Florida's Syllabus Regulations Will Stunt Learning (opinion)

"Over the past five years, I have adapted to a litany of new policies, procedures and restructurings at both the level of the college and the state: a shift in summer semester length, increased class sizes, a collegewide administrative reorganization, a syllabus review searching for language related to the Israel-Palestine conflict and state rewriting of course outcomes. Throughout all this, I remained radically optimistic, suspending any criticism-and the anticipated upheaval usually subsided."

"While there are concerns about the laboriousness of submitting a syllabus 45 days prior to the term, as well as potential political issues of censorship (some faculty argue syllabi are being made public to persecute unfavored views), my objection to this new policy is neither labor-based nor political. What is plainly concerning to me is the stipulation that all "required and recommended" readings must be included on the syllabus before the semester starts."

"This is not a proxy for a covert political argument. Actually, my criticism of static reading lists has nothing to do with politics, though the policies reflect a partisan political agenda: It is about pedagogy. The problem is not that the readings would be made public, but instead that they would be fixed, circumscribing professors' creative interventions after a term has begun."

Over five years, I adapted to numerous institutional changes, including shifts in summer semester length, increased class sizes, collegewide administrative reorganization, syllabus reviews searching for Israel-Palestine language, and state rewriting of course outcomes. I remained radically optimistic and noncynical, suspending criticism until anticipated upheavals subsided. Florida's amended syllabi regulations require professors at public universities to publish syllabi at least 45 days before the first day of class and to list all "required and recommended" readings in advance. The rule forbids adding new readings after term start, fixes reading lists, circumscribes professors' creative interventions, and causes pedagogically stunted classrooms. The objection is pedagogical rather than labor-based or political.

Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs