In The News

NoIndoctrination.org monitors academia

March 15, 2004
Author: Andrew MacDonald
Source: The Commuter (Northampton Community College)

The article has been reprinted below with the permission of the publisher:

NoIndoctrination.org monitors academia
By ANDREW MacDONALD
Published: Monday, March 15, 2004

We've all been there.

The first day of class has come and you're ready for a semester's worth of learning. You professor starts to lecture and you suddenly realize that he is using his authority in the classroom to promote his own political or religious views.

He spends so much time criticizing the government, church, scientists, or whoever else has offended his sensibilities, that sometimes the subject you're supposed to be discussing doesn't even come up in class.

When his beliefs are questioned, he responds with ridicule or casual dismissal of the arguments. Many people respond to this sort of behavior by rolling their eyes, complaining to their friends, and carefully not enrolling in any of the offending professor's classes in the future.

However, now there is a new way to react to the problem of flagrant bias being taught in college classrooms.

NoIndoctrination.org is a Web site run by a nonprofit organization promoting open inquiry in academia.

On the Web site, students who feel that a professor is trying to indoctrinate them can post a complaint. The complaint includes sections for Lecture Bias, Discussion Bias, Readings Bias, and General Comments.

When a complaint is posted, NoIndoctrination.org contacts the professor, who is invited to post a rebuttal on the Web site. This is an opportunity for students who feel that they don't have a voice in classes to speak their minds.

The Web site also gives professors--who may not be aware of how their students are interpreting their lessons--a chance to improve the way they communicate in the classroom.

The Web site has hundreds of postings from all over the country, and is always looking for more students to share their experiences in the classroom.

As the Web site's list of course postings grows, it will become a more effective tool for students who are looking to enroll in classes but don't want to spend a semester lectured about the "vast, right-wing conspiracy" or the "communist, God-hating media."

At the time of this printing, there are currently no course postings for Northampton Community College, Lehigh University or Moravian College, but hopefully as awareness of this new option spreads, we will see new posts with information about local classes.

So log on to www.NoIndoctrination.org today and do your part for our academic community.

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