So, I'm A Little Upset ...

[Kestra]

This is going to seem really trivial to some people and maybe I'm just emotional because I've been sick, but there's something that kind of bothered me recently.

Because I was sick, I had to miss a class on Wednesday. This class is a research seminar class and for our first assignment we had to discuss (in a paper) our research topic, how it was personally relevant, and how and why we came to choose that topic. It was a three page paper. My research is going to revolve around Asian-Americans college students, depression, the cultural stigma of mental illness, and the resulting barriers to treatment. This grew out of my own experiences and I want to do research, a literature search, etc. to see what's out there on the subject.

Because I was unable to attend class I emailed my professor before class with my apologies, explained my condition, and attached my paper. I got back some weird cryptic email from him about the class meeting next week.

Here's my problem. I contacted two of my friends in the class and I found out that the professor made copies of three student's papers and handed them out to everyone in class. My paper was one of the ones selected. They didn't go over it in detail because I wasn't there, but everyone in my class has a copy of my paper.

I'm embarrassed and feel a little violated. I'm okay talking about my experiences and I'm not ashamed of what I went through, but I like to tell people on my own terms. I'm always very honest and heartfelt in my writing and I'm uncomfortable with people I met once knowing the details of my depression and suicide attempts. I've been in classes before where we have shared writing. I've always had some indication in advance that this might be the case. There was no indication here that we were going to be sharing our papers with the class. Furthermore, he didn't ask me about it (or even tell me later that he used my paper) and I wasn't even there in class.

Like I said, I know it seems trivial and I feel kind of stupid for being upset, especially because I try to promote the fact that mental illness is nothing to be ashamed about. I think I'm just upset that my professor took something that was clearly personal and shared it without my permission or knowledge.

 

[RoJoHen]

I'd be pretty upset about that, too. Whenever I had to write a paper for school, I would write it knowing that the professor was my audience. I never intended for it to be read by anyone else.

 

[Captain_Nick]

Let me be the first to suggest that perhaps your professor did not consider the possibility that your paper was personal or that sharing it would be a violation of your privacy. He probably thought it was an example of excellent work and wanted to communicate that to the rest of the class. Professors, being smart people, are prone to wandering about corridors in tweed jackets, and not understanding the emotional needs of ordinary people.

 

[Amaris]

I think you are justified in feeling that way, Kestra. It would be like having an unpublished novel being passed around to other authors by your publisher, without your consent. It is a violation of your privacy, and it would be unsettling to me as well. Your work should be released under your own terms, and this was clearly a breach of that. Your Professor should have known better.

 

[BolianAuthor]

Yeah... I would be ticked off, too.

 

[sidious618]

I'd be pretty pissed and you should let him know that this was a violation of privacy so no one in the future is in your situation either.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I'm sorry you're upset, Kestra, but I'm not sure the teacher did anything wrong. Doesn't writing a paper for school imply that it will be read by strangers? The teacher, obviously, and he can possibly show it to other teachers and helpers. And papers are usually discussed in class, aren't they?

I'm sure he didn't intentionally do anything to upset you.

 

[Joshua Howard]

If you put together all of the stuff that most of us have written around the internet different places over the last decade, it would probably be enough content in many cases for an autobiography; and it is amazing how much information we share publically.

Nevertheless, we like to presume that the people who we see on a daily basis such as immediate neighbors or coworkers or classmates won't read things that we share remotely through specialized (though potentially public) channels (such in your case a professor, or perhaps on a forum like this, etc.)

I think I would feel a little bit wierd if I knew that an employer, or someone who I work with daily, etc. were taking the time to read everything that I've ever posted on the internet, even though every word of it is entirely public. The fact is that we write for the audience which we largely expect, and if a person/group different than that audience reads our work, we tend to feel uncomfortable.

You might not mind forumers from around the world knowing that you struggle with certain life issues... but that doesn't mean that you want the person who pours your Starbucks or sits across the isle in class knowing.

 

[Yeoman Randi]

Kestra, i'm sorry you're still not feeling well! And although i can totally relate to and understand why you may feel violated (i may have felt the same way too), i do think the professor must have been very impressed by your paper and wanted to share the excellent work that you did. That's what it sounds like to me. Hopefully the rest of the class will come away with a little more insight, understanding and compassion into what you and other Asian-Americans may go though.

 

[Mr Awe]

Kestra, the professor should've definitely asked you first, no doubt about that. Always be careful about what you write, because it may well be read!! I'd only write about what you're comfortable having others read. That said, I bet you that yours was the best because it was so personal.

Mr Awe

 

[Robert Maxwell]

The professor should have asked you, at least as a courtesy. I had papers used as examples for the class, too, and the professor always asked me if I was OK with it first. Even if there's no policy issue involved, it's just the polite thing to do.

 

[Thena]

The professor really should have checked with you or obscured your identity when he copied and handed out the paper so everyone knew your personal experiences. I would definitely say something to him or talk to his department head, because I really do not believe that this is excusable.

 

[Kestra]

Let me be the first to suggest that perhaps your professor did not consider the possibility that your paper was personal or that sharing it would be a violation of your privacy.

I have to assume something like that as well. I know he's not a bad guy, I just think that the content of my paper was so obviously personal that it would be difficult to think otherwise.

I'm sorry you're upset, Kestra, but I'm not sure the teacher did anything wrong. Doesn't writing a paper for school imply that it will be read by strangers? The teacher, obviously, and he can possibly show it to other teachers and helpers. And papers are usually discussed in class, aren't they?

Writing a paper usually implies that it will be read by your instructor, or a TA. At least in my experience, we do not generally discuss papers in class and certainly don't hand out copies of them unless it's a writing workshop. In that case it's usually pretty obvious. I've had my work used as an example before, but I was always asked permission and I was present at the time. It's like RoJo said, I made the assumption that the professor was my audience. Clearly that was a bad assumption to make!

Kestra, the professor should've definitely asked you first, no doubt about that. Always be careful about what you write, because it may well be read!! I'd only write about what you're comfortable having others read. That said, I bet you that yours was the best because it was so personal.

Heh, thanks, but it really wasn't that good! For all I know he was going over it to show them what was wrong with it. And I do understand that once you write something, it's out there. I've had professor's take a poem I've written to some reading, I've had papers put up on an overhead and gone over painstakingly by the entire class. I think it was just the complete lack of consent that bothered me. And the fact that I didn't even find out from my professor, that it was my classmates who told me. The funny thing is, if he had asked, I probably would have said yes.

The professor really should have checked with you or obscured your identity when he copied and handed out the paper so everyone knew your personal experiences. I would definitely say something to him or talk to his department head, because I really do not believe that this is excusable.

I really want to address this with him but he's incredibly difficult to talk to. Not because he's mean or anything, he just goes around in circles. Someone asked him if an assignment was to be a bulletpoint list or actual paragraphs and he talked for fifteen minutes about nonsense without actually ever answering the question.

At the same time I don't want to talk to a department head because it's something that should be resolved with the professor first. Plus I don't want to draw negative attention to him. I was thinking about just writing it in during course evaluations at the end of the class. Unlike my previous college, they're taken seriously here.

 

[CaptainStoner]

I really want to address this with him but he's incredibly difficult to talk to. Not because he's mean or anything, he just goes around in circles. Someone asked him if an assignment was to be a bulletpoint list or actual paragraphs and he talked for fifteen minutes about nonsense without actually ever answering the question.

Sounds like my music theory prof back in the day. Well, you won't be asking him any questions for him to go around in circles with. He just needs to be told, maybe in writing if that works better. Just simply told that given the subject matter, giving a copy to the entire class was just plain wrong. Incredibly insensitive and an abuse of his position.
If you wait for the evaluations to communicate this, you wouldn't be standing up for yourself and for common sense. And never mind anyone on the Internet who doesn't have any.

 

[Marten]

I too would be somewhat annoyed if a teacher had shown something like that without asking me. But there is not much to be done now, the best thing is probably to make sure it does not happen again.

 

[Mary Ann]

I think it was just the complete lack of consent that bothered me. And the fact that I didn't even find out from my professor, that it was my classmates who told me. The funny thing is, if he had asked, I probably would have said yes.

I think you've hit the nail of the head. Even if your prof isn't obligated to ask your permission before sharing your work it's common courtesey to do so. I can understand why you're upset about this. I would, too.

As for profs who make no sense whatsoever, that topic could easily have its own thread!

 

[Canadave]

I can certainly understand why you're upset, Kestra, but I can definitely see where the prof is coming from, too. I mean, you did say that it's a seminar class: that automatically implies that you will have to share your work with everyone else, seeing as that's the whole point of seminars. And he probably assumed that by passing your paper along, you meant to share it.

Yeah, he should have asked your permission first or given some sort of notification, but it sounds like he's a stereotypical prof: very smart, but quite dim in certain areas of human interaction.

 

[Spot's Meow]

I kind of agree with RJDiogenes here. If I write a paper for school I assume that it could be read by anybody. In fact, several times it has occurred that the professor collects our work and then unexpectedly passes them out randomly to other students for us to critique each others' writing. These weren't necessarily writing workshops, just regular reading and research seminars. I've also had teachers, from elementary school up to grad school, read my papers out loud without my permission. Sometimes they included my name, sometimes they didn't. I guess I always figured that sharing my work with others would be fair game. When I wrote a very personal essay for a scholarship, the presenter at the conference read several passages from it when announcing that I had won...this was in a room of about 200 strangers. I felt slightly embarassed because of what I had written, but I felt that the presenter did have a right to read it aloud.

The professor probably thought your work was good. It could be worse...when I had a class with my boyfriend in college, the professor read his paper aloud as an example of how NOT to write, even pointing out that he had written "rolls" instead of "roles" and then laughed with the whole class about what dinner rolls had to do with the paper topic.

 

[Deckerd]

It always confuses me when you talk about professors, since over here they are rare creatures only seen when the carcasses of huge grants wash up on the shore.

 

[Mr Awe]

Heh, thanks, but it really wasn't that good! For all I know he was going over it to show them what was wrong with it. And I do understand that once you write something, it's out there. I've had professor's take a poem I've written to some reading, I've had papers put up on an overhead and gone over painstakingly by the entire class. I think it was just the complete lack of consent that bothered me. And the fact that I didn't even find out from my professor, that it was my classmates who told me. The funny thing is, if he had asked, I probably would have said yes.

It's very understandable to want to have control over your own work.

Mr Awe