Boise State fired professor Linda Emery, Thursday Sept. 13 due to her teaching methods and lack of professionalism. Nampa Police physically removed her from a classroom at the West Campus, moments before she was to teach a class. [Yikes. Had to call in the cops. Because she wouldn't go quietly?]
[The note to her from] Dean Martin Schimpf, reads, “This notice is to inform you that Boise State University is terminating your employment as an adjunct faculty member. While State Board of Education policy, Boise State University policy and State of Idaho law provide that you are an at-will employee of the University and may be dismissed at any time, with or without cause, below you will find the basis and reasons for this action.” [Yes. Adjuncts are pretty much powerless in this regard. Much harder to get rid of tenured faculty.]
These reasons are: profane language used in the classroom (on one occasion calling a student “fucking stupid,” which she admitted, but said it was in jest), failure to prepare a proper syllabus, failure to teach the course material, student complaints, unprofessional behavior, not taking attendance, dismissing classes early, prior infractions and finally for confronting students to discover the source of a complaint filed against her Sept. 11, 2007.
Emery was fired two days later.
Students in her class denied many of these claims.
The students seemed to admire Emery for her teaching style.
“This is wrong. She has been here for 15 years and for her to get fired this way is wrong,” student Tonya Harris said.
She was teaching at least two courses in the English Department this fall.
“I would understand if this was happening after a year or two, but after 15 years and my methods have not changed? Come on,” Emery said.
The English Department felt differently.
“The University has received several complaints about your unprofessional conduct in your classes this semester,” the dismissal letter read. “Dr. [Michelle] Payne called you to address these issues with you and you admitted to some, but not all, of the complaints about conduct. While you attempted to characterize the activity in an academic context, the reality is that you have been engaging in unprofessional conduct, much of which you have admitted.”
Emery’s syllabi were a cause of concern.
Following is an excerpt from her ENGL 268 course syllabus.
“Please be aware that I like to argue, that I am sometimes abrasive and possibly offensive, that my favorite topics are God, sex, and Death and that if any of this really bothers you, you probably should take this course from another instructor.” [ Ick. Whatever else we are able to conclude about this woman, we know she's a rank egotist.]
Emery later changed the number of the syllabus to ENGL 258 (which is Western World Literature, not British Literature) and used the same document for that course as well.
“You have failed to prepare a proper syllabus with proper course material,” the dismissal notice read. “In fact, you made a hand-written change to a course number on the syllabus from your [ENGL] 268 British Literature class and gave that out as a syllabus for your 258 class. The syllabus makes several references to British Literature. You were hired for the 258 class to teach Western World Literature. It is not your prerogative to simply ignore the course material in favor of subject matter you would prefer to teach. Student complaints have noted that students were looking forward to the study of Western World Literature and were disappointed that you made it clear (verbally and in writing) that you did not intend to teach the subject.” [Pretty amusing. But the university's on firm ground here.]
The syllabus is hard to read, randomly organized and includes the final section with her rant on her teaching style.
“That syllabus is a mess, but I was sick and was going to go home and work on it this weekend,” Emery said. “Students told me it wasn’t a big deal because other professors have made a mistake before.” [Fucking stupid comment.]
The mistake, Emery said, was that she simply brought the wrong syllabus. The dismissal letter brought up a large number of other issues, a few of which are unsubstantiated.
“Students have complained that you regularly dismiss a 3-hour class after only one-half hour, that because you do not take attendance, students can choose not to attend, and that the only assignment they will be graded on is a two-page paper due at the end of the semester. [A lot of responsible professors don't take attendance. No one responsible lets a 3-hour class go after a half hour.] One-half hour classes do not meet the 3-credit class requisites, and having no other graded work falls below the expectations of college-level course work.”
“That is not true,” Emery’s western world literature student Angie Wood said.
The syllabus states that the course will be graded on a 3-10 page paper on an aspect of one or more works that were read in class and whoever presents it to the class can receive extra credit.
The syllabus requires a creative project to be presented to the class integrating the literary works read in class with student life. [These sorts of assignments are usually really bogus.] Random impromptu responses on discussions were also required. The class midterm and final essays were to be based on a personal question. [What's personal question mean?]
Despite all these allegations and the firing of Emery, many of her students stand by her side. Some have decided to drop the course. Others are filing a petition to have her re-instated and distributing the dismissal letter around campus.
“I’m a fan of Linda’s,” Emery’s British literature student Pamela (Sue) Sykes said. “I took every class she taught. I’m 59 and I’ve learned more in her four classes than any other class on campus, she made me love English.” [Spread the love to the newspaper reporter and teach her how to use a semi-colon.]
“I signed up for Linda and will only take it from her because she makes English fun, and this new guy is boring,” Harris said.
“She made me feel comfortable, able to speak my mind, and I didn’t like talking in groups,” British literature student Victoria Lee said. [Comfortable. Fun. These aren't what serious classrooms are about. ]
One of the lynchpins for Emery’s dismissal was her repeated
profanity.
The dismissal letter focused on this topic.
“Student complaints also noted that you regularly use foul language in class. While profane language can be appropriate in the proper context, its use should not simply be a part of the classroom when it is not connected to the instructional goals of the course.”
Emery had previously been reprimanded for her language.
Most of her students did not care.
“It’s bullshit,” student Tori Shockey said.
“When you are old enough to rent a fuckin’ porno it shouldn’t be a big deal to have profane language in the classroom,” student Crystal Gedney said. “We are all adults here.” [The irony here is that Emery is not an adult.]
BSU does not rent out pornography.
Despite the support from some students, others (at least one) complained to the chair of the English Department.
“Students feel you are rude to them in class and display a lack of respect for them,” the letter said. “Challenging students to think, encouraging them to broaden their minds and forcing them to reevaluate long held beliefs is, of course, a fine goal for college level courses. However, belittling students, being rude to students, and discussing topics wholly unrelated to the course are not acceptable methods of achieving those goals.”