Nontraditional college student suspended for racy essay
February 23, 2012
A 56-year-old married man attending a Michigan University has been suspended for a class assignment that school officials deemed too racy.
According to ABC News, Joseph Corlett is a countertop refinisher who is pursuing a degree in writing and rhetoric at Oakland University. He was enrolled in an Advanced Critical Writing class when the incident occurred.
His teacher, Pamela Mitzelfeld, became uncomfortable when Corlett turned in a journal writing assignment titled "Hot for Teacher" that described his attraction to her. However, he says that he had previously written sexually-charged assignments and was never told to stop.
"I'm getting all As," he told ABC News. "When you're getting all As you're not going to start writing about freight trains or snow. She made it clear that she didn't want us to edit, she wanted the raw stuff. I asked [her] on multiple occasions if there were topical restrictions on the daybooks, and on every occasion - often in front of other students - she told me no."
However, when the teacher complained to university officials, a hearing resulted in a one-year suspension. In addition, Corlett is required to complete counseling in which he will work on his "sensitivity" issues, according to the Huffington Post.
"I was encouraged all along that I was on the right track and I was only told to stop when I was thrown out of class," he told ABC News.
Since then, he has been given an incomplete grade for the class and is waiting to hear if he can continue to pursue his studies online.
"I would never back down from my First Amendment rights."
Corlett is clearly pursuing a degree in something he is passionate about. Whether he has dreams of becoming a writer or teaching others to write, he is one of an increasing number on nontraditional students to enroll in American colleges and universities.
According to the U.S. Department of Education, 5 million (25 percent) of college students were over the age of 30 in 2010.
In addition to being able to incorporate their life experiences into their education, many nontraditional college students do better in college than their younger peers because they are there for all the right reasons.
DegreeDriven.com reports that many older students also possess an increased ability to focus and to deal with challenges. Adult students are often more focused and able to perform better and finish their degrees quicker than younger students as well, according to Distance-Education.org.
Mothers who want to get a college degree should know that there are many ways to offset the high cost of an education. They are often eligible for grants for parents as well as various college scholarships for adults.
