Why Some Professors Have to Fail!

Any and all students in a North American college or university ought to check out their school's policy concerning academic freedom.  This sort of policy was 'invented' in the 1960's to protect the faculty of our institutions of higher learning from persecution for their crazy-hippie political views.  That's why, when you read through your school's policy, you'll find statements like: "Academic freedom does not require neutrality in expression or attitude" and "free in the choice and pursuit of teaching methods and content."  Nowadays, these policies are still protecting faculty and professional academics from the same sort of persecution and, in many cases, they're protecting the self-same faculty (who haven't retired yet).

Policies of this sort are extremely important for the protection of free thinking and the free exchange of ideas.  That said, academic freedom policies are the same policies quashing the free exchange of ideas and promoting whole new highs in academic mediocrity.

What?  "Mediocrity" did you say?  You heard me right.  If you've every sat through one of those gruelling courses led by a hopeless bumbler (poor communicator), borderline sociopath, or walking corpse whose been indefinitely excused from retirement, you can bet that his colleagues (or at least one of them) are well aware of his professional shortcomings.  The problem is... You guessed it... Academic freedom policies also protect those professors who couldn't teach their way out of a wet paper bag.  Try as you may, oh disenfranchised student, there is nothing you, your TA, or your favorite professor can do to get him out of the classroom.

The problem is that once Professor Cretin has achieved tenure, or just hung around long enough to build-up a heaping helping of seniority, there are few institutions that have any mechanisms in place to root out the bad teachers.  Just the contrary, academic freedom policies protect mediocre teachers from persecution for their inability to successfully execute their teaching duties.  Chauvinism, inappropriate language, blatant and explicit disregard for students, complete and utter boobery, all of these behaviours are protected by the same policies that were meant to keep Vietnam war protesters from losing their jobs. 

So, you might be asking: what can I do about this unfortunate situation?  What do I do if I'm stuck in a class where, to draw an example from my own experience, the professor spends more time defending his own alcoholism than he does explaining the course material?  The truth is, I'm not really sure.  I would start by encouraging you all to be completely and %100 honest when it comes to filling out those little end-of-the-year teaching evaluation surveys that most institutions ask  their professors to distribute.  The teaching evaluation is no time for being nice especially if the professor doesn't deserve it.  Don't say, "the guy was a $h!t He@D," just explain your complaints in as much detail as possible.  When you can, offer quotes from the professor him or herself.  (Chances are he/she has said the same stupid shit to one or a number of her/his colleagues and they dismissed it thinking, "he'd never really say that in class.")

Along those same lines I would strongly suggest taking advantage of the tools I know you already love and adore--namely, the social media.  Use your webcam in class to catch a few exemplary moments in Professor Cretin's classroom.  Post them anonymously, of course, but definitely post them.  I'm pretty sure that when Professor Cretin goes viral, University of Cretinous Professors will start paying attention and figure out some way to protect the free exchange of ideas AND the quality of your education.

I tend to think (hope?) that there are very few professors who are genuinely deserving of an outright failure.  That said, I have met at least a few in my time hanging out on campuses.  The fact remains, some professors have to fail.  The truth of the matter is, they won't unless you (you are, apparently, the customer after all) force the issue...