Lessons Learned from Reality Tv

Earlier this year, Bill McLaughlin, a chemistry professor at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, saw his chemistry lessons beamed into millions of homes on NBCs Tommy Lee Goes to College. The six-episode reality TV show followed Lee—the notorious drummer of the rock band Motley Cre and the ex-husband of buxom pinup girl Pamela Anderson—as he experienced life as a UNL student.

Viewers got to watch Lee do the things that most college students do: find a roommate, pledge a fraternity, and try out for the universitys marching band. Of course, a college students main activity, presumably, is to attend class and learn. Lee showed an aptitude for his horticulture course, and he managed to squeak by in English.

In McLaughlins chemistry class, however, Lee was clearly in over his head. In the first episode, the audience sees the befuddled rocker stare blankly from a sea of students. The shows editors make it appear as though McLaughlin is lecturing in fast forward. Their slicing and dicing even introduced an error into his lesson.

Its not exactly how an educator wants to be portrayed. And in the case of McLaughlin, its simply unfair. McLaughlin has been teaching chemistry for 38 years, and his dedication couldnt be more apparent.

The day I caught up with him, McLaughlin was preparing for Chem Jam—a 90-minute review session he holds for a few hundred students a couple days before exams. He told me that he and his teaching assistants would be grading into the wee hours so the students could get their exams back the day after the test.

Another thing about McLaughlin: He is unfailingly diplomatic. No one would blame him if he railed against NBC for distorting his class. Instead, during our conversation, he complimented the crew for their professionalism. He noted that Lee was extremely polite and well-mannered. McLaughlin made a point of telling me how Lee wrote him a thank-you note.

TV is mostly entertainment, with few exceptions, McLaughlin begrudgingly acknowledged when I pressed him. Its unfortunate that they chose to make my lectures look like they were going turbo fast and didnt show any of the multimedia or chemical demonstrations that we use. They tried to make comedy where there might have been none.

NBC respectfully declined my request to interview the shows producers.

McLaughlin didnt volunteer to become a reality TV star. In fact, he recalled thinking it was an elaborate practical joke when his department chairman came to his office with an NBC producer. Its a little disconcerting to know what youre doing might be seen by millions of people.

Before agreeing, McLaughlin polled his class to see how they felt about sharing their lecture hall with Lee. He assured them no changes would be made to the class to accommodate Lee. Out of 400 students, only three objected, and McLaughlin spoke to each of them individually to see what alternative arrangements could be made.

McLaughlin also grilled the shows producers. He recalled telling them, The students trust me. I dont want there to be any disruption to the integrity of my classroom. I dont want to show chemistry as just entertainment. Their response, he remembered, was If anybody is going to look goofy, its going to be Tommy Lee, and hes getting paid.

Ultimately, they won McLaughlin over with a vision that would appeal to any dedicated chemistry educator. I hoped that we might be able to help everyone understand what it is like to be in a university-level chemistry course, he said. That agenda, McLaughlin admitted, was not fully realized.

Lee did prove adept in the lab, despite a producers request for an explosion to jazz up the chromatography experiment. McLaughlin refused to play into the stereotype, insisting, All our labs are safe. But Lee failed his final chemistry exam.

I dont usually talk about my students grades, McLaughlin said, but it was on national television. He noted that, despite his protests, the producers insisted Lee take the same exam as the rest of the students—a test that covered material from 12 classes. It may have appeared that Lee was at UNL for an entire semester, but he actually spent just 18 days on campus. He attended four of McLaughlins lectures. Who wouldnt do poorly on my exam if they only came to class four times? he asked.

A seemingly unflappable optimist, McLaughlin has managed to find some positive aspects in the depiction of his classroom. They showed me as an interested teacher. They showed a full lecture hall. They showed that chemistry is hard if you dont take a good high school class and dont show up in class.

In addition to making his TV debut, McLaughlin also received the honor of a lifetime this year. He was recognized with the Outstanding Teaching & Instructional Creativity Award—an honor presented annually to two exceptional educators selected from Nebraskas entire university system. So even if millions of Americans only know McLaughlin as the professor who flunked Tommy Lee, now you know better.

Views expressed on this page are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACS.