A professor of organic chemistry at NYU (New York University) was fired after a group of students signed a petition against him stating that his course was too difficult.

Dissatisfaction with 84-year-old Professor Maitland Jones Jr. prompted 82 of 350 organic chemistry students to sign the petition, citing Jones’ teaching methods and course outline as the reason for his low grades.

“We are very concerned about our scores and have found that they are not an accurate reflection of the time and effort devoted to this story,” the petition said, according to a report in The New York Times.

“We want you to be aware that a class with such a high dropout percentage and low grades does not prioritize student learning and well-being, and this reflects badly on the institution as a whole, as well as the chemistry department.”

The charges against Jones include reducing the number of midterm exams from three to two; no extra credit offers; Difficulty accessing the Zoom platform, where classes for COVID-19 patients are held; besides the fact that Jones will be a professor who teaches in a “condescending and undemanding” style.

Jones defended the claims made through the petition, adding that NYU is reducing the number of exams because it schedules its first exam after six classes.

Also, the technology in the classroom where Jones was teaching prevented him from recording his writings on the board.

He said the problem with students arose a decade ago, just a few years after he left Princeton to teach at NYU in 2007, when he noticed a loss of focus in his students.

After the virtual learning period during the pandemic, this problem has gotten worse. “We’re now seeing single-digit scores and even zeros,” he said.

mobile lessons

Jones and two other professors recorded 52 lectures to help students and said Jones paid R$26,000 out of his own pocket to publish them. In 2020, about 30 out of 475 students signed a petition saying they needed more help.

“They were really struggling,” Jones said. “There was no good internet coverage at home.”

Zacharia Benslimane, a Harvard doctoral student and Jones’ former teaching assistant, emailed NYU in his defense.

“I think this petition was written out of unhappiness in the exam results, rather than the feeling of being wronged,” he wrote. ‘I noticed that many students who complain about the constant lecture do not use the resources we provide’.

Jones said he feared other professors at the university might face the same backlash from the faculty. “I don’t want my job back,” he said. “I just want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anyone.”