Gender Issues and Helicopter Moms

The Eldest is taking a speech class and I'm starting to suspect the professor is of the male chauvinist persuasion. He keeps dividing the students up into gender groups and pitting them against one another. So far the boys have won every time. As a reward, they don't have to take the mid-term or the final exam. ??? WHAT is that all about? As a teacher, I can see giving extra credit points or even bumping them all up a grade on a chapter test, but they don't even have to take the mid-term or final? And it's only the boys that have won this "honor"? EXCUSE ME??? Something is going on here. I'm so tempted to go charging into the class and... yell at the professor or something, but The Eldest is a big girl now. I can't fight her battles for her; I can't be a "helicopter mom" at this stage in her life. I did tell her that if she wants to tell this guy off and it affects her grade, I will support her and be pretty darn proud.

It just makes my blood boil, though. I told her he would NEVER get away with that kind of crap if I were in the class. I asked if there were any older women in there and she said no, the oldest woman is maybe mid twenties. I thought so. Those young ones aren't used to fighting the battles we older women have fought, or seen our mothers fight. I am so tempted to sign up for the class for the next semester, though, to see what this guy is really like. If he's really like that I would document every incident and do my absolute best to have him fired.

Overall, I'm not surprised. I've taken courses at this college and the quality of the professors there leaves a LOT to be desired. I hate that The Eldest is going there, but it serves other purposes for her as a homeschooler. She is establishing a GPA, first of all, and she is earning college credits for free since our county school board pays for her courses through a dual enrollment program. Not all of the professors are horrible; I've had a couple of great ones over the time I've been taking classes there. (I take classes every 5 years to renew my teaching certificate.) The Eldest has liked some of her professors as well, like her current art teacher and a computer teacher last term. It's just scary to think that this is an institution that is purportedly preparing our young people for the rest of their lives! (And it's a four year college too, not a community college.) Why are they keeping these inferior teachers on their staff? It's ridiculous.