Ever since I taught, I went into the class with a slogan borrowed from the
cultural revolution: "Exams will no longer be surprise attacks on the
students." A couple of years back I taught my last course in labour economics
and I was disgusted by students' concern with grades. It is about time this MBA
grading sheet system stops.
*GRADES HURT, END THE PAIN, TOMORROW, TUESDAY MARCH 17, 8:30AM-12PM, TABARET
HALL*
This email is an urgent mass call-out delivered to 10 153 students, sent by a
coalition of 552 students.
Not all students could be reached due the University of Ottawa recently
implementing increased email control.
Many Professors have stepped up to defend education and will be announcing the
March 17 event in their classes today.
Spread the word quickly.*GRADES HURT, END THE PAIN, TOMORROW, TUESDAY MARCH 17,
8:30AM-12PM, TABARET HALL*
. . .
This email is a compilation of six call-outs from student and community
organizations deeply affected by the University of Ottawa's attack on
alternative teaching and grading. Students have mobilized to stop the
university, and will gather between 8:30AM and 12PM this Tuesday in Tabaret
Hall for a participatory town hall style discussion. The event will open with a
statement by President Allan Rock, and free food and beverages will be
provided.
Please come out to speak out. Please join in to watch and listen. The
discussion will focus on the pains of the grading system.
The Grades Hurt event will be held in the name of Full Tenured Professor Doctor
of Physics Denis Rancourt, who will be permanently fired by the Dean on
Tuesday, in the basement of Tabaret, because he gave his students all A+'s on
the first day of the semester. Students can help save his job, because the Dean
is clearly disciplining him too strong.
* Watch Full Colour TV Interviews of Denis Rancourt Here:
. . .1. THE ANTI-GRADING LIBERATION FRONT SAYS DOWN WITH EXAMINATIONS!
Grades hurt the soul. Bad grades cause karmic pain, and good grades tempt
sacrilegious sacrifice. We believe education must be built upon nothing else
but the virtues of kindness and love. Abolishing grades is the rightful path
towards liberation and it will transform education to release the full
potential of human creativity.
Paulo Freire is our Saviour. His Pedagogy for Liberation will bring forth the
New Revolution and take us towards the Enlightenment. We say: No more
evaluations! No more examinations! Come out on Tuesday. Help save Denis
Rancourt from religious persecution. It'll be a groovy party.====== WATCH THE
VIDEO OF TRUTH ======: DISSIDENT PROFESSOR WILL GRADE FOR FOOD*All up-to-date
media links and documents are archived at:
Recent media coverage: Macleans Magazine, "In this class, everyone gets A+".
www.denisrancourt.tv*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t14xBXunsJA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t14xBXunsJA
www.youtube.com/watch?v=t14xBXunsJA====== WATCH THE VIDEO OF TRUTH ======
2. AN UPDATE FROM THE COMMITTEE FOR THE DEFENSE OF
EDUCATIONwww.academicfreedom.ca*http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2009/03/13/in-this-class-everyone-gets-a/Press
Release: Dissident Professor Will Grade for Food.
http://www.academicfreedom.ca/Documents/OfferOfSettlement-17March2009.pdfPress
Conference: The confidential March 17th 9am meeting is scheduled for one hour
and Professor Rancourt and supporters will hold a press conference after the
meeting, in the Tabaret Hall lobby.3. THE STUDENT APPEAL CENTRE NEWS: STUDENTS
VERSUS THE GRADING SYSTEM
The following are excerpts from the full article blogged here:
http://www.uofoappeals.blogspot.com/You are a number, and that number is your
GPA.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0CDgtVMMSo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0CDgtVMMSo========================================
Now, on March 17, Prof. Rancourt will be fired for practicing an alternative
pedagogy.
The Allan Rock administration is suppressing free speech and academic freedom
on campus. Students and Professors need to mobilize and stop the administration
from taking over our university. Come out on Tuesday March 17 to defend the
future of education!5. A LETTER OF SUPPORT FROM THE GRADUATE STUDENTS'
ASSOCIATION
Dear Mr. Rock:
The Graduate Students' Association Étudiant(e)s Diplômé(e)s (GSAÉD), the
collective voice for the University of Ottawa graduate students, is writing to
protest the University's actions against physics professor Denis Rancourt.
CONTINUED HERE: http://www.academicfreedom.ca/Documents/GSAEDLetter.pdf6. A
MESSAGE FROM THE RADICAL CAMPUS ANARCHISTSwww.youtube.com/watch?v=5iKLGNVyPM0
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iKLGNVyPM0
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iKLGNVyPM0
====LISTEN TO THE UNINDOCTRINATOR ===7. ANTI-GRADING ARTICLES WRITTEN BY
UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA STUDENTS
Heckles: Your pedagogy
suckshttp://www.thefulcrum.ca/?q=oped/heckles%3A-your-pedagogy-sucksFree your
mind from grades, and start questioning the learning processes imposed on you
Grades are the drug that facilitate the molding of your minds. The syllabus is
the doctrine that you have been brainwashed to believe in. Examinations are the
filters that select for the most faithful servants.
The institution is ours, and we will fight to regain power.
====LISTEN TO THE UNINDOCTRINATOR ===
"Every time you reveal that number, judgment is passed upon you. With a simple
calculation, you are categorized as good or bad, studious or stupid, valuable
or disposable."Grades hurt you, and the Student Appeal Centre is here to help
you.
"Grades are harmful, destroy creativity and take power away from students.
Grades are a mechanism of control, not a mechanism for learning. Many students
agree, but do not know what to do."Freedom is necessary for education. Action
is necessary for liberation.
"How do we get an enjoyable education when we don't function within the system
of grading? Do we forget about university and go somewhere else, or do we fight
back and take control of the classroom? Can a grade-free system coexist within
our university, or is this just hopeless dreaming?"
"Our anti-grade position is radical. A debate about grading is necessary. "
"Students are organizing a town hall meeting this Tuesday. Come share your
thoughts and stories. If you've been failed, or if you hate your GPA, we
especially want to hear what you have to say."
March 17
Tabaret Hall Lobby
8:30 am - 12:00 pm
4. THE OTTAWA FREE SPEECH MOVEMENT CONTINUES!
-On Nov 21, the Dean of the Faculty of Science Dr. Andre Lalonde and the
Department Chair Dr. Bela Joos infiltrated the laboratory of Prof. Rancourt
with several Protection Officers and a number of unidentified University
employees. They ejected all the students, replaced the door lock with a
high-security lock, installed an alarm/surveillance system, and began
dismantling his equipment.
-On Dec 10, Prof. Rancourt was called to a meeting by Vice President Major
where he met a team of Protection Officers who then escorted him off campus and
barred him from attending his weekly campus radio show and his weekly
documentary film and discussion series.
-On Jan 23, Prof. Rancourt was arrested, cuffed, and charged under the Trespass
to Property Act of Ontario, by Ottawa Police under instructions of the upper
administration while giving a public presentation about corruption in the upper
administration to a classroom of students, professors, and community members.
-On February 24, two of Prof. Rancourt's graduate students and his research
associate filed a legal claim against the university, and personally hand
delivered the claim to Allan Rock.===== Video of Allan Rock Evading Justice
=====
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