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Why are people so underhanded? (lemmygrad.ml)

submitted 4 days ago by Xiisadaddy@lemmygrad.ml to c/comradeship@lemmygrad.ml

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School started up the other day, and one of my professors put up a discussion post to introduce yourself, and confirm you've read the syllabus. Then in the syllabus they hid a requirement for the discussion post under like 3 pages of fine print. I caught it, but everyone else i see posting is going to have their first grade in this class be an F because they didnt read the syllabus as if it were a contract for your soul.

Like i get it you want people to read your syllabus, but you don't need to be an asshole about it. They didnt even say in the post to make sure you read it carefully or anything. Just "Say in your post you understand the syllabus."

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[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml 26 points 4 days ago (1 children)

What the professor is teaching is that they shouldn't be trusted. This destroys what would otherwise be a useful teacher-student relationship and makes it harder to teach and to learn. If the professor's only goal was to teach people to read the fine print then maybe they'll succeed, but they'll struggle to teach the students literally anything after this nasty trick.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth -4 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I used to have that attitude. Then a year or decades later came to see what they did was a great favor. Imagine, for example, if someone had taught reactionary voters these things, and instead of being openly resentful, we had tucked it in our back pocket and moved on. My life have been simpler. I'm not saying it should be that way, but PR and marketing people exist, regardless.

Eta diplomats, too.

[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml 21 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

Yes, it's a useful lesson about society, but it ensures you learn nothing else from that professor and might destroy your ability to learn from any of the other professors. They destroyed a safe learning environment to play a nasty trick and teach you a lesson, and in so doing they destroyed their own ability to be a good professor and damaged the institution of learning. At best all they can ever be is "that asshole that taught me not to trust him or anyone else" - that's a horrible learning environment.

[–] NotMushroomForDebate@lemmygrad.ml 19 points 4 days ago (1 children)

This sounds extremely similar to arguments defending archaic parenting methods like beating/spanking children, having them work extremely young, inundating them with chores, etc. because it "builds character".

Just because it's likely for these students to be deceived by bad actors in life is not an excuse to deceive them intentionally to teach them a lesson. You could explain that to them honestly and highlight its importance instead. Eroding trust and building resentment is not helpful.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth -5 points 4 days ago (2 children)

I said it's going to be unpopular. I also said easy lessons often don't stick. I further said it's not that it should be this way, but that it is. Finally, I said my life would have been simpler had I appreciated these teachers sooner rather than later. But do you. Make my mistakes with different results. I will applaud you and learn from your techniques, should you report back with how you did it

In the meantime, procurement departments and treaties still exist.

[–] NotMushroomForDebate@lemmygrad.ml 13 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Finally, I said my life would have been simpler had I appreciated these teachers sooner rather than later.

So by your own admission it didn't even work. So the piece of information was important but the method of delivery failed, which is the entire point.

[–] 666@lemmygrad.ml 14 points 4 days ago (1 children)

All of this was taught to me in a high-school life class. It doesn't need to be done by professors in academic settings where a trust-based relationship is being fostered when there's a class on this entire thing, as well as taxes, writing checks, etc in high-school.

Do schools not have that? Understandable, which doesn't mean that it should be done by professors.

[–] Maeve@kbin.earth -3 points 4 days ago (1 children)

So, I told my perspective and personal experience in simple, straightforward manner. Rather than considering this s a favor, either, people are upset looking for justification of reactionary feelings, which I also already validated. And people are still mad. This is why people do what this professor did. Good on him. He did what was right for students, rather than what's easiest and wouldn't win him popularity points anyway, which also isn't his job.

[–] 666@lemmygrad.ml 8 points 4 days ago (1 children)

Advice given, unasked, is never a "favor". Don't expect anything back from it.

Saying that there is a high-school class dedicated to preparing students for that in a more rigorous, disciplined environment that is better suited for teaching life skills isn't reactionary. Actually, I'd argue that it's "good on the professor" for shoving random "life-lessons" in their module is more reactionary, but that's up to you I suppose.

Neither is his job.

[–] Maeve1@lemmygrad.ml -1 points 4 days ago

It was asked. Because one had this or the other experience doesn't mean we all did. But we will have similar experiences surviving capitalist employment and other dealings.