Scholarship table
New Moral of Story: "What goes around, comes around." If you're not willing to deal with the fallout of your own actions/words, keep your mouth shut. (This is equally applicable to McAdams.)
I'm not sure that's how we want to treat TA's at MU. (or anyplace for that matter).
Wow, I'm very concerned for Benny. Being able to mimic Myron Medcalf's writing so closely implies an oncoming case of dementia.
Wrong.Per the link Piper posted and that I commented had good points, McAdams lied about the basic facts of the incident, and then perpetuated those lies in the local and national media. McAdams was NOT within his rights to do that.
"What goes around, comes around" is a Hindu/Buddhist expression which alludes to a person's actions deciding their future fate (karma). Retaliation has nothing to do with it.Just like the golden rule says "do unto others as you would have them do unto you," not "do unto others as they do unto you."
I understand, but TA's are literally learning on the job. Do we really want to hold them publicly accountable for every single thing they might say?
So how many free passes are you proposing TAs receive? And if they don't use them before graduation, do they get to keep them or do they have to turn them in to get their PhD?
Lied is an overt act, mis-stated is perhaps more accurate. Additionally, nothing McAdams did directly caused the TA to leave. She is leaving because ignorant savages sent her death threats and otherwise made her uncomfortable. Unless McAdams is one of those folks his only fault is poor judgement and poor reporting.
Untrue. There is a well established history of the treatment people get when they are outed in these blogs which leads to further lies and insults on Fox News. Death threats are a very common occurrence. McAdams lives in this world and knows this.
And so because other people are complete idiots, McAdams is responsible? Wouldn't that make Fox News more responsible? Watch out for that slope....I reported something, somebody else saw it and went and killed someone(s), I should be responsible for reporting it in the first place. A chilling effect on journalism, yes?
I would contend that [...] blogging itself, is not "Journalism".
I would contend that holding up a TA's conduct in the classroom to national ridicule is not "Journalism". And lying about that conduct is also not "Journalism". And, blogging itself, is not "Journalism".
And, blogging itself, is not "Journalism".
People can/should be held accountable for what they do and say. However, accountability doesn't need to be a public spectacle, especially with TAs and students in an academic setting having a private conversation.
A national conservative student organization at Marquette University staged a small protest Monday against the university's decision to ban a professor from campus after he publicly criticized a teaching assistant's decision not to allow discussion of gay marriage in an ethics class.At the same time, a handful of graduate students held signs a block away at W. Wisconsin Ave. and N. 13th St., saying they supported the actions of graduate student instructor Cheryl Abbate.The demonstrations, which attracted little attention while the university is on Christmas break, come after Associate Professor John McAdams was placed under review while the university investigates his conduct, according to a post he wrote last week.
I agree, but the media, the general public, the internet, the blogosphere, etc. are all very fickle... it's damn near impossible to know what will and won't go viral in today's day and age - there are marketing/promotion/advertising firms who have seven-figure retainers that have yet to decipher that code. In other words, accountability isn't always going to be (and doesn't need to be) a public spectacle, but it could.Again, if you don't want to be accountable, don't do anything for which you might be held accountable, fairly or unfairly.
Now this is just dumb. Yes, I believe in the First Amendment and the right to peaceably assemble & protest, but if a tree falls in the woods, does anyone care?http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/demonstrators-take-both-sides-of-john-mcadams-controversy-at-marquette-b99413516z1-286591391.htmlIt seems as though a lot of "protesters" these days aren't even passionate (dare I say apathetic) about the issues as they let on... they merely desire for a "battle wound" to post on their Facebook page.
You can polish the turd that is McAdams' unprofessional conduct all you want, but its still a turd.I don't care if McAdams didn't personally send the heinous email messages to her. He named her on his blog, with inaccurate information, then went on national media to cry martyr knowing full well what the repercussions would be. It is a disgrace.
But where do we draw the line?Do we even need Miranda rights anymore? ANYTHING/EVERYTHING I ever do and say can be put on the internet and used against me? Do I have any reasonable right to privacy? Especially in an academic environment!
What McAdams did is unprofessional at a minimum, but ultimately you can't hold him responsible for the actions of others any more than you can blame Al Sharpton for what happened in NYC this past weekend.
I'm not. I'm merely holding him responsible for his own actions. Which were bad enough.
Not trying to be obtuse, but what actions are you holding him accountable for and what do you think the punishment for those actions should be?
He should be reprimanded for acting unprofessionally regarding the graduate assistant. He should have to issue a public apology for how he acted, and apologize to her personally. If he refuses to do so, I would fire him.