|
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
|
|
|
|
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
|
|
Kendall Kindles a Fire
To the editor: I am a technical professional. I put telephone systems in my company’s stores. A big part of that function is teaching my fellow employees how to use all the features on their new telephones. I teach them about numbering plans and feature codes and voice mail etiquette.
Before I started doing this, I ran the regional training facility for a very large company. A lot of what I did there was to keep that facility booked with people wanting to teach what other people wanted to know. I personally taught people everything from how to install and service our products to how to train our customers in the use of any product, not just ours.
What I’ve never taught any of my students is political science. It is one of my personal favorite subjects. However, in my capacity as trainer it was not on my curriculum, because it was not what my students came there to learn.
Likewise, I daresay that Kendall McCook’s freedom of speech is not harmed by his carrying out his assigned duties, for which he received pay, to teach English. However, it is apparent from his own line of presumably rhetorical questions that his passion is not teaching English, but rather political science. Unluckily for him, his job was to teach English. In that capacity, he seems to have failed in the eyes of his employers. Mr. McCook would probably still be teaching English if he’d pursued his political science career on his own time. His students who were interested could join him on their own time.
I, for one, applaud the student for having the guts to complain that he was not receiving the education he was paying for. Beyond the scales involved, it is no different than walking back into a fast food restaurant when they get your order wrong —it’s failure to deliver agreed-upon services.
McCook asks, “Dare I teach the students to think for themselves?” but I believe he means that he would like to teach the students to think as he does. A teacher should be able to see the difference, Mr. McCook.
Robert Singleton, Fort Worth
Email this Article...
