Unbecoming Behavior of a Professor from a Prominent University
From the archive. This post was first published on the original Green Eggs and Moms blog and is kept here as it was.
As parents, we work hard to send our children to school.
We look for the right school with the right reputation, right teaching method and most importantly, right educators to help mold and shape the minds of the most precious members of our society: the youth.
But what happens if this tremendous amount of faith and trust is broken by the very hand that is supposed to inspire and guide the children?
I came across very disturbing news about a professor of a prominent university here in Manila, Philippines, who created a poll on his blog. His target? A recent contest winner.
He posted old and recent pictures of the student, and asked readers whether they thought the winner’s beauty was au naturalle. Some readers dissed the contest winner while others called for the negative comments to stop.
“Teacher by day, blogger by night”
This is the blogger’s description of himself on the site, and this is why I am enraged.
I take these two professions VERY seriously.
A teacher is someone whose passion is to educate students – inside and outside the classroom.
A blogger is someone who has the responsibility of providing fair and honest information to readers.
I am a blogger and never in my wildest dreams have I thought of writing and publishing something that can possibly hurt innocent parties. Never.
This is shocking behavior for a professor: one who is both educated and an educator.
It is never correct to embarrass or humiliate anyone especially in this digital age where news travels at lightning speed.
I am even more outraged after hearing of how the student spent many nights crying over the mean-spirited comments. I read a few of them, and let me tell you, they would have made me cry. Imagine having to go to school the next day being the target of this horrible poll.
I hope the party responsible for this unnecessary incident learns his lessons and apologizes to the young lady he has hurt immeasurably.
The professor will most likely continue teaching in the university, unscathed. The student, on the other hand, will carry the scars forever.
How confident are you about the character of your children’s educators? Should we demand more from a school’s hiring process?
Note: This was written sometime ago and was withheld from publishing to protect the student’s identity.
Photo Credit:Creative Commons from Ken_Mayer