By Danny Huizinga
As with any university, there are likely some classes or professors at Baylor that are not conducive to excellent learning.
However, the Oct. 17 Lariat editorial, “Regulated curriculum helps BU,” prescribes a vague solution that could very well do more harm than good.
The Lariat is correct in articulating the importance of professor reviews. Thoughtful, honest feedback can be extremely useful to professors and department heads. But if the goal is to facilitate the best possible learning process, it is illogical to argue that “courses should be regulated for leveled experience.”
Just as in other levels of schooling, teachers themselves, not administrators, are the best equipped to manage their classes. The Lariat keeps mentioning “regulation” without outlining a plan for how this would happen.
How can courses be regulated for “across-the-board equality” without violating academic freedom and eliminating personal teaching styles?
The Lariat goes on to argue, “With across-the-board equality for all sections of courses, students get the best shot at the quality education they paid Baylor to give them.” I couldn’t disagree more.
A blind mandate for perfect equality leads to suppression of personal differences between professors and a robotic repetition of information on a screen. Let professors teach things in different ways. Students have ways of talking to each other to determine which professor’s class structure may best fit their needs
Even if you take a class in which the teaching style is difficult, it hardly means you don’t have a “fair shot at getting an A,” as the Lariat argues.
In Stephen R. Covey’s revolutionary book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” he speaks against this reactive mindset. “Instead of reacting to or worrying about conditions over which they have little or no control, proactive people focus their time and energy on things they can control.
Requirements for classes are clearly outlined, and there are existing systems and procedures to follow if a professor is unhelpful or disrespectful. The way to reform bad teaching is through reviews and evaluations. Arguing for a vague, undefined system of “regulation” will not help us achieve the most out of our Baylor education.
Danny Huizinga
Chicago junior
