School started up the other day, and one of my professors put up a discussion post to introduce yourself, and confirm you’ve read the syllabus. Then in the syllabus they hid a requirement for the discussion post under like 3 pages of fine print. I caught it, but everyone else i see posting is going to have their first grade in this class be an F because they didnt read the syllabus as if it were a contract for your soul.
Like i get it you want people to read your syllabus, but you don’t need to be an asshole about it. They didnt even say in the post to make sure you read it carefully or anything. Just “Say in your post you understand the syllabus.”
All of this was taught to me in a high-school life class. It doesn’t need to be done by professors in academic settings where a trust-based relationship is being fostered when there’s a class on this entire thing, as well as taxes, writing checks, etc in high-school.
Do schools not have that? Understandable, which doesn’t mean that it should be done by professors.
So, I told my perspective and personal experience in simple, straightforward manner. Rather than considering this s a favor, either, people are upset looking for justification of reactionary feelings, which I also already validated. And people are still mad. This is why people do what this professor did. Good on him. He did what was right for students, rather than what’s easiest and wouldn’t win him popularity points anyway, which also isn’t his job.
Advice given, unasked, is never a “favor”. Don’t expect anything back from it.
Saying that there is a high-school class dedicated to preparing students for that in a more rigorous, disciplined environment that is better suited for teaching life skills isn’t reactionary. Actually, I’d argue that it’s “good on the professor” for shoving random “life-lessons” in their module is more reactionary, but that’s up to you I suppose.
Neither is his job.
It was asked. Because one had this or the other experience doesn’t mean we all did. But we will have similar experiences surviving capitalist employment and other dealings.