The Nov. 13 episode of “60 Minutes” underscored a growing problem in America’s educational system. One segment dealt with a Dartmouth University newspaper editor who, after a confrontation with a professor, was suspended from school for more than a year.

After numerous stories and accusations surfaced about the incompetency and ineptness of one of the school’s music teachers, the editor and three other reporters approached the professor and asked him to respond to the allegations. The professor hostilely refused to answer their questions, and words were exchanged. When the university caught wind of the incident, the editor was suspended from the school for a year and a half for, among other things, invasion of privacy and “vexatious oral exchange.”

The story of America’s incompetent teachers is one that needs to be told and exposed. Although NIU can boast some very bright, insightful professors, many of them cannot convey the material they were hired to teach. After some bad experiences, I have become disenchanted with subjects I was once very enthusiastic about.

This is scandalous. Nobody who wants to learn should be turned off to subjects because of incompetency. Though NIU has a battery of very good, very qualified teachers, a few rotten apples are spoiling the look of the whole bunch.

This unfortunate situation is largely due to an outdated tenure system. The noble intention of retaining experienced erudites is being marred by the unavoidable retention of ineffective educators.

Our most logical form of redress is to completely overhaul the system. It is tragic that tenure often rewards incompetence. Teacher evaluations are drawing near, and for what they are worth, we should take them seriously. The administrators also need to do some serious soul-searching in order to rectify the situation.

In a time of budget cuts and tuition hikes, we simply cannot afford to retain unqualified professors. A concerted effort must be made to ensure that Dr. Allan Bloom’s claims about “the closing of the American mind” do not become a self-fulfilling prophecy as a result of incompetency.

Borka Kalanj

Senior

Communications and Spanish