a student has been arrested and taken away from her college class. dailymail.com her professor, who ironically is reported to be the co-chair of the school’s political science, history and social justice department, engaged in an argument with the student. it escalated to the point that the police were called to address the matters as a disturbance.
the disturbance, a verbal altercation, evolved from the professor’s request that the student re-do a paper six hours prior to when it was to be turned in. the student took offense to this and the “dust up” began. it culminated with student handcuffed and police escorted from the classroom.
how did society get here? simple. when parents and employers are not valued within the academic system all is lost. in this circumstance, the student may have had good reasons that she could not re-do the paper within six hours time. maybe she had a class, a medical appointment or other work to complete in that time period. or, was her objection a mere matter of insubordination? i am unsure.
if there was a good reason to not complete the task, a parent would have advised their child to respect the professor and simply request that she been sent to speak to someone in school administration over the matter. the parent would advise their child that there is a place and time for justice to be addressed. a parent would tell the child to not waste their time with a verbal altercation with a teacher.
an employer would advise this student that sudden changes in assignment or re-dos are part and parcel of working. there are times when something needs to be improved and there are time constraints. the employer would advise that learning how to work under pressure is a valued asset in the working world. had this student taken the time to successfully redo the paper, this would have been a great story for her to share in a job interview. it would have showed that she is an individual who is capable of succeeding and performing during difficult times.
in sum, without parents and employers offering these insights, this poor student now is forever compromised via the news reports on her arrest. she will forever be compromised on her ability to obtain work. whether justified or not, her actions will be viewed as a display of toxicity. no employer, in their right mind, would want to take a chance on having this conduct in their workplace.
in sum, there are situations in which there may be no right or wrong. in these situations, how someone conducts themselves is what is of import. the school, the professor and the student, in this instance, all are undeserving of a passing grade. academics are intended to give students skills to work. this lesson was unfortunately lost.
be well!!
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