In our most recent "how can we help you?" thread, a reader writes:
I am in a TT contract in a NA university (but I did not study nor leave in NA before). The head of my department recently let me know that two students had complained with him about me. The reason is trivial: I wrote in a tweet "I am reading a student's paper and I would like to share some reflections…". The reflections were very general and had to do with the profession in general (use of philosophical jargon, i.e., something we ALL do). The students thought I was publicly criticizing one of them.
Between the lines, I understood that they are among my advanced students, with whom I was confident to have built a good relationship and whom I had offered hours and hours of "counselling" in this horrible year. I am heartbroken that they did not feel confident enough to reach out to me first before calling or emailing the head of the department. I do not know how to get back to normal, I oscillate between anger and despair (yes, the year has been hard for me too!).
One reader submitted the following frank reply:
You should not tweet about student work … or imply your tweets are inspired by student work. It is inappropriate. Almost everything on twitter is inappropriate. I hope you can sort this out, but stop tweeting.
While I think frank responses like these can be important to hear, I also think that because this is supposed to be a supportive blog I'd like to try to be a bit more supportive than that. So, with an eye to a little solidarity with the OP, I'll be honest: like many people (or so I suspect), I made a few errors early in my career that got me into a bit of trouble. Each case stressed me the hell out, and I worried that I'd destroyed my career or whatever. Fortunately, my spouse counseled me to avoid that kind of catastrophizing, assuring me that things would blow over – and sure enough, they did. The crucial things, I think, are to realize that we're all human and to learn to avoid making similar mistakes in the future.
Now perhaps the OP (and those sympathetic with their situation) think they didn't make a mistake at all, and that the students behaved unreasonably. Maybe this is true, maybe not. But for my part, I don't think it is terribly helpful to get hung up on these kinds of questions. Why not? Well, one thing that stuck out to me about the OP is their comment that they are new to higher education in North America. I personally don't know how college students are outside of North America (as I've never taught elsewhere in the world), but one thing I do know is that America is a highly litigious society where people (including university students) often seem to complain to authority figures as a first resort rather than a last resort. I also know that authority figures (e.g. administrators) tend not to take very kindly to complaints. So, to be honest, one of the things that I have had to learn as a professional philosophy in North America is that I need to be very careful – lest I find myself in a difficult situation like the OP's, which for obvious reasons I want to avoid.
Which brings me back to the frank reply comment to the OP that I quoted above. While I empathize with the OP's remarks that they are oscillating between anger and despair–as these are entirely natural human reactions (and again, I have found myself in similar situations in the past)–my suggestion is that if and when these feelings pass, the primary thing to do is to learn from the situation. It may suck, but for better or worse I've found that before doing anything potentially risky–particularly tweeting or whatever online–it is advisable to ask oneself, "Is there any possibility that this is going to turn into a problem?" Maybe some readers out there think this is a terrible way to live. But let me end with an anecdote. One time not very long ago, I found myself tempted to post something a student wrote in a paper in an anonymous online forum designed to poke fun at philosophy students. I distinctly recall asking the above question in my head ('is there any possibility this could turn into a problem?'), and the answer I came to was yes. I imagined the student somehow finding out, complaining to my dean, etc. So I didn't post it…and here's the point: I didn't find myself in the OP's situation. I avoided unnecessary trouble. So, for better or worse, these, I think, are the kinds of 'street smarts' it is probably necessary to learn as a professional educator (in North America, at least). Sometimes, as in my case (and the OP's), you have to unfortunately learn these kinds of lessons the hard way (by getting in some trouble). But fortunately, to conclude on a supportive note, I suspect the OP's stressful situation will pass, and in several years when they come up for tenure, this situation will be hardly remembered.
But these are just my thoughts. What are yours?
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