photo credit: morgan childers
A professor at NYU’s Stern School of Business, Scott Galloway, recently sent an email that has gone viral, due largely to its unique approach in response to a student’s particularly obnoxious behavior. The student, who remains anonymous, had arrived an hour late to class and been denied admission, and later emailed the professor to explain that he was late because he had been “sampling” different classes, the last of which was Professor Galloway’s, and that it was within his rights to explore different options at the beginning of the semester.
Galloway’s response has caught attention because of his brutal honesty in addressing what he sees as the student’s overall functional weaknesses. In short, he takes him down a few notches. You can read the full exchange here, but I wanted to focus on a specific piece of Galloway’s final advice:
“Getting a good job, working long hours, keeping your skills relevant, navigating the politics of an organization, finding a live/work balance…these are all really hard, xxxx. In contrast, respecting institutions, having manners, demonstrating a level of humility…these are all (relatively) easy. Get the easy stuff right xxxx. In and of themselves they will not make you successful. However, not possessing them will hold you back and you will not achieve your potential which, by virtue of you being admitted to Stern, you must have in spades. It’s not too late xxxx…”
Opinion on the web seems split, mainly centered on Galloway’s known personality quirks. The entire controversy, though, provides an opportunity to think about the appropriate tone and level of “honesty” in student-teacher communications. As an adjunct at Baruch for five years, I’ve certainly felt the occasional urge to respond to particularly ridiculous requests with a similar sense of disbelief. Galloway’s message, however, takes the impulse a step further, directly and personally addressing what he perceives to be the student’s overall failures. His main point seems to be that, by exhibiting such a lack of decorum, the student is effectively handicapping himself, making it impossible to succeed in college or the larger world.
I find Galloway’s response generally appropriate considering the student’s rather arrogant assumption that “sampling” courses (by walking in and out of several classes mid-lecture) was a reasonable behavior. His most memorable advice (“get your shit together”), while perhaps obscene, communicates an underlying truth. If the student wishes to succeed in the business world, his presumed career direction, he will have to drastically adjust the attitude and expectations reflected in his brief interaction with Professor Galloway.
On the other hand, is it right to draw larger conclusions about a student’s chances of future success from one embarrassing incident? Further, is it even within a professor’s rights or responsibilities to dole out such “advice” at all? How can we effectively steer our students toward more appropriate and “successful” behavior without being too harsh or judgmental?
(I’m a “non-traditional” Baruch undergraduate student, I’m 40 and a senior.)
This reminds me of my experience with NYC’s ivy league, and a story I tell tirelessly to my Baruch brethren so that they can know that it is the “CUNY all stars” who have the advantage when they show up for a job interview, and not the NYU or Columbia bumblers.
About 15 years ago I was interviewing for a computer technician job and placed ads with the career centers at NYU, Columbia, Hunter and Baruch. I spoke to about 15 people. 100% of the NYU and Columbia students spent an equal amount of time interviewing me and the company I represented and were openly “I don’t know if this job you haven’t offered me yet is good enough for my [non-existent] resume.” I offered the job to one NYU student who three days later turned it down simply because he wanted to look for another job at a better known company. The loser didn’t have another job, just wanted to look for a better job. Unbelievable. (We were paying $20/hr at the time and using up to date technology.)
On the other hand, the students from Hunter & Baruch were all eager to get work experience and willing to work for any rate of pay, including free! I hired a guy from Hunter that summer who was the best employee I ever had. No joke.
Now I tell that story so maybe anyone reading it can pass it along when they see that hint of doubt in a CUNY student’s eyes about their own ability or the quality of their education or any qualification they bring to the table.
From my experience and the anecdotal evidence I have from others, that Professor didn’t simply have an issue with his boundaries being violated that day, he finally had enough of an immature and entitled student body.
I have to say to the poster: I am struck with much more shock and awe that a student even comes up with the idea to go around walking in and out of classes in progress that he is not registered for??? Sheesh!
I think what really gets me about this situation is not the personal experience of having my time personally wasted in that situation with the NYU student – but really that this subset of airheady, entitled, selfish and immature people, go against the grain of what New York City really is all about, and they coarse against that grain so harshly that it’s like nails on a chalkboard to me. I love love love hard working people with common sense and bristle so harshly against “the others.” (Do I sound like a jackass here? Well, place a job ad at the NYU career center and field a few inquiries and you’ll get my drift.)
With that said, I also think you should be allowed to make mistakes in College – even big ones – and it should be the place where one can learn to make amends for them. I hope that whatever’s going on around the internet with that exchange allows for that.
Rate Your Students, which has perfected the art of the student take down, interestingly labels Galloway a jackass.
I agree with your “last straw” theory and your description of the fussy job applicant. So much is beneath them.
I also beleive that kids ( and some adults) are so used to watching flat screens that they do not know how to behave in live theatre.
They act like they are under an invisible cloak. I once lectured a few minutes and stopped to ask a kid why he was holding his phone in the air. He explained that his friend couldn’t make the class but wanted to hear the lecture. He had no idea how distracting he was.
A table of menial jobs held by sucessful elites and a class that required students to hold the attention of their peers for 80 minutes, might help.