know the details of what the classroom experience was like. It could have been extremely distracting. If the student takes 5 minutes of class time to ask a question in a 50 minute class, is that reasonable?

No, she told him he could write down the answers to questions she asked in class. There is no mention of him writing down his questions.

Fair enough. I misread.

You read it correctly. From paragraph 3:

"Philip, a precocious and confident 16-year-old who is taking two college classes this semester, has a lot to say but also a profound stutter that makes talking difficult, and talking quickly impossible. After the first couple of class sessions, in which he participated actively, the professor, an adjunct named ***, sent him an e-mail asking that he pose questions before or after class, “so we do not infringe on other students’ time.”  "

I wonder how much the instructor was reacting to the stutter and how much she was reacting to a student who "has a lot to say" and monopolizes the conversation, the latter being an issue we frequently discuss on threads In The Classroom. I agree, her actions as described in the article reminded me of strategies for working with an Aspergers student, though "don't speak at all" is going too far.

[patchouli]

If this is the full story with all the facts (and it often isn't when these issues first get to the media) then this instructor is fully out of line.

One of the worst things one can do for someone with a stutter is to tell him/her (and it more men than women) that they cannot talk or to act impatiently when that person is speaking. 

I am surprised, though, that this student wants to talk and as someone said earlier, those with a stutter often avoid many kinds of public speaking.  Also, some people with a stutter lose it when on the telephone or speaking in different types of situations.  It is variable.

This instructor needs an education in all aspects of how to deal with a person who stutters.  I once had a student in my class who could not speak (but could make sounds) due to a physical disability.  He wrote with a handheld touchpad, and when he had something to say, he raised his hand and passed the touchpad to a peer.  That peer read it.  The students loved this student.  We all waited for him to speak.  He added a great deal to the class.

[gsawpenny]

On the surface it seems the instructor has really taken a hard line.  As others have noted there are a number of solutions, many quite elegant that could have salvaged the situation.  In the end, this is why we have academic resource centers.  The true shame is that this teacher thought herself too busy to stop by and develop a smarter course of action.

[eddyman]

Terrible teaching, if true, but my first reaction when reading the article online was to wonder about balance in the reporting.  It seemed to me that this was a story being fed to the journalist.  Perhaps he knows the family of the kid?  

[spinnaker]

It seems as if she has tried to find a middle ground. There are so few support structures for adjuncts, it makes me sad that someone who is clearly at least trying is being vilified in the NYT.

"You are not permitted to ask questions in class" is "a middle ground"? On what planet?

No, she asked the student to write down questions he had and she would address them in class at a later date or on an individual basis.

We don't know the details of what the classroom experience was like. It could have been extremely distracting. If the student takes 5 minutes of class time to ask a question in a 50 minute class, is that reasonable?

No, she told him he could write down the answers to questions she asked in class. There is no mention of him writing down his questions.

Fair enough. I misread.

You read it correctly. From paragraph 3:

"Philip, a precocious and confident 16-year-old who is taking two college classes this semester, has a lot to say but also a profound stutter that makes talking difficult, and talking quickly impossible. After the first couple of class sessions, in which he participated actively, the professor, an adjunct named ***, sent him an e-mail asking that he pose questions before or after class, “so we do not infringe on other students’ time.”  "

I wonder how much the instructor was reacting to the stutter and how much she was reacting to a student who "has a lot to say" and monopolizes the conversation, the latter being an issue we frequently discuss on threads In The Classroom. I agree, her actions as described in the article reminded me of strategies for working with an Aspergers student, though "don't speak at all" is going too far

It sounds like she was making extra time available for him after class, possibly thinking this is the best way to give him enough attention. Maybe she erred. We haven't heard her side of it. And he's now in someone else's class, where he's welcome to speak, so the dean has a plan B.

On the surface it seems the instructor has really taken a hard line.  As others have noted there are a number of solutions, many quite elegant that could have salvaged the situation.  In the end, this is why we have academic resource centers.  The true shame is that this teacher thought herself too busy to stop by and develop a smarter course of action.

Wouldn't be hard for me to believe she's too busy, at $2000 per course, if that's what it is.

[wilbrish]

If we don't get the instructor's side, we'll never really know. I wonder why she doesn't speak out.  It's hurting her.

[polly_mer]

If we don't get the instructor's side, we'll never really know. I wonder why she doesn't speak out.  It's hurting her.

I'm betting this is a case of "Have you stopped beating your wife, yet?"

No matter what the adjunct says, she will be wrong.  Keeping quiet and working it out through the people who have the ability to not rehire is a far better use of her time and energy than trying to fight public perception.

[spinnaker]

I can see both sides of this.

On the one hand, it's f'd up that someone with a speech impediment should be singled out in a college classroom.

On the other hand, this woman probably earns about $2K to teach this course, and needs to balance all sorts of student issues with her own teaching goals.

It seems as if she has tried to find a middle ground. There are so few support structures for adjuncts, it makes me sad that someone who is clearly at least trying is being vilified in the NYT.

Here is the author in the comments; sounds to me like backpedaling

1."It is not entirely clear whether a stutter is covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The act states that it applies to any disability that "substantially limits a major life activity." So stuttering would appear to qualify, if it were serious enough, and advocates for people who stutter are adamant that it does qualify. Supreme Court rulings narrowed the uses of the act, but amendments enacted in 2008 sought to reverse those rulings and widen its scope again. In a small handful of cases, federal district courts have found that stuttering does comes under the umbrella of the law. But as far as I know, the question has not been tested in a federal appellate court, so it remains unsettled. I would note, however, that the college was quick to accommodate Philip, and that there has been no suggestion that he suffered lasting harm or that he and his family will seek redress in court, so the question may be moot."

2.
"The teacher declined to respond, and the college made only a fairly general statement about accommodating Philip, declining to address the merits of the underlying dispute. I was genuinely disappointed by this, precisely because I did not want to write a one-sided article. I was not present in the classroom, so I do not know how much time Philip was taking up. But I can see that the instructor might have had legitimate concerns, no matter how inartfully she expressed them. The article makes clear that listening to him can try one's patience (as even his mother concedes), though I hope I also made clear that it's worth the wait. I do not know this teacher's history, and I would not want her to be vilified based on a brief exchange that might have been ill-advised. (If that were the standard, would anyone be immune?) We did not go into this in the article, but it struck me that technology provides ways to keep things moving along in class at a good pace, while providing a level playing field for all students. For instance, questions and answers could be submitted by e-mail or text message during class, and could even be displayed on a projector."

He refers to the instructor as "an adjunct by the name of Elizabeth Snyder" and refers to her only as "Ms. Snyder." He also reports that the dean would not say whether or not the professor had been disciplined. I don't see why that is part of the story.

[spinnaker]

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/14/nyregion/professor-of-philip-garber-nj-stutterer-defends-actions.html?_r=1

[pooksocket]

From the new article:

"Both say that they had agreed that he would send her an e-mail listing his concerns, but he never did, and that she tried to arrange meetings with him and a college dean, but Philip backed out of them."

How to Get Complaints Resolved in College

1. Agree to an email exchange.
2. Don't send the email.
3. Agree to a meeting with the dean.
4. Back out of it.
5. Contact the NYT.

[spinnaker]

If no one else is going to point this out I will. The first article was on page one, the second in the "NY-Region" section. Thanks NYT, we're all better now.

[wilbrish]

That reporter is incompetent.

[bud04]

That reporter is incompetent.

Totally agree.

[spinnaker]

If we don't get the instructor's side, we'll never really know. I wonder why she doesn't speak out.  It's hurting her.

I'm betting this is a case of "Have you stopped beating your wife, yet?"

No matter what the adjunct says, she will be wrong.  Keeping quiet and working it out through the people who have the ability to not rehire is a far better use of her time and energy than trying to fight public perception.

From the way she's talking now, it sounds like she'd be ready to start a defamation of character lawsuit, if she lost her teaching job. Except that she's an adjunct, so she probably knows better.
I have the feeling that the college's statement that she acted improperly came after the Times got interested.
The liberals are talking about it    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/14/elizabeth-snyder-county-c_n_1010498.html