Posted on 10/21/2022 8:25:43 AM PDT by lowbridge
An NYU chemistry professor who claimed he was fired after students complained that his class was too hard said colleges “coddle” students instead of helping them succeed with “tough love.”
Maitland Jones Jr. taught at the expensive Manhattan private school for 15 years before he was canned ahead of the fall semester after a student petition alleged that his organic chemistry class was too difficult to pass.
“Organic chemistry is a difficult and important course,” he wrote in an op-ed published in the Boston Globe Thursday.
“Those of us who teach it aim to produce critical thinkers, future diagnosticians, and scientists.”
The 84-year-old said he has witnessed a decline in student capacity in recent years as well as administrators bending to the wishes of students more often than not,
“Deans must learn to not coddle students for the sake of tuition and apply a little tough love,” Jones wrote. “They must join the community in times of conflict to generate those teachable moments.”
He said professors now fear teaching demanding material and assigning low grades to students who perform poorly because they worry they’ll face punishment.
“[Young professors’] entire careers are at the peril of complaining students and deans who seem willing to turn students into nothing more than tuition-paying clients,” Jones said.
The ex-teacher said the students must learn to accept failure and grow from their mistakes. He argued doing so is a vital life skill today’s students aren’t getting.
“Students need to develop the ability to take responsibility for failure,” he wrote. “If they continue to deflect blame, they will never grow… Failure should become a classic ‘teachable moment.'”
Jones, who previously taught at Princeton University, said he watched a decline in students’ attendance and participation in his class over the past couple of years.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Organic Chemistry 1&2 w/ lab are weeder courses.
P Chem sucks too.
For EE:
Diff Eq., Digital Logic, and Microprocessors.
Everyone gets a trophy reaches university level.
The “weed out” course weeded out the Professor.
It can’t be just about organic chemistry. What’s his political affiliation ?
So, just give the Lyle snowflakes a participation degree and be done with it.
Little
Loved Organic Chemistry and Qualitative Organic Analysis. I agree with you on P Chem and also Analytical Chemistry. Too dry.
I do agree, the courses you cited are the big stumbling blocks for people seeking those majors—however, as a 77 year old, I would not want to go back into the classroom, I would ask how well this professor was able to keep up with advances in O Chem — my best profs were not this old.
I can accept that maybe math courses are more stable?
I took a Zoology course. We started out with over 100 students, but before long it was 10. Then it got fun. For real, it was a blast. I loved it.
I would absolutely think Math is far more stable.
Any advances in Mathematics would probably be in PhD level dissertations at elite level Universities.
I took College Algebra, Trig, Pre-Calc, Calc 1, Calc 2, Calc 3, Diff Eq, and Linear Algebra.
I would think nothing changed in these for a very long time.
I for got to post...I didn’t find Organic Chemistry “difficult”, but laborious. A ton of index cards and memorization.
The adjustable quandary...
Increased throughput, brings in dollars based on the illusionary success metric.
Breaking News. Upcoming, a generation of pussies. Good Luck America.
My freshman year roommate was pre-med. He too stumbled on Organic Chemistry. He also partied a little too much.
He made himself right, buckled down, and went back year 2 for Organic Chemistry, and passed. Now he’s an OB/GYN
Thanks to a prof, just like Prof. Maitland Jones Jr., who makes sure students are serious and committed.
Did you use the Kreyszig book ?
Chemistry is a difficult subject? Who knew?
I don’t think so.
College is a f’n joke these days. Especially at the (poison) Ivy schools.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.