My first thought was that you never hear Steven Hawkins stutter. It’s the 21’st freakin century. He could type his entire conversation out in real time using a projector or voice translator if that’s what it takes for him to communicate.
Why exactly?
As opposed to the actual lines of the story, already quoted, that directly contradicts this claim? The only stuff that appears between the lines in the linked story seem to be projected by the reader without any support from the text.
I think that restricting anyone’s literal right to speak in this situation - to know, to ask, to do, to learn, to benefit, to contribute - is not only an assholish thing to do, but it’s borderline abusive. “You have a stutter; therefore, I don’t want to hear you speak.” There are kids with thick accents who have the same issue. Hell, I’ve had an ADJUNCT PROFESSOR with such a thick accent I couldn’t understand half of his lecture.
Any good and reasonable teacher will know how to deal with the kids who take up class time. He’s not the only one she’s ever come across, but since he has a stutter, I’m willing to bet he was the easiest to take care of. “Just shut up” is not reasonable.,
It’s the job of every teacher/professor/group leader/etc to know how to handle the time-consumers. One thing I used to to was say, “Okay, everyone has a ‘ticket’. You can each spend one [or two or whatever] . I know there are a lot of great things that want to be said and I want to try to respect everyone’s wishes to be heard, but I need to speak, too.” That will usually do it. Hell, I know I can monopolize time if I’m not careful and I’m pretty sure I have good things to say. I just get really excited about class. 
But he can speak. And he wants to.
If a student had been in a horrible accident and had part of his jaw removed, are you going to require him to write things down as well? Or kids with thick accents?
Yeah, if it takes five minutes of class time to get a question out, why not? He has the right to get his questions answered, he doesn’t have the right to practice speaking at a captive audience no matter how much time he wastes. He can practice on his own time.
With adults, sometimes, yeah. It’s different when teaching kids. We can ask adults to be more professionals-in-practice and expect them to meet us part way. For example, there are ADA accommodations (for education) I can say are not appropriate for my class (like extra time on lab practicals when they get extra time on class exams).
Maybe the best thing would have been for the professor to ask the student what he thought would be the best solution. Then if the student had suggested this approach, no one would have to be morally outraged at the outcome.
I agree. I’m willing to concede that your typical stutterer prefers to be quiet, but there is a lot of evidence that this kid is not typical.
What is the evidence?
First, it’s unusual for 16 year olds, even smart ones, to take classes at college.
Second, how did the New York Times become aware of this story? It’s very unlikely that the school in question brought this to the attention of the media; most likely the individual in question did so. Note also that he posed for a picture in the Times wearing a hat which has been out of fashion since the 1940s.
Third, he apparently took his story to the paper even though the school arranged for him to transfer to another class where he can ask as many questions as he wants.
Fourth, his Youtube handle is (apparently) “stutteringman” so obviously the stuttering issue is central to his identity.
Fifth, the story indicates that at one point he held his hand up for most of the class even though it was clear he was not being called on, i.e. he publicly challenged the teacher’s authority.
Yes, obviously there are lot of explanations for these things, but if I had to guess, I would say that this is a boy who craves attention; who has a chip on his shoulder; who is a wannabe activist/martyr; and a gunner.
As far as the OP goes, I would want to hear the teacher’s side of the story and see the entire e-mail exchange.
Or was making it plain to the teacher that he knew she was trying to silence him because of his disability, and he was going to make sure that everyone else knew it too. Because it was a spectacularly bigoted, douchecanoe move on her part to let him sit there and ignore him through an entire class.
If she can’t deal with students with stutters and other speech impediments, traumatic brain injuries that impair the motor function involved in speech (lots of that in colleges these days, thanks so much, Iraq and Afghanistan) and thick accents that have to be waded through like pudding, she should look into “teaching” classes online.
Sure, that’s an open and public challenge to the teacher’s authority. He could have simply complained to the dean and gotten the problem resolved without a dramatic confrontation. I’m not saying that what he did was wrong, just that it’s one piece of evidence that he is an attention-whore with a chip on his shoulder.
Both my father and my brother are stutterers, so this issue resonates personally with me. I believe that the instructor’s choice of response was very poor. I don’t think that she deserves summary dismissal, but there is definitely a “teaching moment” here. My brother has pointed out that if nothing else, part of the mission of schools and colleges should be to put students in new surroundings and to expose them to many different kinds if people, who might pose many different kinds of “problems” and to develop the social skills to navigate those situations.
I’ll ask my dad about this. As I said he’s a stutterer, although his stuttering was much more prominent in his youth than when he got older. He also was a college professor for 30 years.
That may work fine in a nursery school setting but in the real world adults would be pulled aside by their boss and told to put a cork in it.
Universities operate on an adult level and expect their students to do the same. Maybe colleges shouldn’t let HS students attend and instead defer to HS teachers for advanced coursework.
College should expose students to the real world so they’re prepared for it instead of getting swallowed up by it.
Anyway, the “real world” argument can be turned on its head. Surely the stuttering student will have to deal with shunning or discrimination in the real world for which he has no legal or practical remedy. Is that a valid reason to deny him a remedy here? I would tend to say “no.” Still, if I were his father, I would tell him to quit being such a gunner – stuttering or not.
He was given 2 remedies, one from the teacher and one from the school. I suspect the teacher got tired of his questions. The students who commented anonymously said his questions were relevant so maybe it is the amount of time taken to ask. I’d expect a more high-tech resolution but that’s me. I was going to lean toward the kid’s side but his picture and actions come across as someone with a bit of an attitude. The whole thing didn’t seem to square with the statement that he could belt it out if he really concentrated.
Some stutterers have no problem with a pre-arranged script. Some can even become Hollywood actors: Bruce Willis retained something of a stutter at least into the 1990s, when I saw him give an interview on a public access channel.
More: Stuttering - Wikipedia
Follow-up article, in which the professor gives her side of the story.
I’m still not sure what I think. I find it hard to pass judgment without having been there, especially since Snyder’s version of events differs from Garber’s in several respects.
Well, whatever sympathy I might’ve had for the student just evaporated. At this point, I’d be okay with a video of him asking questions in class being put on YouTube so everyone can see what the teacher had to deal with, and if this is humiliating for him… too bad.
That’s the statement that makes you change your mind? Really?