Allright, been watching this thread for a bit, biting my tongue, but it's about time to jump in, methinks.
Learned an important lesson that day. So suck up and write about what ever makes them tick, even if you do not agree. Classes became a little easier after that.
Ok, so here's the thing. Did you (not necessarily you in particular, CodeRage, just you as representative of this position) ever think that perhaps the reason professors didn't give you such great grades when you "disagrees with them" was maybe less a function of your disagreeing with them than of your not being such a good writer? That maybe your "divergent views" just weren't expressed so thoughtfully, carefully or clearly? That you didn't back up your points with evidence or argumentation, but just assumed that the prof didn't like your paper because it disagreed with him or her?
I'm happy to out myself here: I'm currently finishing up my PhD in a very liberal arts field, and have taught liberal arts classes in a major research university for years. And while I can't speak for any other prof, I can say with certainty that I am THRILLED to have students disagree with me, both in class and in their papers. Nothing makes me more excited than to read a paper that takes issue with my views in a smart and articulate way, that points out flaws in my thinking and suggest other ways of framing or solving a problem. The way I see it, my goal as a teacher isn't to produce a room full of people who agree with me, but to produce a room full of people who can learn to think through their
own ideas in a careful and intelligent way. A plurality of opinions is the bedrock of a healthy democracy, IMO, and I'm happy to contribute to this state.
The thing is, however, that almost every semester, I get one or two kids in class who come in on the first day assuming that they know everything about me - my politics, my outlook on life, my views on teaching - and make it their mission to demonstrate how "closed minded" and "not open to different opinions" I am. It's kids like these whose papers are often filled with wild, outlandish rants. And I generally give these papers bad grades. Why? NOT BECAUSE THEY DISAGREE WITH ME, but because they make no sense: there's generally little to no evidence actually offered in support of the position they hold, they're poorly organized, they don't make a compelling argument, they're often filled with grammar mistakes, etc.
****, I couldn't care less whether you want to argue that the Nation of Islam is "the black equivalent of the white supremacist movement," or that climate change isn't true, or that the moon landing was a hoax. Go for it! I'd loved to be convinced that any of these things is the case (or at least to read a good argument in that direction). BUT, the mere fact that you're claiming that it is doesn't mean that you've written a good paper that makes a good argument. After all, it's stupidly easy to come up with a wild claim that ruffles people's feathers. Every f'ing homeless person on the corner can do that. But backing up a claim with evidence, organizing that evidence in a logical way, using that evidence to lead to a clear conclusion, making sure the writing is good, etc. is a much different proposition. And when I give students bad grades on their papers, it's because they haven't done any of
these things, not because the claim itself disagrees with my views of the world.
Of course, students never want to believe this, and always assume that I give their incoherent rants D's because I'm some liberal weenie who can't handle a student who expresses views that may run contrary to mine (even though most students probably have absolutely NO idea what my political views are).
So go ahead and write that paper! ****, PM me and I'll even proofread it for you. But before you go blaming a prof or even the discipline as a whole, at least make sure it's well-written (since, as many on this thread have pointed out, being able to write well and communicate effectively will help you out in the future, no matter what job you end up having).
Sorry for the minor rant; just felt the need to defend my discipline a bit.
