Students are more likely to disrespect and disrupt professors that are female and inexperienced than instructors who are male and experienced, according to a study by three education professors at the University of Redlands in California, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported Tuesday. The study surveyed faculty members about how often they experienced passive forms of disrespect, such as sleeping in class, as well as active derision in the classroom, according to The Chronicle. The researchers found that only 9 percent of female professors surveyed did not remember experiencing student incivility in the classroom, compared to 24 percent of the male faculty. Female professors were also more likely to report that the incidents were "severe" and "upsetting," and the professors that had been teaching the longest did not report as many issues with student disrespect as younger professors, according to The Chronicle.
President Barack Obama will give the commencement speech at Kalamazoo Central High School in Michigan, The New York Times reported Wednesday. The school was granted the honor after beating over 1,000 high schools competing in the Obama administration's first annual Race to the Top Commencement Challenge, which aims to reward schools for novel and effective teaching and learning methods, according to The Times. Other senior Obama administration officials will give commencement speeches at the five runner-up schools. Schools were required to submit statistics about academic performance and four essays in February, and White House officials and the Education Department chose six semi-finalists, according to The Times. Participants were judged on their dedication to preparing students for college and careers, The Times reported.
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan helped 28 relatives of Illinois politicians and campaign donors gain admission to the University of Illinois over the past three years, the Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday. Most of the students would not have been admitted without Madigan's help, according to the Tribune. The University reversed 10 denials or probable denials, accepted seven wait-listed students and allowed four denied students to appeal their rejections because of Madigan's intervention. The relatives of the admitted students gave a total of $201,145 in campaign donations to Madigan, his daughter state Attorney General Lisa Madigan and the Democratic Party of Illinois, which Michael Madigan chairs, the Tribune reported. Michael Madigan said in a statement that he interceded only to respond to his constituents' requests for help.
