Blog- Opinionated lessons

       

       Well, I just figured, considering the "lesson" given by prof. Harris the other day, that I would address his way of thinking with my own. I, personally, feel it was wrong of him to speak so definitively, judgmentally, and with such a powerful bias, to a class of students who are learning and studying events on their own as an exercise to reinforce the idea of individualism in students. Now, many may not have even realized the importance of the (/11 study in class, and yes of course it was to gain knowledge about the event, however that is not the sole cause of the exercise, otherwise we would have taken notes on it that were written by Mrs. Cassidy. The exercise, I believe, was to for once allow US, the STUDENTS, to go out and research, learn, and grow as students on our OWN. For once without the yoke of the educational system weighing heavily on our necks, finally having the freedom to explore whatever possibility you see fit, and to come out with an opinion that you yourself formulated based solely on the research of you and your peers. I felt his approach to our unit of study was not only rude, but demeaning and debilitating to our exercise. "Our" collage professor (Our as in the only collage professor who we learn from in class) came into a class that is trying to learn how to break free from the chains of the Educational Systems limitations, and more or less crushed any hope of formulating their own opinions, unless those opinions had already had a strong foundation with research and study from the past. However, most students weren't at that point. Most students were heavily on the fence with their opinions, and had not yet reached a point where they felt confident enough in one side or the other, to truly express their beliefs. Most students, when asked their opinion, remained ambiguous, replying that they, "Weren't sure" or that they "Couldn't formulate and opinion yet". And so, in a class that is on such a crucial border to freeing their minds, to have such an audacious display of biased( Also founded to be misinformed) behavior in front of a class of learners that will take your (Harris') word as law, is simply unfair, and inappropriate. As a teacher, yours should be the guiding hand that allows students to learn and prosper on their own, to come to their own conclusions. This was simply not the case on that day. The iron fist of biased, misinformed, dogmatic beliefs was forced upon the class, and they, not possessing the knowledge (yet) to deny it. For with a few well said sentences, someone with that mastery of language can easily convince those of us without the knowledge of the events of their own perspective's truth. I love learning from professor Harris, I enjoy his lessons and I have a huger amount of respect for him, so please do not take this as a personal attack on him. He is a great teacher and a very nice person, however even the nicest of people can be biased, and even the best of teachers can be wrong in their actions. Despite the fact that his information regarding 9/11 was wrong, I believe that the way he went about his lesson was wrong and unjust. He simply dismissed ANY other opinion than that of his own, and actually mocked those with other opinions. The impact that sort of dogmatic attitude can have on students, coming from a collage professor no less, can be devastating. I truly feel he wronged us as a class, by crushing any possibility of allowing us to come to our OWN conclusions, based on our OWN study and research. I, as a student, feel personally wronged by his lesson, and I hope that my fellow students who read this, feel the same as I. Not for his difference in opinion, but for his indifference to our freedom as students, to learn, draw conclusions, grow, and prosper.