Bias in the Classroom

When I read the recent op-ed by Jonathon Zimmerman (12/4/24), it made me think of a similar experience  I had recently while attending a political science class at a major university. Immediately after the election the professor decided to postpone the regular discussion and dedicate the entire class to discussing the results of the election.  

The tone was set, however, when the professor walked into class and announced that the election had been a "catastrophe". The entire class agreed with him. As they went on to discuss the election, I saw numerous teaching opportunities where the professor could have given the kids something to think about by bringing alternative views into the discussion. He rarely did. Even if he was only acting as devil's advocate, he could have broadened the discussion in a way that would have been very valuable to the class. 

The worst example was when one of the students asked why President Biden was being blamed for the economy and inflation because the president does not control the economy. When the question was asked, I was delighted because I saw it as the best teaching opportunity of the day. Unfortunately, the professor instead simply agreed with the assertion with no qualifiers. 

Of course, the statement is correct that the president does not control the economy, however, the president has enormous influence, and in some cases control by executive order, on many other things like fiscal policy, energy policy, tax policy, trade policy, immigration policy and many other things, all of which have a huge impact on the economy. I was surprised and  disappointed that these qualifiers were not made a part of the professor's response.

Since I am auditing the course, I am not allowed to say anything during class. That meant that those students left class under the impression that the president is powerless when it comes to the economy and nothing could be further from the truth. When I later conveyed my disappointment to the professor, he did not share my concern about his incomplete answer to the question.

Fortunately, I was able to approach the student after class and repeat my "rest of the story" explanation. We had a short, but productive, discussion about the issue and she went away thanking me for talking to her and saying that I gave her something important to think more about.

.While I have not agreed with everything that the students in that class have said, I have been impressed by all of them. They have been thoughtful, insightful and articulate. More importantly, my experience there has given me hope that this thing called America will be in good hands down the road. I do worry though that college classrooms have sometimes become echo chambers that do not give the students the truly well-rounded education that they need and deserve.