Monday, November 28, 2022

Think Those Happy Thoughts.

So I read this [paywall] in the Salt Lake Tribune today, thanks to a student who posted a link to it in a BYUI page on Facebook. (The post has now been removed; whether by the student or administrators of the page, I don't know.)

While I understand that BYUI has the right to screen instructors as it sees fit, I don't necessarily like that neither of these teachers could find out the reason for their dismissal.

In brief: Two online instructors at BYUI were told they had "failed" to earn an ecclesiastic endorsement to teach at the school. Neither of them were told what had led to the failure, leaving only conjecture.

It sounds like at least one of the teachers has been offered a recourse to get the job back, but at this point she's not sure she wants to try.

This is potentially shaky ground. I teach at BYUI and have, shall we say, some unorthodox approaches that might potentially rub someone the wrong way. And while I understand the church's doctrinal stand on homosexuality (which is linked to what these two instructors suspect prompted their dismissal) I have to wonder where the line is drawn. Empathy? Understanding? Tolerance? Where they've not been officially told the reason for their dismissal, I'm not sure what to think.

Don't suspect me of gross unorthodoxy. But still, where is that line drawn? And why keep it a secret? We're told to have our communications be yea, yea; nay, nay. To me, that implies clarity. And it ought to be a two-way street.



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