'Let me do my work, ok?': Lit professor forced to give more failing grades, maliciously complies to protect students

Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor

Jul 20, 2023 8:00 AM EDT

Every once in a while, a great teacher comes along and defends his students by way of some glorious malicious compliance. This thread was posted to Reddit's r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit by u/mdlapla, who was a former student of this truly memorable English Lit professor. This is the kind of guy who is so beloved by students and by the institution that even if the administration tried to fire him for bogus reasons, there would be an uproar. He had the students and the alumni on his side, which meant that he could get away with calling the administration out on any and all nonsense.

While all the introductory anecdotes are entertaining, it's the heart of the story that shows the professor's real prowess. Essentially, the Head of Studies started to insert himself into the grading process because he wanted a set number of students that could pass and fail all classes in order to maintain the school's reputation and optics. He wanted the professor to fail more students, so the professor nodded and came back with a grading list failing everyone. He knew full well that this would enrage the Head of Studies and that this could not work. So, when he came back a second time with an updated grading list, this time he gave everyone a perfect score. That's when he told the Head of Studies the truth: that he knew what his students deserved and that he should be allowed to grade his own way.

Keep scrolling below for the full story. When you're finished, here's another post about a night-shift bakery worker's malicious compliance.