In the article "Stutterer Speaks Up in Class; His Professor Says Keep Quiet" a student was told not to speak during class because of his noticeable (and apparently distracting - words of the teacher, not mine) stutter. From what I can tell, this professor is painted negatively by her mistreatment of the student but the article also says that students really like her and respect her. For that, I think the writer deserves some credit because at first it seemed as though the article was very much against the professor, but by showing her respectability it gave the article less of a critical-sounding element. I do, however, think it is unbelievable that an educator would deter students from participating in a class by asking questions and answering questions. I understand the points made in the article about how there is an interesting and complex balance between the needs of an individual and the good of a group, but I feel bad for Garber, the student featured. He should not be discriminated against for his disability - if I can even call it that since I guess it is not recognized as a disability by most universities - especially since he is willing and eager to participate in the learning environment. I found this story somewhat discouraging because I believe in the power of teaching and education and this educator seems to have made a mistake that turned out to be more serious than I'm assuming she expected it to be. I'm interested to see where this issue goes. I wonder what UNH's response the this article is...
No comments:
Post a Comment