I just got done blogging on the same topic -- will trackback later.

I discovered a couple of additional pieces on the issue, including the wrinkle that it isn't an expulsion, but rather a refusal to admit him to regular status after two terms as a conditional admit. Also, he voiced opposition to multiculturalism.

But LeMoyne is explicit -- it is a refusal to allow him to continue because of his educational philosophy, despite his demonstrated ability to conform to the law and expectations of a district.
ThePrecinctChair | Homepage | 01.31.05 - 9:09 pm | #

I agree that expelling this student (especially after giving him an A-!) is absurd, but you've hit upon one of my pet peeves. Academic Freedom is a right granted to university professors in order to ensure that they can conduct research without being fired for expressing unpopular views that run counter to conventional wisdom. It is not carte blanche for students to say whatever they please in a class; you earn it by already showing (via obtaining a PhD) that you know what you're talking about. I'm glad my own students aren't protected by academic freedom, otherwise I'd be required to promote them for "expressing their views" about the right way to factor quadratics.
Moebius Stripper | Homepage | 01.31.05 - 9:22 pm | #

I beg to differ.

Students have the right to pursue knowledge -- and while they may suffer a grade penalty for chasing off after a wild hare, when the write a well-reasoned paper that dares to dissent from orthodoxy (especially in a field like education or the social sciences where there are not hard and fast correct answers, like one might find in math) they should not be penalized for it.
ThePrecinctChair | Homepage | 01.31.05 - 9:36 pm | #

That's not what I said. I said that the term acedemic freedom has a specific meaning and that it doesn't apply to this case.
Moebius Stripper | Homepage | 01.31.05 - 9:37 pm | #

Uh...

The term has acquired a somewhat more expansive meaning over the last SIX-AND-A HALF DECADES.

And at the same time, the notion of academic freedom for students goes back to the 19th century, so it is far from a new idea.
ThePrecinctChair | Homepage | 01.31.05 - 10:23 pm | #

I can't understand why Ward Churchill can call the murdered victims of 9-11 terrorism "little Eichman's" and he's defended on the grounds of academic freedom and freedom of speech (he earned "it by already showing (via obtaining a PhD) that he knows what he's talking about")

Yet Scott McConnell expresses an "unconventional" opinion about a practice allowed in 23 states and he'd dropped from his graduate program.

The lesson learned by those of us "lay" people not schooled in the subtle ways of the "Educator Priesthood" -- never express an original or unconventional thought while attending college or graduate school. Just say what the tenured PhD's want to hear.

You're not there to think; your there to get through.
Steve | 03.10.05 - 10:54 am | #