The Perks of Challenging Your Professor

While it’s no secret that Chatham students and faculty have a special kind of bond, it doesn’t always lead to them riffing with each other in The New York Times. This past March, when Taylor Pelow, Chemistry and Political Science ‘22 was approached by The New York Times to discuss her thoughts on climate change policy and the democratic primary candidates, they asked her to invite along someone she disagreed with. She chose Associate Professor of Policy Studies, Dr. Jennie Sweet-Cushman. The pair have spent the past few years debating their policy stances in class: “I love when my students challenge me like Taylor does,” says Sweet-Cushman. We caught up with them to learn more about how they’ve fostered their unique dynamic and how dissent can be a learning tool.

What have you learned from having Taylor in your classroom?

Jennie Sweet-Cushman: While I’m working with some students to help them build a base of knowledge to develop informed policy positions, I have to simultaneously be helping smart and passionate students like Taylor work backwards from their policy positions to the understanding and logic that should support them. It is a particularly fun challenge to balance both types of students in the classroom. As you’re teaching the majority of students to expand their understanding, you’re teaching students like Taylor to drill down from their understanding. Both are critical thinking skills, but they require different experiences for the students in the same classroom.

What do you admire most about Dr. Sweet-Cushman?

Taylor Pelow: I admire how Dr. Sweet-Cushman not only teaches her students the material but also how it extends outside of the classroom. From having class on twitter to teaching us how to have in-depth conversations, she isn’t just teaching us to be tested on the material, she is preparing us for the world.


How do you foster an environment in your classes that ensures students feel empowered to debate or disagree with your stance on certain policies, politicians, etc.?

JSC: There is a fair amount of similarity in how students in my classrooms tend to think, which can be more challenging than managing disagreement. I definitely want them to be considering alternative perspectives. So, I manufacture dysfunction. In addition to requiring students to advocate more nuanced positions or positions that don’t represent their own views in discussions or structured debates, I try to be provocative in how I share my own positions. Sometimes that means introducing a complication into the “group think” going on in the classroom or purposefully disagreeing with the entire class. I think the key is for them to know that I respect their views and am interested in them being able to support them with logic. I’m not working to ensure that they come to think any particular thing.

Are there any particular words of wisdom Dr. Sweet-Cushman has shared with you that resonate?

TP: Grades don’t dictate everything.” Simple and not particularly awe-inspiring, but because of that reminder, I have pushed myself to no longer focus solely on a perfect “A” but to instead put more attention towards learning and enjoying the material.


How did the opportunity to be in The New York Times with Taylor arise?

JSC: The reporter started with Taylor! She asked Taylor for someone who disagreed with her and apparently Taylor thought of me. We had spent all spring term exchanging lighthearted jabs about our preferred candidates as the Democratic nomination played out.

How do you feel having Dr. Sweet-cushman as a professor has influenced your time at Chatham?

TP: Dr. Sweet-Cushman has given me a sense of empowerment while at Chatham. She has taught me to go out and advocate for myself and others as well as the importance of voting. She has ensured that we know how to have the tough conversations and she has taken away the fear that our futures are out of our hands.

Interested in learning more about policy studies at ChathamU? Visit our website.

Previous
Previous

Student Profile: Emma Tucker

Next
Next

Ask an Expert: Staying Fit During Quarantine