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Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Chico State's independent student newspaper

The Orion

Failing an entire class? Tempting but misguided

TheDragonProffesorweb.jpg
Illustration by Trevor Moore

It’s no secret that I am not cut out to be a teacher.

I can’t stand disrespectful know-it-alls or kiddos who throw tantrums in the middle of class because “Jimmy’s touching me and he has cooties!”

All that aside, if I were a professor in college, I probably would be like the one from Texas A&M who attempted to fail all of the students in his strategic management class.

In the email he sent to the class, he references their lack of respect, tendencies to cheat on exams and overall crappy behavior as his reasons for failing them all.

Of course Texas A&M’s administration wouldn’t let him get away with it, and no student was failed. So I guess that’s a plus?

In all honesty, I think the students should have been failed.

Or some of them anyway.

See, if hell freezes over and I ever become a professor at a prestigious university like Chico State, I would be one of those professors that students have nightmares about, mostly because I have a very low tolerance for shenanigans.

I also really hate people who are disrespectful and would not be afraid to kick students out of my classroom for their behavior.

And, yeah, if I could get away with it, I’d fail a few if they didn’t deserve to pass my class because of infractions like cheating, ditching or being disruptive to the learning environment.

But would I fail an entire class? Probably not.

See, I’m not that great at math or anything, but I’m pretty sure it’s statistically impossible that the whole class was exhibiting the behavior referenced in the professor’s email.

The one thing that makes my face go from translucent to beet red, besides my bleeding disorder medication, is when a group of students are punished when it’s only really the fault of two kids in the group.

That doesn’t do any good but piss off the other kids who aren’t troublemakers.

I get why he wanted to fail his entire class, and I would probably feel the same way if I were in his shoes.

But should he ruin every single one of those student’s academic careers because of a handful of crappy individuals?

The answer is no, my friends.

Megan Mann can be reached at [email protected] or @meganisthemann on Twitter.

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