California professor flunks Kuwaiti's pro-U.S. essay

The Washington Times ^ | January 16, 2005 | George Archibald

[Jacob Kell]

A 17-year-old Kuwaiti student whose uncles were kidnapped and tortured by Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's invaders more than a decade ago said his California college political science professor failed him for praising the United States in a final-exam essay last month. Ahmad Al-Qloushi, a foreign student at Foothill College near San Jose, Calif., said he was told by professor Joseph A. Woolcock to get psychological treatment because of the pro-American views expressed in his essay.

[Jacob Kell]

You're probably going to say 'So what else is new'? This Woolcock guy could use a good Freeping. We should protest to get this retard fired or Al-Qloushi given a better grade.

[Paperback Writer]

To be fair to Professor Woolcock, I'd want to read the essay and assignment instructions before passing judgement.

[Paperback Writer]

Here's the school's website: http://www.foothill.edu/index.php.

[rocksblues]

Welcome to FR!

[rocksblues]

Bad link

[handy old one]

Liberal professor is not allowed to read Conservative report, might warp his thought patterns. Then he would not be of any use to the school.

[Tarpaulin]

""He told me, 'Your views are irrational. He called me naive for believing in the greatness of this country and told me, 'America is not God's gift to the world. ... You need regular psychotherapy.' "

Professor Joseph A. Woolcock would be wise to forgo his own psychotherapy and begin formulating his answer to God in response to this.

[Paperback Writer]

Thanks! This is a great place! Just discovered it.

[nosofar]

College officials declined to comment, saying it is a confidential matter because Mr. Al-Qloushi and Mr. Woolcock have filed complaints.

I wonder what Woolcock is complaining about. I suppose it would be typical for prof like this guy to complain about someone complaining about him.

[Paperback Writer]

Good link: http://www.foothill.edu/index.php

[rudy45]

ping

[Dog Gone]

Whoa, if the full article is correct, this professor needs more than a freeping.

[winner3000]

This professor should be kicked out of school. His assignment to the students instructed them to find reasons why the Constitution is an elitist document. How can any assignment be used for reasoning when the conclusion is already set in stone (and of course is anti-American). This professor's class sounds more like a communist re-education camp than a class room! Shameful!

[rudy45]

Name: Joe Woolcock
Title: Political Science Instructor (Honors Instructor)
Division: Business and Social Sciences
Primary Phone: (650) 949-7485
Email address: woolcockjoe@foothill.edu
Office: 5005
Campus: Foothill
Biography: Joseph A.Woolcock has been teaching Political Science at Foothill College since 1987. He received his undergraduate education in Sociology and Psychology from Boston College, did postgraduate work in educational administration and management at the University of the West Indies and masters and doctoral degrees in international development at Stanford University. Dr. Woolcock has taught at both the undergraduate and graduate levels in higher education and has several years’ senior level experience as an international consultant.
Last update: 2004-12-09

[LiveBait]

To be fair to Professor Woolcock, I'd want to read the essay and assignment instructions before passing judgement. I would tend to agree. While it doesn't look good, particularly the account of the meeting afterwards, it doesn't exactly sound like the student stuck to the topic.

[rocksblues]

Book Buy-Back (Winter 2005):

Now my daughter has bought many books each year trying to pursue her dream of becoming a Registered Nurse. And every time she tries to sell them they say oh those are last years books.

She/we paid over $500.00 for her books this year and we know that next year she won't be able to sell them for $5.00.

Back to the subject. Professors with tenure have too much power over students diverse opinions.

[Libertarian4Bush]

Woolcock

HAHAHAHAHA you said... ummm... never mind.

[Paperback Writer]

Agreed. Plus, I don't trust the media; I've always thought that news outlets have a sensationalist bias--that is, they're always looking for a controversial story to report, even if one isn't there. This leads to stuff like the Bush National Guard story.

So the bottom line is this: Wait before passing judgement, because our media sucks. I'd have to respectfully disagree with knee-jerk rhetoric ("should be kicked out of school," "communist re-education camp").

[DUMBGRUNT]

Ahmad's Essay

http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/archive/December2004/Ahmad%27sessay121004.htm

[rwilson99]

Ahmad's paper is far from a masterpiece. In the senior level writing class I took last year, he would have earned a C for his paper.

With that being said, Ahmad is 17 and likely taking a freshman level political science course, where writing style is not the focus.

He presents a clear and coherent idea, and uses facts to support his concept. His paper is historically accurate and competent. Any reasonable professor would award him with an A or B depending on writing standards of the class.

The act of flunking this student is abhorrent, and comparable to the worst academic fraud.