If I had to narrow down what I've learned this semester to a few things, they would be 1) Group projects are basically the collegiate version of Survivor, 2) You should never ever shower without flip-flops on, and 3) You are encouraged, challenged even, to voice your opinion. If given the option between staying quiet and blabbing about some half-formed opinions, always take the blabbing route.
Or so says my English professor. A notoriously outspoken woman, she will never hold back her opinions, and she expects us to do the same. I'm not a confrontational person, but I can still respect someone who lets the world know how they view a situation--it takes less pressure off of the quiet sort to speak. I don't generally see a problem with people who are confident in what they have to say--in fact, I often respect them. The line gets blurry, however, when these people use others' personal lives to make a point.
During class, discussion arose about a film that showed the effects of post-war Europe. A certain student had a lot of intelligent opinions to share with the class about this; My teacher, in her agreement, stated that the student "is an Afghanistan war veteran--he's diffused bombs--so he knows what he's talking about."
The professor may have said this to give ethos to someone who was already handling the discussion quite well, but through this comment, she exposed this student in front of 20 people he didn't know very well, and he very clearly felt uncomfortable having this information out in the open. It was in this instant that I felt like a pawn of knowledge to our professor, rather than a human being with, you know, feelings. Some people may share what they eat for breakfast every day and how they're feeling a little more insecure that afternoon, but it is perfectly respectable to want to keep your private life (gasp!) private.
It is never okay to blab about someone's personal life without that person's consent--even if it's used to agree with them. I can only imagine the humiliation I would feel if the professor outed me to the entire class as a secret dragon slayer (oh no--my secret life has been revealed!). But seriously--there's a difference between not being afraid to speak out and being insensitive. Professors aren't immune to that sort of insensitivity--they are in no way entitled to take a student's life and turn it into a lesson. Yes, we are supposed to feel some discomfort in college. Yes, we are supposed to grow and learn from others' life experiences.
But we should never feel that it is the norm to be humiliated all for the sake of someone's opinion.
Namaste.
I agree!
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