2008 Woodie Awards
Student Complains of 'Bias in the Classroom'
Grace Williams (GCC Student)
Issue date: 11/28/07 Section: Letters to the Editor
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Editor's note: The letter writer declined to name the professors she refers to in this letter. El Vaquero welcomes letters from the campus community, however the opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editor or staff.
Redefining "Global Perspective" [the late U.S. Senator] Adlai E. Stevenson Jr. once said, "[My definition of] a free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular."
There has been a moment in everyone's life where they have been unpopular. My first day of high school when I thought that it would be cool to wear the red plaid pants with the bright orange shirt was mine. Not one of my better moments, but not my last either.
I am one of many college students across the country who continues to be unpopular in their classroom because I speak my opinion.
As with most colleges, Glendale Community College tends to lean politically towards the left. Most professors also tend to be liberal; consequently, classes tend to be taught with a liberal bias. However it is not about being conservative or liberal. This is about professors teaching from a biased standpoint and not giving their students the whole story. It is not fair to the students when a professor only gives one side of an argument.
My professor who stood up and said that President Bush's tax cuts only benefit the rich discredits studies done. The Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) did a study where they outline some of the myths of his tax cuts. The "rich" category is actually comprised primarily of small businesses. It is true that those in the highest tax bracket get more back, it is also true that they pay more in taxes.
Saying that only the rich benefit from the tax cuts implies no one else does. The trickle down effects of giving small businesses more money are too numerous to be written; however, it does include job growth, business expansion, ability to save, more money back into the economy, etc. Of course, none of this is mentioned to students, but rather the unsupported opinions dominate the classroom. In the end this hurts students more than it helps them because it is not giving them all the information they need to form an educated opinion.
Redefining "Global Perspective" [the late U.S. Senator] Adlai E. Stevenson Jr. once said, "[My definition of] a free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular."
There has been a moment in everyone's life where they have been unpopular. My first day of high school when I thought that it would be cool to wear the red plaid pants with the bright orange shirt was mine. Not one of my better moments, but not my last either.
I am one of many college students across the country who continues to be unpopular in their classroom because I speak my opinion.
As with most colleges, Glendale Community College tends to lean politically towards the left. Most professors also tend to be liberal; consequently, classes tend to be taught with a liberal bias. However it is not about being conservative or liberal. This is about professors teaching from a biased standpoint and not giving their students the whole story. It is not fair to the students when a professor only gives one side of an argument.
My professor who stood up and said that President Bush's tax cuts only benefit the rich discredits studies done. The Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) did a study where they outline some of the myths of his tax cuts. The "rich" category is actually comprised primarily of small businesses. It is true that those in the highest tax bracket get more back, it is also true that they pay more in taxes.
Saying that only the rich benefit from the tax cuts implies no one else does. The trickle down effects of giving small businesses more money are too numerous to be written; however, it does include job growth, business expansion, ability to save, more money back into the economy, etc. Of course, none of this is mentioned to students, but rather the unsupported opinions dominate the classroom. In the end this hurts students more than it helps them because it is not giving them all the information they need to form an educated opinion.
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