ENEMY PROFESSOR (No. 18) - Amira Traish

No Indoctrination dot org ^ | 2-15-05 | dfu

[doug from upland]

Wouldn't you think a composition class would be a safe haven from leftist propaganda? Nope.

PREVIOUS ENEMIES -- 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

========================================================

Warning: Postings are only opinions. (See Terms of Service)

Record for NoIndoctrination.org entry #392.

University of Akron

May. 26, 2004

http://www.uakron.edu

OH

  Course: ENG 111: English Composition I

  Course Catalog Description: Extensive and varied experience in developing writing skills, with practice in expressive, reflective, and analytic forms of writing.

  Professor: Amira Traish (Wm Thelin, Director)

  Required? Met a General Ed./diversity/other requirement with a few course options.

  Lecture Bias: Objectionable

  Comments: Class would usually start with her collecting homework. She would then proceed into discussion about a reading. If there were any political points that could be made through it, she would be sure to fit them in. Here are some examples: She talked about the Rush Limbaugh comments made on ESPN, and equated conservatism to bigotry. She made us do summaries from IslamOnline.com and other clearly biased papers. She talked about and promoted her views about Israel (She is of Palestine descent). She made us do a paper on gender stereotypes in product packaging. She did allow dissenting opinions in writing to some extent, but not in class. She lectured in such a way, where if you stated an opposing view, you would look stupid without her needing to respond. She did this with the “Rush Limbaugh” lecture/discussion, as well as her spiel on gay rights. On gay rights, a few kids said they did not think gays were born that way. She gave a surprised look and said “do you really think that?”, in an almost holier than thou sort of way. She made us write a letter to Jerry Falwell pleading him to allow sex education in schools. What got to me was that we had to write it from a Christian perspective. We were told this was a lesson on “writing for your audience”, but I believe that she could have come up with a less objectionable activity to prove the same point.

  Discussion Bias: Excessive

  Comments: See above

  Readings Bias: Noticeable

  Comments: The full title of the book was called “*Crossing Cultures: Readings for Composition (6th Edition)”, by Myrna Knepler. The book contained many stories from a moderate to liberal worldview, but were no more liberal then most college texts. The ratio of biased to unbiased assigned readings was 2:1. The book “The Ditchdiggers Daughters” was used as the sole novel of the class.

  General Comments: English Composition I was meant to be a class on self expression. As such, very few position papers were written. In the one that I did have to write, I made sure to not say anything that conflicted in her views. She managed to integrate the teaching of writing skills and the pushing of her social and political agendas. For example, we had to come up with a list of words that would be “politically incorrect”, as part as the “writing for your audience” theme. There were times that she stopped teaching to promote her views, such as when she went off on a tangent about the Palestine plight, and the Israelis putting up a wall through “their” properties. College should be a forum where all ideas can be discussed. According to the University of Akron (http://www.uakron.edu/ogc/rules/Rules20/20-03f.pdf) "Teachers are entitled to freedom in the classroom in discussing their subject, but they should be careful not to introduce into their teaching controversial matter which has no relation to their subject." She was definitely introducing topics irrelevant to the task at hand. She came up with many papers she could use as political pawns, and try to “fit them in”, as previously stated.

Rebuttal

  When a course posting goes online, NoIndoctrination.org sends a notice to the professor inviting him/her to contest any specifics. (See Rebuttals.) If we receive a rebuttal, it will be posted here.

The opinions expressed within NoIndoctrination.org are not necessarily those held by NoIndoctrination.org
Copyright © 2002-04, NoIndoctrination.org

[doug from upland]

Ping

[TASMANIANRED]

I had a comp teacher much like this.

[doug from upland]

I bet there are even P.E. teachers who pull this crap.

[Hayley]

Although laudable, this is kinda like picking-out individuals in a swarm of locusts. The various disciplines, traditionally of the social sciences, have grown increasingly "interdisciplinary"--homogenized with the same reductionist crap. You should take a look sometime at the literature that is flowing into university libraries these days in new acquisitions. Also, do some pleasure reading in Dissertation Abstracts and get an idea of how bright America's future is--unless you have to endure it!

[Poser]

Social Science is an oxymoron. There's nothing scientific about it. It is simply liberal propaganda.

[SpinyNorman]

"She made us do a paper on gender stereotypes in product packaging."

I wonder if a paper on gender stereotyping in Muslim societies is on the radar scope? Maybe a treatise on "the relative value of women and farm animals in orthodox Muslim societies."

[hosepipe]

Bump

[FairOpinion]

Great!

Did you find the one about a course to "understand" Bin Laden?

Fighting Terrorism with Empathy: a Model for Peace (College Forum)(to understand Bin Laden)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1337080/posts

[doug from upland]

Oh, my. I hadn't see that.