Monday, August 26, 2013

"American Professor" Spoke out on Academia Issues

Dr. Kaibin Xu, an assistant professor of Temple University, wrote in Chinese media regarding academia issues in the US, illustrated with his own experience.

Dr. Xu was not a stranger to be seen making public comments regarding testy issues in China when they were in-need. A few years back, when a Chinese professor was disciplined after student informants tipped the authority, the country was shocked on using students to spy on their professors. Dr. Xu published an article in Chinese media, self-described as an 'American Professor", defended the authority by testifying the same would have happened in a US classroom.

Recently, amid outcries on tightened control in universities across China, Dr. Xu spoke on academia life in the US. Again, his article was full of inaccurate information, in some places, incorrect information.

On racial tension:

我第一次来美国的时候,在洛杉矶机场转机。在候机厅一看,觉得不对,在那些坐在一起聊天的人群中,怎么白人都是和白人在一起,黑人和黑人在一起,连一个白人和黑人混在一起的都看不见呢?

I was shocked upon arrival at the LAX. Not even a single occasion did I witness a black and a white talking to each other.

Dr. Xu described a segregated airport terminal at LAX, where no single black spoke to white and vice versa, upon his arrival to the US around year 2000. Admittedly there are still large room for improvement, however you would not observe a busy terminal full of passengers where people of different skin colors did not mingle in the 21 century, not in Los Angeles.

About left-liberals:

美国的人文社科主流学者都是自由左翼为主,连这些学者都对黑人有根深蒂固的歧视,

Mainstream scholars in Humanities are left-liberals, who bear deeply rooted discrimination against Blacks.

I bet most 'left-liberals' would reject this serious accusation.

On public v. private:

由于公立学校从小学到高中普遍差,这些学生成绩以及各方面的情况也就不好,也很难考到好大学。

From K-12, public schools suffered from poor quality. Students attending public schools had great difficulties to get in good universities.

The great majority of American youth went to public schools, many with excellent quality. The great majority of students enrolled by top-tier universities graduated from public schools.

On the social hierarchy in a department:

3年前我曾对系里的硕士项目有些不好的方面提出5-6条改进意见,当时几个教授都显得很吃惊,这是因为他们习惯了没有人提出批评意见,而我一个博士刚毕业不久、新来的教授,就提出了那么多意见。

Three years ago, when I made a few suggestions regarding Master level education, several professors at the scene were startled for my candidness. They have been used to kissing up to the administration. How come a new comer like me dare to offer suggestions?

Anyone familiar with US academia would know this could not be true, unless the Temple University was not in the US.

Regarding academia freedom:

所谓的“教授治校”也就成了空话

"Faculty runs the school" became an void statement

Having gone through the US education system, and having been a faculty at a decent university, Dr. Xu should have known better. Faculty does not run the school, the administration does. On the other hand, professors controls the academic side, for example the curriculum.

Overall, Dr. Xu's Chinese publications painted a gloomy snapshot of the US academic world, which in every way smells like communist propaganda. A curious reader would wonder whether Dr. Xu truly believes in what he wrote, or were those words simply quick ways to make up for a poorly paid job. Dr. Xu's infomercial pieces might appear deceptive to many Chinese who have not set foot in the US, regretfully.

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