If ths program is certified by the state, report it to the state certification authorities. Future clients of the graduates of this program deserve better than this crap.
Oh yeah, forgot this gem. Homework is to write two pages about one aspect of the film. Sheeeiiiittt…
You could write your two pages on the “blatantly untrue” aspect of the film, with numerous cites, of course.
You’ll be better at your job than this teacher is at hers, Soul Brother Number Two. If that’s any consolation. I’d probably try my luck with the dean again and then see if you can transfer the hell out of there.
I think most people participating in the thread know this or have figured it out, but let me provide a little perspective for anyone not familiar with this field. I don’t know exactly how things work in California, but I assume they are more-or-less the same as Colorado. Addictions couselor is a very low level profession, with very limited educational requirements. I work under the supervision of clinician with a master’s degree in counseling. No one directly involved in the program has a PhD or an MD. My supervisor does not have a LPC qualification (Licenced Practical Couselor - basically the state certificate necessary for someone to hang out a shingle as a psychotherapist if they aren’t a psychiatrist or a PhD psychologist). He does have, in addition to his MA, a level III CAC (Certified Addictions Couselor) qualification. I have a BA in a mostly unrelated field. I am working on getting my CAC, but I don’t have it yet. My employer requires both a bachelor’s degree and a CAC-II, but a bachelor’s degree is not a prerequisite for a CAC. One of my colleagues doesn’t yet have her BA, but she has her CAC-III, which puts her above me clinically. Since I don’t have a CAC, everything I do has to be signed off by someone who has a CAC-III. When my supervisor was hired, he had his MA but hadn’t gotten his CAC yet, so everything he did had to be signed by the colleague with her CAC-III but no degree. The gist of all this is that certification is vital to working in the field, but it is NOT an academic qualification and is considered seperately in hiring and clinical supervision decisions.
The requirements for CAC certification is twofold: You must have a certain number of supervised clinical hours, and you have to take a certain number of classes. The classes are mandated by the state Department of Regulatory Agencies and (I think) by statute. They are taught by private training companies as well as community and regular colleges, but they are not taught by regular faculty at the colleges. You can receive a small number of academic credit hours for them, but they are NOT primarily academic in nature. Each class lasts two to three days and includes no outside assignments and a ten-question multiple-choice test that requires a score of 70% to pass. The instructors do not compose their own tests, and as far as I know, no one has ever failed a test. (One instructor told me she had had one student fail a test, but he was allowed to re-take it–oraly I think–so that he passed.)
This is a state-regulated certification, but it is designed to be consistent with the requirements of the NAADAC, which is the private professional organization that provides national certification and oversees coordination between state certifying agenicies. California has its own professional organizationthat provides its own certification, but it seems to be more-or-less equivalent.
**So–**It is entirely possible that the instructor in these courses has no academic qualifications at all, that she is an independant contractor or a faculty member who just happened to contract with the certifying agency. It is rather unlikely that the program has much of a reputation one way or the other, since it is primarily a hoop to jump through, not a serious course of study. (If it does have a rep, the response is much more likely to be along the lines of “I’m so sorry you had to take your classes there! I heard they really suck!” rather than “You went to that crappy school? You must not be qualified!”)
Hang in there. Your profession needs people with your level of experience, perception and integrity.
I have nothing but respect for you.
Are you sure the dean isn’t a Scientologist? :dubious:
God this thread is frustrating. It’s a classic case of ‘In a perfect world…’ vs. cold, hard, fucked up reality.
It’d make a great case for The Ethicist.
Get out if you can, finish your degree there if you have to. The real world is behind you…you are not alone.
When I taught college, I had complete control of what I taught including textbook.
That being said, since you were supposedly a professional and your students would need this knowledge in other classes and other institutions, you made damn sure you knew what needed to be taught.
To accused someone of not teaching what students needed was the equivalent of accusing someone of gross incompetence.
It appears that not all teachers/institutions were as fanatical as the ones I was at…