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Professor sparks debate after posting student’s ‘grammatically incorrect’ assignment online; but there’s a twist

Thomas Joudrey shared a picture of the student’s assignment on X but sharp-eyed users quickly realised that the passage was actually a retyped segment from Karl Popper’s The Open Society and Its Enemies.

Professor post student’s 'grammatically incorrect' assignment online (Image source: @TomJoudrey/X)

A professor at Pennsylvania State University recently found himself embroiled in controversy after sharing a student’s English assignment online, complete with his corrections. What he intended as a humorous critique sparked a heated debate on social media about privacy, teaching ethics, and writing standards.

Thomas Joudrey, the professor in question, posted a photo of the student’s assignment on X, and the photo showed grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, which he had marked up. In his caption, Joudrey expressed frustration, writing, “Undergrad writing has gotten so bad. look what one of my students turned in.”

However, sharp-eyed users quickly realised that the passage was actually a retyped segment from Karl Popper’s The Open Society and Its Enemies, a well-known philosophical work from 1945.

See the post:

undergrad writing has gotten so bad. look what one of my students turned in pic.twitter.com/w4dJ6mu85o

— Tom Joudrey (@TomJoudrey) January 6, 2025

The post has gone viral with over 36 million views. Reactions to the content varied –– some found humour in the ironic revelation, while others disapproved of the professor for openly criticising his student’s work.

One user wrote, “Kinda sounds like you have it out for this student. Do you even have permission to post their work publicly and mock them for it?”

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Another user wrote, “Genuinely can’t tell if this is satire or not.” A third user posted a meme with the caption, “Everybody in this comments section.”

Everybody in this comments section. pic.twitter.com/zDacz3Vo1F

— Andrei B. Sterescu 🇪🇺 andreisterescu.bsky.social (@AndreiSterescu) January 6, 2025

Joudrey responded to the backlash with a post saying, “Wow, Twitter really popped off on this one, but I guess that’s the price of living in an open society.”

Wow, twitter really popped off on this one, but I guess that’s the price of living in an open society

— Tom Joudrey (@TomJoudrey) January 6, 2025

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Despite Thomas Joudrey’s response, many users were quick to emphasise his role as a professor, reminding him that it’s his duty to guide students and maintain a balance between offering constructive feedback and publicly shaming them.