Flannery is a hero, should be rewarded

Flannery is a hero, should be rewarded

ATLANTA
November 13, 1998

Enough about Professor Ray Flannery giving his 2121 class the final exam questions! As someone whose husband teaches physics, I, too, was initially disgusted by Flannery's apparent contempt for education, but I've since seen the light.

First, nowhere does the honor code state; "It is wrong to give your students the final exam questions before the final exam." So how was he to know? And if he has done this before without being caught, isn't it wrong to hold him accountable at this point? The administration apparently thinks so, saying that Flannery's students outscored the rest because they were brighter to begin with, or because other classes had "harder graders," or some other reason. Assuming any correlation between being given the questions beforehand and doing better on the test is simplistic.

Flannery said he gives students the exam questions in order to encourage them to attend the review session; it isn't cheating, it's his teaching method. Plus, doing his job by making up his own questions would've been inconvenient. Wouldn't we all like to blow off our responsibilities? Yes. Therefore, who are we to judge?

Craig Forest complained that being Flannery's student hurt him because he didn't learn anything. I urge Mr. Forest to step into the nineties. High schools, especially inner city high schools, have long been criticized for drilling students on how to pass tests rather than on learning the material (teachers have been fired for doing less than what Flannery did). What critics don't realize is that "understanding" is obsolete. Passing tests is what it's all about. Flannery saved his students valuable time otherwise wasted on having to actually "learn" that stuff. He didn't hurt Mr. Forest, he helped him by making life just a little easier. Every Tech instructor should be required to give students the test questions before the final. It makes the diploma process more efficient.

Though Prof. Flannery has not yet received the Tech teaching medal for inventiveness, he has been rewarded by being relieved of a heavy 2121 teaching load. This establishes an excellent precedent for future instructors whose innovations might raise ethical questions. They can declare Flannery their guiding light, and demand similar rewards. And they'll be right to do so.

Georgia Tech remains on the cutting edge of education.

Karla Jennings Wiesenfeld
ph287kj@prism.gatech.edu

Copyright © 1998 by Gregory S. Scherrer, Editor and by the Student Publications Board

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