Thursday, February 17, 2005

Le Moyne College Dismisses Student for Personal Beliefs, Violates Own Policy on Free Expression

"Administrators at New York's Le Moyne College, which claims to protect academic freedom, have summarily dismissed an education student for writing a paper advocating strict discipline for students. The chair of Le Moyne's education department expelled master's student Scott McConnell because of a "mismatch" between his personal beliefs and the goals of the college's graduate education program.

"Le Moyne College says it respects academic freedom, yet it has dismissed a student purely for expressing personal beliefs that are different from those espoused by administrators," stated David French, president of FIRE. "This shows a profound lack of respect for the opinions of its students. Le Moyne must not promise freedom and then allow extensive and arbitrary censorship on an administrator's whim."

In November 2004, McConnell submitted as part of an assignment a paper expressing his personal views on classroom management, including various ideas for attaining a classroom environment that is "based upon strong discipline and hard work" and that allows "corporal punishment." The paper received an "A-," with his professor noting that his ideas were "interesting" and that she had shared the paper with the department chair, Cathy Leogrande. McConnell ultimately received an "A" as his final grade in the course.

Yet in January 2005, with no prior warning, Leogrande dismissed McConnell from Le Moyne. In the dismissal letter, Leogrande stated that she had reviewed McConnell's grades for courses he took during the summer and fall semesters and had "discussed" his work with his professors. Leogrande wrote, "I have grave concerns regarding the mismatch between your personal beliefs regarding teaching and learning and the Le Moyne College program goals. Based on this data, I do not believe that you should continue in the Le Moyne [Master of Science for Teachers] Program." At the time he was dismissed, McConnell had achieved a grade-point average of 3.78 for the fall semester and had received an "excellent" evaluation for his work in an actual classroom.

"Scott McConnell is being kicked out of school for an `A-' paper," noted FIRE's French. "It appears that at Le Moyne, ideological uniformity trumps any other ideal."

McConnell soon contacted FIRE for assistance. On February 3, FIRE wrote Le Moyne President Charles Beirne and reminded him that dismissing a student based solely on his expression would undermine the college's own standards, which state that students who interfere with others' expression are subject to "the maximum penalty of suspension or dismissal." FIRE noted that making an arbitrary administrative decision to censor expression "sends the message to the campus community that official censorship is acceptable and that those with controversial ideas should keep silent or risk being deemed a `mismatch' and summarily dismissed." Furthermore, FIRE pointed out that Le Moyne's acceptance letter to McConnell stated that his academic performance, not his personal beliefs, would be the determining factor as to whether he was allowed to continue with the master's program.

On February 8, Le Moyne responded to FIRE, stating that "the College does not believe it is appropriate to enter a public debate with your organization concerning the College's admission decision concerning any particular student."

"The fight for the academic freedom of Scott McConnell and for all Le Moyne students will not end just because administrators don't feel like addressing the issue," remarked Greg Lukianoff, FIRE's director of legal and public advocacy. "Le Moyne College administrators must learn that the freedom to dissent is everyone's business."

Source






U.K. Teachers to be protected from parental lawsuits over outings

Long overdue

"Teachers were offered an assurance yesterday that they will be protected from litigious parents if pupils are hurt on school trips. Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, promised to issue guidelines making it "absolutely clear" that teachers enjoy a presumption of innocence if accidents occur. Schools and local education authorities should indemnify staff provided they had taken reasonable care, followed employer guidelines and carried out straightforward safety checks.


The second-largest classroom union, the National Association of Schoolmasters and Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT), has advised its members not to go on school trips because of the risk of being sued by "increasingly litigious" parents. Ms Kelly said that the majority of schools already provided field trips and other outdoor activities for pupils. But she acknowledged that there were real concerns and said that she wanted to work with unions, parents, teachers and school-trip providers to produce a manifesto for outdoor education. This would afford all children the opportunity to go on a residential trip with their school. Research for the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) last year showed that 86 per cent of primary schools and 90 per cent of secondary schools already make this offer to pupils. Seven million pupil visits take place each year, ranging from field trips to a week at an activity centre.

A DfES spokesman said that the guidelines, which will be issued in the summer, would emphasise the need for fair treatment for staff by employers and parents. "Staff who take reasonable care and follow the guidelines will, in the event of any unfortunate accident, be protected by the law," the spokesman said. "By carrying out straightforward, compulsory safety checks, teachers can protect both pupils and staff on a school visit and minimise the risk of litigation. The guidance will also make clear that employers must treat staff fairly when a pupil gets injured and that we expect parents to respond fairly, too."

Chris Keates, the general secretary of the NASUWT, called the new guidance an "extremely helpful and welcome development". She said: "When the detailed guidance is published, I am confident that the national executive will wish to respond positively."

The Commons Education and Skills Select Committee issued a report last week that urged teachers to stop worrying about the threat of legal action and to lead more school trips. David Hart, the general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, said that schools would welcome the Government's initiative.

Source

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL schools should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the poor and minimal regulation.

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