<p>Hello, collegefolk. We've been having a discussion in the Parents Cafe about the effect of a professor's political beliefs on their grading. I thought it might help to ask actual college students for your input. So, here's the question:</p>
<p>Have you ever been given a grade less that you feel you deserve BECAUSE you took a position contrary to what a professor believes politically? Are you a libertarian who ran afoul of a conservative? A neo-Marxist dealing with a Republican? A Republican with a "progressive" instructor?</p>
<p>Let us know. Some of us parents witnessed this when we were in college, but some of us doubt that it still goes on. Others are pretty convinced that it does.
I'll carry your opinions and stories back down into the parent's dungeon. Thanks!</p>
<p>I had a very notoriously, openly liberal professor last year. He was fairly adament about his positions and would challenge dissenters to debates during class time. He said that basically no matter how well they argued their points, they would still be wrong to him fundamentally. I don't know that this was reflected in grades, largely because TAs did all of the grading exclusively. He definitely entertained their arguments but did everything he could to defeat them. The dissenting students generally became favorites of his to call on in lecture because he loved a good fight.</p>
<p>I suspect that his TAs, who were all with him for the duration of their programs, had similar leanings and would grade with his perspective. It was the type of class where you knew the professor's position and you knew what he wanted to hear and so you constructed your papers to reflect that position to guarentee a good grade. I doubt that opposing opinions would be graded down just because they were in disagreement with him, but I don't doubt that those papers were scrutinized much more harshly. As a result, those people were likely at a greater risk to get bad grades if they weren't really careful backing up their position.</p>
<p>I had a professor whose views I strongly disagreed with -- she was a medical anthropologist with negative views of biomedical science, and I'm a biologist. I often vehemently disagreed with the readings she assigned in class, and took points of view opposite from hers in my papers.</p>
<p>I got an A in that course, and liked her courses so much that I took another class with her the next term (when I also got an A). We both had a lot to learn from each other, and I never felt that not sharing my views meant that she didn't like me as a student.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I had a professor whose views I strongly disagreed with -- she was a medical anthropologist with negative views of biomedical science, and I'm a biologist. I often vehemently disagreed with the readings she assigned in class, and took points of view opposite from hers in my papers.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I remember one electromagnetics prof at MIT who took every opportunity he had to bash Bush (this was the run-up to the 2004 election), and about how he hoped that soon the country would have another President, etc. Whether you agreed with him or not politically, what does that have to do with electromagnetics? Students were there to learn the actual subject of the class, not to listen to a political speech.</p>
<p>Well, in my case, her views were arguably connected with the subject of her research -- she didn't necessarily espouse a traditional left vs. right political position, but instead was very concerned with issues of access to healthcare and social justice.</p>
<p>I agree that the political views of the prof are totally irrelevant in most science and engineering classes.</p>
<p>I once had a sociology teacher who spent the first part of the class basically explaining how, thousands of years ago, people basically transformed from acting ape-like to acting human-like...he taught it as if it were unquestionable fact that no one could possibly have reasons to disagree with, which I imagine might have offended any religious people that were in the class (if there were any). It's not something that would have impacted grading if you disagreed with him, though...unless possibly you chose to challenge his viewpoints in your end-of-term paper, but that wouldn't have followed the assignment guidelines and IMO anyone who writes a paper specifically to pick arguments with the professor is just asking for a bad grade.</p>
<p>Princeton I believe is notorious. The faculty is liberal and those who I know who are conservative get slammed pretty regularly. But that is life. Those opposing feminism are also slammed. So apply if you are progressive.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I once had a sociology teacher who spent the first part of the class basically explaining how, thousands of years ago, people basically transformed from acting ape-like to acting human-like...he taught it as if it were unquestionable fact that no one could possibly have reasons to disagree with, which I imagine might have offended any religious people that were in the class (if there were any). It's not something that would have impacted grading if you disagreed with him, though...unless possibly you chose to challenge his viewpoints in your end-of-term paper, but that wouldn't have followed the assignment guidelines and IMO anyone who writes a paper specifically to pick arguments with the professor is just asking for a bad grade.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I hardly think that teaching ideas derived from evolutionary theory could be considered political indoctrination.</p>
<p>I have to agree with svalbardlutefisk... teaching evolutionary biology in any class dealing with humans should be acceptable at any university that does not have a specific religious affiliation.</p>
<p>But anyway, I've heard the horror stories of getting graded down for a contrary viewpoint. Well, I've suffered it-- and it wasn't because I'm a Democrat and he was a Republican! In international relations theory, there are varying schools of theoretical thought, with the two biggest being liberalism and realism. I'm decidedly on the realist side (Hobbesian), while my professor is closer to the liberalist side (Lockeian.) I got dinged something fierce on an essay I wrote because I took a very strong neorealist (Keohane-esque) stance on the issue.</p>
<p>Oh well. I still think I'm right. That, and grad school grades are meaningless, so the prof. can stuff it.</p>
<p>Psychologists talk about "confirmation bias" - you tend to accept information that agrees with your existing viewpoint, and reject information that doesn't. This rating of information is an unconscious process. While I'm sure some profs can get past that when grading, it seems likely that a well-presented argument in a term paper would be perceived as being better-reasoned if it agreed with the prof's biases. Equally persuasive points that disagree with the prof just won't seem as valid.</p>
<p>I'm sure many profs would be happy just to get a well-written paper, though.</p>
<p>"I once had a sociology teacher who spent the first part of the class basically explaining how, thousands of years ago, people basically transformed from acting ape-like to acting human-like.."</p>
<p>Based on what we see today, your professor was correct except for having it in the wrong order.</p>