<p>I have had that experience, where a prof did penalize me for just that. He even wrote it in his comments at end of my paper. This was a prof I had for multiple courses for my major and only because he liked me did he give me the option to take an incomplete, rewrite according to his “suggestions” (read POV) and resubmit. I had previously agreed with his perspective, but after my own research came tondifferent conclusions. </p>
<p>I gave him what he asked for, got an excellent grade and promptly completed transfer applications out of that college. </p>
<p>English is a different topicbthan history, though. Englsh teachers tend to follow a different kind of rubric, and POV often does not enter into the grading scale.</p>
<p>Frankly, if you got a D level grade on your paper/course…it’s much more likely that you wrote a crappy paper/turned in crappy work for that English class. </p>
<p>I once wrote an English paper arguing the case that a prominent conservative politician was a hero even though I knew the Prof. hated him with a passion. </p>
<p>Despite that, I ended up with an A on the paper and an A in the course. Moreover, the Prof actually complemented how I argued my case despite the fact he vehemently disagreed personally and made no bones about it.</p>
<p>On the flipside, some classmates who wrote essays largely agreeing with his political views ended up with Cs or lower grades…because they were poorly argued/written.</p>
<p>Some of the best argumentative topics for papers are opinions that you might disagree with. As long as you support it with facts, you can often do quite well. </p>
<p>Another key thing that students miss is not following the instructions for the assignment - word count, type of argument, which kind of sources used and what style is used. </p>
<p>Miss one of these points and it can tank an otherwise well written paper.</p>
<p>My experience is that if your sources contradict the professor’s point of view, the professor will say the source is weak, or the research was poorly done. It’s much easier to get a good grade (assuming all else is equal) if you agree with the professor. They are much less likely to be critical of sources or reasoning that way.</p>
<p>Anyone can relate anecdotes of professors with strong political opinions who act professionally and encourage independent thought and diverse viewpoints - such as MDMom describes.</p>
<p>Similarly, anyone can relate anecdotes of professors who insist on unthinking genuflection to their outspoken liberal/radical agendas and are openly hostile to opposing ideas.</p>
<p>Certain colleges (Swarthmore, Warren Wilson, etc.) and specfic departments (Women’s Studies, etc.) are notorious for the latter type of professor. If you cannot function in this type of classroom, simply avoid them. If you absolutely must take an elective in this type of subject, every department is likely to have someone who fits the first type of professor - do your research in advance.</p>
<p>Without knowing specifically what the professor was commenting on, it’s hard to say whether it was justified or not.</p>
<p>However, your post is so full of grammar and syntax errors that you might have earned the D+ just on the merits of the writing.</p>
<p>Usually, if you are doing poorly in a class, the thing to do is go talk to the professor and get a better understanding of the problem. Do not go to the dean until you’ve talked to the professor first.</p>
<p>Unless the English Prof is unusually strict, those errors would often merit a C-level grade.</p>
<p>D level means there were more serious issues…such as problems with sources, use of polemic language/rhetoric without any/enough supporting arguments/good sources, meandering without much/any clear point, basic coherence, etc.</p>
<p>I don’t know what the heck you’re trying to say. How do you “document” a paper by doctors? Are you saying that you just regurgitated the opinions of doctors about the bill? Where did you get these opinions? How do you know that the doctor or others “studied political science?” </p>
<p>I suspect the problem may be that you didn’t write the kind of paper you were supposed to write. (BTW, learn the difference between affect and effect. If you wrote effect in your paper, you’ve already lost ground.) Normally, argumentative papers don’t cite a lot of sources. They aren’t the same as research papers. And citing other people’s opinions is probably not going to help. </p>
<p>If what you wrote can be roughly translated as “The Health Care Act should be abolished because the doctor who is in charge of the American Medical Association’s political action committee says that the number of primary care physicians will decline if it isn’t repealed and a Republican member of the House Subcommittee on health care (or whatever committee is relevant) says that it will cost $1 billion more than the OMB’s estimate,etc.,” then it’s understandable that you got a bad grade. </p>
<p>So, swallow your pride and go see the prof. Ask him politely how you could redo your paper and what he was looking for. Ask him for an example of an A paper. (I don’t mean you should ask him for a chance to rewrite it for a better grade. You should just ask him how you should have approached your argument.) </p>
<p>Maybe you’re right and it’s all about the views you expressed. I doubt it though. If after seeing the prof with an open mind–that part’s important–you still think it’s because of the views you expressed, then and only then should you consider talking with the chair of the department.</p>
<p>Since the professor’s comments were along the lines of “That’s a lie”, as OP states, rather than something more like, “Unsubstantiated opinion”, it’s an indication that politics lies behind the comment. OP also states that the paper was reviewed by a tutor (and apparently found acceptable) prior to submittal.</p>
<p>However, as others have posted, a student does not fail a class for a single grade on a paper. Similarly, high-performing students do not typically ask tutors to review research papers.</p>
<p>We are getting a limited view of only one side of the story. </p>
<p>The only definitive conclusion I would offer to OP is, “No, with extremely few exceptions, students cannot get professors fired regardless of the circumstances.” It would probaly be easier to have the professor arrested by police for professional malpractice than it is to get them fired.</p>
<p>^^^ Exactly. I think people are being biased becaues of their OWN political feeling. Using language like that is not acceptable and not professional regardless of what political views one has.</p>
<p>(I’m not a parent, but I’m going to leave my $0.02 anyway.)</p>
<p>Well, the fact that you refer to your professor as a “left wing nut” indicates you probably already held some bias against him/his grading due to his political beliefs. You were probably EXPECTING him to give you a low grade due to his stance on politics, so when you got a D+ you just assumed that it was politically motivated rather than an error made by you (unreliable/biased citations, etc.) I don’t think you would fail the entire class because of 1 D+. There must be something else that you are not addressing here. </p>
<p>“what does he know he’s an engish professor with a major in english… he’s not qualified to give his opinion.”
Now I must ask you, where is YOUR degree? Just because his degree is in English doesn’t mean that he has zero knowledge of the ACA. By that logic, you would not have been qualified to write a paper on the ACA. Even the people that DO have a degree in this area (doctors, pol sci, economists, etc) have differing opinions on the ACA. I don’t know what he called “lies” in your paper, but they very well could have been lies (death panels are a common lie about the ACA). I will admit he could have worded it better though. I’m sure people here could be more helpful to you or give you better explanations if you posted what it was that he called a lie.</p>
<p>To summarize, I highly doubt you failed the class due to this one D+. There must be some other problem with your work that you are addressing neither here nor in your personal life. Rather than blaming others for your errors, try to learn from your mistakes. If you insist on placing the fault of your mistakes on others, then you won’t get far in life. I know you’re upset about your D+ and even more upset about failing the class, but take it for what it is, fix your mistakes, and do better if/when you retake the class.</p>
<p>Really? What if someone wrote something that is a transparent lie, such as “many Africans were happy to be enslaved”, or “George Bush has admitted that he had advanced warning of 9/11, but allowed it to occur”?</p>
<p>It’s unprofessional to scribble, “That’s a lie,” on a paper, IMHO. Better to sit down with the student and discuss the lack of credible sources.</p>
<p>I would use different words that say the same thing. “That is incorrect.” “This is misinformation.” It says the same thing. I might write that the student needs to change the channel. Lol. That is what I say to adults.</p>
<p>While it is discourteous and unprofessional to some, the New Yorker in me actually feels a Prof with this level of candor should be commended, not pilloried if the comments he’s writing are referring to actual lies, misinformation, etc.</p>
<p>Then again, I’ve have had HS English and other teachers write comments such as “This is garbage”, “Nonsense”, and more…and we were expected to grin and bear it by peers and most of our parents during our early-mid '90s HS years.</p>
<p>And where are the prof’s defending stats to back up that statement? It’s an ineffectual way to teach and sets up an adversarial tone. </p>
<p>But it seems the crux of the matter is that the student didn’t just receive a D on the paper, he or she failed the class, which as we all know, takes more than one bad grade.</p>