PEDAGOGICAL MALPRACTICE

and Campus Protests. Appeal to Restore Scholarly Discourse

From: Gideon Steinbach, MD PhD,  date: May 15, 2024, 1:43 PM, subject: Pedagogical Malpractice and Campus Protests at the University of Washington, to:  to aaup, pres, tserio, jflier, John_Tomasi, sibarium, tips, cindyd, dsh1, jrs1; censored by AAUP

Pedagogical Malpractice and Campus Protests

at the University of Washington

Appeal to Restore Scholarly Discourse on Campus

For more than 2,000 years, the Socratic approach taught us to begin with “I know nothing,” followed by inquiry.

The approach to student protests on campus begins by inquiring: What is a university campus? What is it for? Why are students on campus? Why are faculty on campus?

The vision: the campus is an environment for the pursuit and advancement of knowledge and culture. The overarching vision is to advance our shared humanity across all spheres of human endeavor.

The reality: the university campus is a professional environment for students to learn and educators to teach. At this time in history, basic skills for the acquisition, validation, advancement, and constructive application of knowledge are well defined and validated.¹ Inquiry is followed by research and the iterative process of critical evaluation. Established knowledge, including the content of lessons, is challenged by iterative inquiry. Educators have the professional responsibility to teach and pursue objective truth.

Based on the mission of higher education, an educator would address a protester by saying: “Please present your views and let’s engage in evidence-based learning and debate.” This approach is affirmed by the Chicago Principles, “articulating the University’s overarching commitment to free, robust, and uninhibited debate and deliberation among all members of the University’s community.”

The Problem:

Our pursuit of knowledge is currently challenged by the exponential spread of disinformation that threatens all aspects of society, and undermines our educational institutions. We rely on the university faculty to guide our students through the process of discerning between misinformation and evidence-based truth. But unfortunately, the disinformation expressed by protesters often originates from teachings by faculty, and is often endorsed by faculty. The teaching of misinformation is malpractice. It should be addressed by scholarly methods and evidence-based governance.

The AAUP faculty forum (listserv) at the University of Washington is a site where concerns and views are expressed and disseminated, but currently not robustly debated. This forum illustrates the current state of un-scholarly discourse and malpractice at the university on the subject of the Middle East conflicts. 

AAUP leaders, and some faculty on the listserv,  post unsubstantiated, horrific, and highly divisive accusations against Israel, worded as statements of fact. They accuse Israel of ethnic cleansing, genocide, extermination of a people, massive ethnocidal atrocities, crimes against humanity, colonialism, apartheid, oppression, and deprivation of human rights. They censor and rewrite history. Many of these accusations predate and were taught prior to October 7. Requests for inquiry, debate, evidence, and fact-check regarding these accusations are dismissed. The rejection of critical inquiry and the teaching of alternative history and facts, amount to blatant pedagogical malpractice.

AAUP leaders post their support of the protesters and their accusations but do not verbalize, question, or debate the content (which is blindly endorsed). They email a petition asking the faculty to sign and support the protesters and their demands. Inquiry, research, critical evaluation, and debate are bypassed. This conduct is antithetical to the mission of higher education and to public trust. The request for faculty signatures in support of divisive political petitions, constitutes the abuse of authority.

Let’s review one example of student protest justified by the UW AAUP president. The president of the Student Bar Association at NYU Law School, declared emphatic support for the massacre performed by Hamas. With disregard for critical inquiry, legal process and ethics, the SBA president ruled that the victim(s) “bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life.”  This abuse of professional integrity and authority was appropriately met with the rescission of a job offer from a prominent law firm. In contrast, the AAUP president cited this case as an example of “harassment” against a student, thereby endorsing an unethical standard for scholarly and professional conduct. This is an example of pedagogical malpractice that propels campus protests.

Students, subject to the authority of educators, comprise our largest vulnerable population at risk for misguidance. When faced with the awareness of human suffering, they are appropriately driven to engage and protest. It is the faculty’s responsibility to educate and teach them the skills to comprehend, contextualize, and work to resolve conflicts. It is our public duty to safeguard the integrity of our educational institutions, and restore scholarly discourse and the pursuit of knowledge.

Concluding Remarks:

The generation and dissemination of disinformation, observed on the AAUP listserv at the University of Washington, as well as faculty endorsement of disinformation expressed by protesters on campus, constitute pedagogical malpractice.

In addition to critically reviewing the above, readers are invited to critically review the UW AAUP listserv posts and citations, as well as the censored submissions.

Pedagogical malpractice is not unique to the UW AAUP, but is pervasive in education and deserves institutional and public response.² Fortunately, the dedication and efforts of innumerable people, past and present, including current university faculty at UW and around the globe, provide us with the tools to address this problem.^1,3

Jeffrey Flier, former Dean of Harvard Medical School, provides us with guidance for recognizing and resolving the problem:

“Discussion and debate of conflicting viewpoints…  is distinct from education designed to ideologically indoctrinate physician-activists."²

re: Pedagogical malpractice at @UCLA medical school.

@jflier  Apr 24: I was prepared to see some questionable things in the mandatory “Health Equity” course, but what I saw was truly outrageous, requiring serious inquiry by the dean and the accrediting body.

1. Abbot D, Bikfalvi A, Bleske-Rechek A, et al. In defense of merit in science. J Controversial Ideas. 2023;3(1). https://journalofcontroversialideas.org/article/3/1/236

2. Sibarium A. ‘Pedagogical Malpractice’: Inside UCLA Medical School’s Mandatory ‘Health Equity’ Class. Washington Free Beacon. 2024.

https://freebeacon.com/campus/pedagogical-malpractice-inside-ucla-medical-schools-mandatory-health-equity-class/

3. Pinker S, Morey A. Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress. Unabridged. New York, NY: Penguin Random House; 2018

ADDENDUM

Pedagogical Malpractice Note:

The teaching of disinformation or imposed-ideology by university faculty is a violation of professional standards and constitutes pedagogical malpractice. The use of this term redirects our focus on course content and the accountability of individual faculty. Concern for malpractice mandates “serious inquiry” by the accrediting bodies and government agencies. Adoption of this terminology should serve to protect students from pedagogical abuse.

Students are subjected to innumerable university courses that are just as oppressive as the mandatory “Health Equity” course at UCLA. Organizations that advocate for academic freedom are called upon to focus on protecting the rights of students to choose courses that are open to critical evaluation and free of imposed-ideology and disinformation. Thanks to advances in information technology this duty can be readily performed. We can begin by posting course content for all to see and critically evaluate.

WHY the battle cry for FREEDOM OF INQUIRY?

Freedom of Inquiry is alive and well in the USA. This is supported by the phenomenal (and exponentially rising) advancement of knowledge.

By 1915, the American Association of University Professors declared that “freedom of inquiry & research” “is everywhere safeguarded” and therefore does not need to be addressed.

WHY the battle cry for FREEDOM of EXPRESSION?

30 years ago we heard near zero voices. Today we hear billions of voices, every day, all day. Freedom of expression is alive and well. Our main problem is disinformation.

Our New-Found version of Academic Freedom endorses Pedagogical Malpractice and the Spread of Disinformation.

The Academic Freedom case of the NYU LAW STUDENT BAR ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT

The case of the NYU LAW STUDENT BAR ASSOCIATION president highlights key points in the academic freedom controversy (see message at bottom of page). The UW AAUP president and FIRE agree that the SBA president exercised appropriate protected speech, and was a victim. But others consider that the SBA president violated key premises of scholarly and professional conduct and was in fact the aggressor.

FIRE states that the SBA president was merely expressing “views, words, symbols or thoughts that some person finds offensive,” with no evidence of misconduct. In sharp contrast, the former NYC mayor stated that this was a “deeply disturbing message from the NYU Student Bar Association. As a NYU Visiting Fellow, I strongly condemn this statement, which embraces disgusting acts of terrorism. I call on NYU community members to speak out against this hateful message.”

This message was a de facto official statement published online by a student at the pinnacle of our systems of education and justice, acting in the capacity of president. It was headed: NYU LAW STUDENT BAR ASSOCIATION Message From The President, and signed: Your SBA President. The statement bears the educational, ethical, and professional responsibility of the office.

The SBA president passed judgment on an international case of mass murder, performed by terrorists but omitted critical inquiry, legal due process, and ethics, and ruled that the victim(s) “bears full responsibility for this tremendous loss of life.” The SBA president openly sided with Hamas who have stated for decades, for all to read that: “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it"

The SBA president makes horrific false accusations, accusing the Jews of genocide at the time when the Jews are being bombarded with 1300 rockets from residential to residential areas at close range.

The SBA president abuses the authority of the office and the accountability to the SBA members whose professional integrity is on the line. The tone and message are authoritative and confrontational: 12 of 16 phrases start with “I condemn,” and the first phrase sets the tone as “unwavering” and “absolute”.

The SBA president repeatedly reaffirmed the message in public interviews and in the media, and went on to publicly deface posters of Hamas hostages. In defiance of the basic principle of scholarly discourse, the SBA president displays no sign of self-correction.

FIRE uses the terms “care” and “engage in debate” in reference to the conduct of the SBA president. NO, this conduct is antithetical to “care” and “debate” and to all that education seeks to achieve. It represents the failure of the school of law. The university has the mandate to critically evaluate, rather than endorse this action.

FIRE considers the above “wholly protected even if other students found them offensive or even hateful.” Obviously, educated people who believe in freedom of speech are not all talking about the same thing. We are divided by an abysmal chasm. FIRE endorses an orthodox interpretation of the First Amendment on campus that disregards the expressed-content, and the professional setting. In contrast, scientists who uphold scientific methodology are concerned about the expressed-content and favor validated objective truth as opposed to disinformation in the educational setting. On the other hand, most educators don’t even consider the issue. They routinely disregard the First Amendment when grading students or writing evaluations that impact a student’s future. Expressing untruths or hate, or making false accusations gets a low grade. Educators are professionals. They are not obligated to “protect” unprofessional conduct or the expression of untruths.

At this point in US history when free expression is the norm, the vestigial term “academic freedom,” is misleading and often self-serving, and should be discarded. Moreover, our current practice of “academic freedom” is enabling rather than abating the spread of disinformation within and from academia. The majority of the population on all sides of the isle openly endorse and vote for disinformation (formerly known as lies). Academicians can redirect our youths towards the pursuit of objective validated truth. They have the authority and obligation to educate generations of responsible citizens. Academicians have the option to restore scholarly discourse and enforce professional conduct on campus, or else empower the political extremes to do the job.

Academic Freedom issues, other than freedom of inquiry:

Academic Freedom of the Teacher

The AAUP 1915 Declaration of Principles on Academic Freedom and Academic Tenure focused on “Freedom of the teacher,” and explicitly not on freedom of inquiry, or freedom of the student.

The AAUP principle that the teacher knows best and must be free to dictate what is taught in class evolved at a time when knowledge was confined to individuals within four walls. Times have changed. Knowledge is now in the public domain. Educators now have the professional responsibility to enable students to access, learn and critically evaluate a fraction of this knowledge. Teachers no longer have the protected freedom to teach their own version of truth.

Academic Freedom vs Government Intervention

The intrusion of ideology and disinformation into education and science in the 21st century is extensively documented. This represents a failure of our system of checks and balances. When self correction does not occur within academia and malpractice is not corrected by regulatory bodies, it is the duty of our elected legislature to intervene. When the government fails, the job is left to the political extremes

Our problem is more likely reflective of misguided academic freedom rather than the lack thereof. Advocating for academic freedom or targeting the politicians would not resolve these issues.

Invoking Academic Freedom to Target Jews and their Ancestral Homeland

The Jewish homeland occupies 0.016% of the global land and Jews comprise 0.2% of the world population (vs Islam: 21.5% and 24.9%), and Israel is the only democracy with freedom of speech and established human rights in the Middle East and North Africa, but Academic Freedom is (?most) commonly invoked to target the Jewish people and their ancestral homeland.

NYT 9/6/2024 Opinion Essay & Poster: In a half page New York Times essay a renowned Harvard professor invokes the First Amendment to endorse the lies posted (a year ago) by antisemitic anti-Israel protesters, proclaiming that the First Amendment protects expression on campus regardless of content and is the only way to protect students. He considers that the attacks on Jews contribute “to the noisy, teeming pluralism of living communities that search for truth.” The lies are disseminated to the global media knowing the power of the message to cause horrific harm. At 1 year, the lies have become the norm, the product of a new-found, delusional “search for truth.” They have not undergone evidence-based debate, research or self correction on campus, but we pretend that repetition of lies establishes truth. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/06/opinion/first-amendment-campus-protest.html?searchResultPosition=3

Heterodox Academy and FIRE:

FIRE repeatedly and forcefully insists that targeting Israel is protected speech. In direct reference to Israel, FIRE insists that advocacy of genocide or violence remains protected speech. “The First Amendment protect(s) students peacefully marching across the quad chanting ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,’ even if the chant were interpreted as supporting the ethnic cleansing or genocide of Israelis.”  But FIRE wields FIRE knowing that it burns, knowing that it burns human beings. FIRE pretends that these words stimulate the intellect. But words are the power. Reality tells us that advocating genocide and ethnic cleansing of Jews, in 2024, on a platform provided by the American People, amplified by the media, broadcast to the whole world, endorsed by the reputations of the top American universities, does change the course of history in real time. It kills Jews, and Palestinians. It directly supports and inflames the terrorist enemies of freedom and human rights, who have been killing (on average) more than 130,000 humans per year and creating more than a million refugees per year in the past 50 years. It directly fuels and perpetuates the suffering of Palestinians and Israelis.

Heterodox Academy started a flagship Free the Inquiry newsletter. The inaugural two essays,  August 19, 2024, (& 4 of 6 subsequent essays) found it  necessary to invoke academic freedom in order to target Israel. Why? The Socratic concept of “Inquiry” was not about Israel. Clearly, Heterodox Academy knows that “freedom of inquiry in the USA is as free as ever in human history. Freedom of expression is universal: 30 years ago we heard near zero voices. Today we hear billions of voices, every day, all day. Freedom of expression is alive and well. Our main problem is disinformation.

Following are a few of many examples from the UW AAUP faculty forum:

-AAUP  Statement on Academic Boycotts (invokes academic freedom to justify boycotts. The UW AAUP leadership confirms that the intent is to target Israel):          https://www.aaup.org/report/statement-academic-boycotts

-Legislative Threats to Academic Freedom: Redefinitions of Antisemitism and Racism   https://www.aaup.org/report/legislative-threats-academic-freedom-redefinitions-antisemitism-and-racism

-[AAUP] Washington State AAUP joint letter to WA state reps regarding academic freedom

-[AAUP] Israel & Academic Freedom, “The connection between the war on Gazans and academic freedom is clear” <crcolli3@uw.edu>Wed, Mar 6, 2024 at 10:54 AM

-2021 UW AAUP president expressed the right to accuse Israel of genocide:    : https://www.aaup.org/JAF12/against-common-sense-academic-freedom-collective-right

-Polarizing Times Demand Robust Academic Freedom: https://www.aaup.org/news/polarizing-times-demand-robust-academic-freedom

-AAUP Forum on faculty rights in context of Palestine work (Invokes academic freedom to state, but not debate, that: anti-Jewish Hate speech on campus is protected by the First Amendment;  Redefine the meaning of “indigenous” to explain that Jews are not the indigenous people of Israel).

-[AAUP] free speech and Israel Palestine_ ec22@uw.edu Thu, Feb 1, 2024 at 5:36 PM

NYU SBA PRESIDENT MESSAGE