Teacher Bias

[STLantny]

I have an online class that deals with stats/media/communication etc. One of my first assignments is, whether the media is liberal or conservative etc. IMO, in this day and age, if you choose the wrong side (ie., the opposing side of the teachers) no matter how well your assignment is completed, you will be marked down with a worse grade than a peer who agrees with the teacher. Since it is online, I would have no way of proving it, ie, when this happened at my former college, I could take someone I knew, and ask to look over his paper/grade/viewpoint, we could compare, then I could argue with teh teacher on it. Online, I dont know what to do. The teach hasnt communicated enough with us, to know on which side of the fence she falls, so I cant churn out BS to suit her, so I dont know which way to go...any suggestions?

[diebitter]

Churn the BS. Grades > being right

unless your teacher is a total prick, as long as you have a good argument with some proof to back it up, you'll do fine...

[STLantny]

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Churn the BS. Grades > being right

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Ya, I understand that, but thats not my question. I dont know what BS-side to be on. This isnt a principle thing with me, I just want to get good grades, and get out of school asap.

[STLantny]

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unless your teacher is a total prick, as long as you have a good argument with some proof to back it up, you'll do fine...

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I went to U of MO - STL for a year, and I had 2 different teachers that gave me D's on 2 different reports that opposed their views. I brought them to the dept chairs, and my counselar lady, to see if I was crazy, or just a bad writer, I got both grades changed to a C and a A.

[Cancer Merchant]

If you cannot come up with a well-reasoned opinion on your own, you have already failed.

[Monty]

Post a pic of professor, OOT will tell you what views he/she has.

[La Brujita]

Why don't you discuss how the media seems to be either relatively fractured or viewpoint oriented in order to get ratings/viewers.

In other words take a step back and look at the why as much or more than the "is".

[peterchi]

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If you cannot come up with a well-reasoned opinion
on your own, you have already failed.

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If only our education system actually worked this way.

Don't hate the player; hate the game. OP's just doing what he's gotta do.

[Homer]

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Churn the BS. Grades > being right

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Totally wrong. I'd rather not be a sellout and get a worse grade.

[steelcmg]

Not sure on how ur teacher would react but maybe try argueing for both sides

[jakethebake]

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Churn the BS. Grades > being right

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Totally wrong. I'd rather not be a sellout and get a worse grade.

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This is idiotic. It's a class paper. You're not selling out anything. Have you ever taken debate class? You have to argue whichever side you're assigned. It doesn't make you a sellout. Have you ever taken a literature class? They tell what they think the correct answers are. Putting the professor's answers down on the test doesn't make you a sellout just because you disagree with them.

[steelcmg]

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Churn the BS. Grades > being right

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Totally wrong. I'd rather not be a sellout and get a worse grade.

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This is idiotic. It's a class paper. You're not selling out anything. Have you ever taken debate class? You have to argue whichever side you're assigned. It doesn't make you a sellout. Have you ever taken a literature class? They tell what they think the correct answers are. Putting the professor's answers down on the test doesn't make you a sellout just because you disagree with them.

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I could care less on how the professor sees my views as long as i get a good grade screw them.

[Homer]

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Churn the BS. Grades > being right

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Totally wrong. I'd rather not be a sellout and get a worse grade.

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This is idiotic. It's a class paper. You're not selling out anything. Have you ever taken debate class? You have to argue whichever side you're assigned. It doesn't make you a sellout. Have you ever taken a literature class? They tell what they think the correct answers are. Putting the professor's answers down on the test doesn't make you a sellout just because you disagree with them.

[/ QUOTE ]

This isn't a debate class. Read the OP next time. You are making absolutely no sense.

[Warik]

The problem here is that if it's a university professor then there's a strong possibility that she's liberal. This is bad news for you, since the media is liberally biased.

However, if you are a liberal as well, then your best bet is to bash FoxNews for being conservatively biased (when it really isn't, but any liberal professor would agree with you).

Is your professor hot? Usually hot women lean to the right.

Hope that helps.

[asofel]

I think it's fairly easy to cite examples of both liberal and conservative thought in the media. Compare and contrast Fox News and CNN...or describe the daily show...there are plenty of examples of liberal media out there to prove that side, but in doing so you should probably give examples of the conservative media as well...

[jakethebake]

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This isn't a debate class. Read the OP next time. You are making absolutely no sense.

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I read the OP. It makes perfect sense.

[Homer]

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This isn't a debate class. Read the OP next time. You are making absolutely no sense.

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I read the OP. It makes perfect sense.

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It's not a debate class. He is supposed to state his own opinion, not that of his professor. You are talking about something entirely different. You said you read the OP. If you did, your reading comprehension must be poor.

[jakethebake]

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It's not a debate class. He is supposed to state his own opinion, not that of his professor. You are talking about something entirely different. You said the OP. If you did, your reading comprehension must be poor.

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I know it's not a debate class. Why is he going to school? What purpose does it serve to go out of your way to get crappy grades? Doing something knowing it will will get you a crappy grade is not cool or "not selling out" it's just idiotic.

[Edge34]

Here's my take on this, as a mass comm major.

You'll look brilliant if you can write a well-reasoned paper saying that the media is NEITHER, but that ownership tends to be conservative (not always, but think of Rupert Murdoch who owns tons of stuff), and that editors and reporters tend to lean liberal. Media tends to go left of center (you can easily find the record of which media outlet supported which candidate in the Presidential eleciton), but its really all about the bottom line in this day and age.

Really, I'm just throwing a bunch of crap we're talking about in my 416 class at the wall and seeing what sticks. Really though, screw the prof's position, especially considering you aren't sure. There's a high chance she leans left, but you can't be sure, so just write whatever you can find a good enough set of stats to report. If you get a lower grade than you think you deserve, take it to the department head, that tends to work much better than people think.

[Warik]

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Totally wrong. I'd rather not be a sellout and get a worse grade.

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If your professor is not a total prick you will get an excellent grade even if you disagree. My university English teacher was a liberal and tried to teach us the liberal messages that the authors were allegedly trying to convey in their work, which was total BS of course. For my final paper I wrote 6 pages on why that was nonsense, and in fact, why the authors were actually trying to convey the opposite (conservative) message.

I got a 95/100.

His notes?

"I couldn't possibly disagree with any human being more than I disagree with you, but your paper is excellently written and full of support for your ideas. I took 5 points off because it had to be 8 pages and you only wrote 6."

So again, for the OP, if your prof isn't a tard and can grade objectively, you should be ok. If your prof is a tard and will give you a lower grade just because she doesn't agree with you, then get revenge by taking cheap shots at her views during class debates.

[Homer]

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It's not a debate class. He is supposed to state his own opinion, not that of his professor. You are talking about something entirely different. You said the OP. If you did, your reading comprehension must be poor.

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I know it's not a debate class. Why is he going to school? What purpose does it serve to go out of your way to get crappy grades? Doing something knowing it will will get you a crappy grade is not cool or "not selling out" it's just idiotic.

[/ QUOTE ]

Doing something simply because it will get you a good grade is idiotic, if you don't believe in what you are saying. The reason he should be taking the class is not to get a good grade, but to learn something. If he is not forming his own opinions, he is learning nothing. Grades mean [censored]. Not being a pushover means something.

[Maulik]

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Totally wrong. I'd rather not be a sellout and get a worse grade.

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If your professor is not a total prick you will get an excellent grade even if you disagree. My university English teacher was a liberal and tried to teach us the liberal messages that the authors were allegedly trying to convey in their work, which was total BS of course. For my final paper I wrote 6 pages on why that was nonsense, and in fact, why the authors were actually trying to convey the opposite (conservative) message.

I got a 95/100.

His notes?

"I couldn't possibly disagree with any human being more than I disagree with you, but your paper is excellently written and full of support for your ideas. I took 5 points off because it had to be 8 pages and you only wrote 6."

So again, for the OP, if your prof isn't a tard and can grade objectively, you should be ok. If your prof is a tard and will give you a lower grade just because she doesn't agree with you, then get revenge by taking cheap shots at her views during class debates.

[/ QUOTE ]

I've had a similar experience, in a SOCY423, class where I disputed EVERYTHING that came out of the Professor's mouth and earned an A. It was a lot of fun, so if you disagree, you'll enjoy the class more as you look to practise some sort of rhetoric.

[jakethebake]

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Doing something simply because it will get you a good grade is idiotic, if you don't believe in what you are saying. The reason he should be taking the class is not to get a good grade, but to learn something. If he is not forming his own opinions, he is learning nothing. Grades mean [censored]. Not being a pushover means something.

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That's just stupid. I know what my opinion is. I don't learn anything by telling her what it is. If the only result of doing so is a negative one, why do it? If the purpose of the project is to practice communicating idea/opinions, you'll learn just as much choosing either side.

In general, I'm a lot like you. I hate to back down from my ideas, but in this case it's just moronic. There's nothing to be gained.

[Warik]

[ QUOTE ]
I've had a similar experience, in a SOCY423, class where I disputed EVERYTHING that came out of the Professor's mouth and earned an A. It was a lot of fun, so if you disagree, you'll enjoy the class more as you look to practise some sort of rhetoric.

[/ QUOTE ]

I did this during my philosophy class as well. The funny part here was that the teacher actually agreed with me that all of the things she was teaching were invalid arguments, like the God proofs and a lot of the morality stuff, but she had to argue with me because she had to teach the material to the class. Made for very fun debate.

The best, though, was for my Ethics in Computer Science class where I would argue on the side of the record and movie industry or other similar entities and all the geeks in the class would be trying to convince the professor and I that Napster and other P2P software wasn't intended for software piracy.

Then we all had a big laugh about how I did my final project using my pirated copy of PowerPoint.

hee hee

[Warik]

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why do it?

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for FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[theben]

ive gotten jerkoff hippy retard instructors before with the IQ of my foot and the stubbornness of a mules penis. you just have to deal with it

[RunDownHouse]

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If he is not forming his own opinions, he is learning nothing.

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I think he made it abundantly clear that he had formed his own opinions. Kinda the whole point of his post, isn't it?

I agree with Jake all the way. Roll your eyes, write whatever it is he/she wants to hear, and forget about it.

[STLantny]

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If he is not forming his own opinions, he is learning nothing.

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I think he made it abundantly clear that he had formed his own opinions. Kinda the whole point of his post, isn't it?

I agree with Jake all the way. Roll your eyes, write whatever it is he/she wants to hear, and forget about it.

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SWEET GOD ALMIGHTY, ALL THESE POSTS AND NOT ONE HAS HELPED ME. I dont care about teh debate of whether I should/or should not state my opinion. I have my own, and I know what I stand for. What I DO NOT know is what SHE stands for. She has a french last name, and that is all I know. So I figured Ill just write her an email, carefully worded to get some type of biased response and go from there.

[Shajen]

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She has a french last name

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Liberal.

[STLantny]

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She has a french last name

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Liberal.

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That is why i threw it in there. I figured that would be a clue, but wanted to be sure.

[Cancer Merchant]

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If he is not forming his own opinions, he is learning nothing.

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I think he made it abundantly clear that he had formed his own opinions. Kinda the whole point of his post, isn't it?

I agree with Jake all the way. Roll your eyes, write whatever it is he/she wants to hear, and forget about it.

[/ QUOTE ]


SWEET GOD ALMIGHTY, ALL THESE POSTS AND NOT ONE HAS HELPED ME. I dont care about teh debate of whether I should/or should not state my opinion. I have my own, and I know what I stand for. What I DO NOT know is what SHE stands for. She has a french last name, and that is all I know. So I figured Ill just write her an email, carefully worded to get some type of biased response and go from there.

[/ QUOTE ]

And what we're telling you is to write what you believe. If it's a good paper, any professor worth her salt will give it a good grade. Save the sucking ass for the real world. Try to educate yourself in college.

[Drew16]

I took an online media class in college and the teacher for some reason decided he didnt like me and I always got bad grades on things from him. I went and talked to him about it, and he just blew me off and told me "its not like you are failing". The final rolled around and I needed an 89% to get an A for the semester. He gave me an 88.8%

[stabn]

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Churn the BS. Grades > being right

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Totally wrong. I'd rather not be a sellout and get a worse grade.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is idiotic. It's a class paper. You're not selling out anything. Have you ever taken debate class? You have to argue whichever side you're assigned. It doesn't make you a sellout. Have you ever taken a literature class? They tell what they think the correct answers are. Putting the professor's answers down on the test doesn't make you a sellout just because you disagree with them.

[/ QUOTE ]

This isn't a debate class. Read the OP next time. You are making absolutely no sense.

[/ QUOTE ]

Example. Look it up.

[Homer]

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If he is not forming his own opinions, he is learning nothing.

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I think he made it abundantly clear that he had formed his own opinions. Kinda the whole point of his post, isn't it?

I agree with Jake all the way. Roll your eyes, write whatever it is he/she wants to hear, and forget about it.

[/ QUOTE ]


SWEET GOD ALMIGHTY, ALL THESE POSTS AND NOT ONE HAS HELPED ME. I dont care about teh debate of whether I should/or should not state my opinion. I have my own, and I know what I stand for. What I DO NOT know is what SHE stands for. She has a french last name, and that is all I know. So I figured Ill just write her an email, carefully worded to get some type of biased response and go from there.

[/ QUOTE ]

Boo [censored] hoo. We're not here to help you. If a thread goes off topic, so be it.

Jake -- I get your point, but still disagree.

[jakethebake]

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Jake -- I get your point, but still disagree.

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Fair enough.

[Homer]

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Churn the BS. Grades > being right

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Totally wrong. I'd rather not be a sellout and get a worse grade.

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This is idiotic. It's a class paper. You're not selling out anything. Have you ever taken debate class? You have to argue whichever side you're assigned. It doesn't make you a sellout. Have you ever taken a literature class? They tell what they think the correct answers are. Putting the professor's answers down on the test doesn't make you a sellout just because you disagree with them.

[/ QUOTE ]

This isn't a debate class. Read the OP next time. You are making absolutely no sense.

[/ QUOTE ]

Example. Look it up.

[/ QUOTE ]

Condescending prick. Look it up.

His example is poor. It is unrelated to the situation at hand. In a debate class, you are forced to take a side you don't necessarily agree with. That is the point of the class. In this case, you are supposed to present your own opinion.

[phage]

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If he is not forming his own opinions, he is learning nothing.

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I think he made it abundantly clear that he had formed his own opinions. Kinda the whole point of his post, isn't it?

I agree with Jake all the way. Roll your eyes, write whatever it is he/she wants to hear, and forget about it.

[/ QUOTE ]


SWEET GOD ALMIGHTY, ALL THESE POSTS AND NOT ONE HAS HELPED ME. I dont care about teh debate of whether I should/or should not state my opinion. I have my own, and I know what I stand for. What I DO NOT know is what SHE stands for. She has a french last name, and that is all I know. So I figured Ill just write her an email, carefully worded to get some type of biased response and go from there.

[/ QUOTE ]
Spend less time on trying to figure out what she is thinking and more on writing a coherent paper. Oh and just because she has a french name doesn't mean that she is liberal.

[Boris]

"the teacher was biased against me"

this is a convenient excuse but very rarely true. In all my years of education I've only had one teacher who was like that.

[[censored]]

The media is biased and I mean just about every bit of it.

There are some that are liberal biased and there are some that are conservative biased, much like people.

I do think though that you are overestimating how much her bias will affect your grade. When I went through school I always thought this was a cop out used by students who do poor work, and I was very vocally conservative with liberal professors. The key is to express your views and write your papers using a tone that shows respect for the other side.

[Edge34]

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If he is not forming his own opinions, he is learning nothing.

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I think he made it abundantly clear that he had formed his own opinions. Kinda the whole point of his post, isn't it?

I agree with Jake all the way. Roll your eyes, write whatever it is he/she wants to hear, and forget about it.

[/ QUOTE ]


SWEET GOD ALMIGHTY, ALL THESE POSTS AND NOT ONE HAS HELPED ME. I dont care about teh debate of whether I should/or should not state my opinion. I have my own, and I know what I stand for. What I DO NOT know is what SHE stands for. She has a french last name, and that is all I know. So I figured Ill just write her an email, carefully worded to get some type of biased response and go from there.

[/ QUOTE ]
Spend less time on trying to figure out what she is thinking and more on writing a coherent paper. Oh and just because she has a french name doesn't mean that she is liberal.

[/ QUOTE ]

This guy wants to be a pushover, no amount of information we give him can possibly help him.

I'll say it one more time, in case STLantny missed it the first time I did...

WRITE A COHERENT PAPER. Take both sides if you're afraid to commit to either one. But if you're capable of writing a good paper with support, and feel that your professor gave you a lower grade than you deserved based on her bias, TAKE IT TO THE DEPARTMENT HEAD. Failing that, take it to the administration of the school.

If all you want to do is blindly agree with whatever her point of view is, your paper should be this long:

"I am incapable of creating this paper for myself, and fearing for my grade I think the media is whatever you think it is. Perhaps one day I'll grow the backbone to stand up for myself, even though I may disagree with my professor."

[stabn]

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Churn the BS. Grades > being right

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Totally wrong. I'd rather not be a sellout and get a worse grade.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is idiotic. It's a class paper. You're not selling out anything. Have you ever taken debate class? You have to argue whichever side you're assigned. It doesn't make you a sellout. Have you ever taken a literature class? They tell what they think the correct answers are. Putting the professor's answers down on the test doesn't make you a sellout just because you disagree with them.

[/ QUOTE ]

This isn't a debate class. Read the OP next time. You are making absolutely no sense.

[/ QUOTE ]

Example. Look it up.

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Condescending prick. Look it up.

His example is poor. It is unrelated to the situation at hand. In a debate class, you are forced to take a side you don't necessarily agree with. That is the point of the class. In this case, you are supposed to present your own opinion.

[/ QUOTE ]

While his example was not for a perfectly equal situation it still showed that there are times in which you get the choice of always standing up for what you believe or getting a good grade. Unfortunately there are too many shitty professors these days that unfairly grade those who disagree with them so students are sometimes forced to take a position they don't believe in if they want to score well. Just like they might have to do in a debate class.

[[censored]]

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"the teacher was biased against me"

this is a convenient excuse but very rarely true. In all my years of education I've only had one teacher who was like that.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly, didn't you find it was used by the students who seemed like they excelled in HS or their lower division studies but then for whatever reason start to struggle when they get past the read and repeat part of learning?