Goddard's Differential Equations Essay

We, the students of Professor Bart Goddard’s Differential Equations class (M 427J), are writing to you about a recent incident for which he is at risk of losing his position in the university. During the 12:00 PM class on Wednesday, February 22, 2017, Professor Goddard told a cautionary tale about how, in the Holocaust, Nazi engineers used lime to prevent blood from ruining the train tracks of the trains carrying the Jews to the camps, calling on the engineering students in the audience to understand the implications of their work and to avoid evildoing. As a result, he was relieved of his teaching duties on Friday morning, for two class sessions and is currently in a state of limbo pending the decision of the dean for his case. However, we believe that the professor in no way attacked, demeaned, or otherwise discredited a student, race or religious affiliation (nor intended to do so) with his story. Furthermore, the story he told does not reflect his ability to effectively teach the course at all, and it is not representative of his highly positive relationship with his classes as a whole.

Professor …show more content…
It is hard to find a professor of this caliber. Such a man has made an immeasurable impact on all of our lives, and while his Holocaust story may have hurt some students in the class, we, the majority, believe that his story was not, in its nature, offensive or harmful. We similarly believe that the opinion of the majority should be considered equally, if not more, valuable as that of the minority. Furthermore, based on the circumstances of the incident, Professor Goddard’s termination would signify to students, faculty, and staff that approaching sensitive topics in the classroom is not only harmful to learning, but also discouraged in the wider natural sciences, engineering, and UT