Lauren Duca Responds to Complaints From Her NYU Class: ‘I Am Disappointed With How It Went’

“It was really hard and I don’t think they paid me enough money to do it,” Duca told Marie Claire of her teaching experience

Lauren Duca
Photo credit: Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images

Author, advocate and journalist Lauren Duca responded to current headlines in a piece for Marie Claire Thursday, addressing her public perception and the complaint filed by students who took her New York University class.

“I really brought my whole heart to the work of trying to teach,” she wrote. “I didn’t really know how to do it. I’ve never taught before, and I didn’t get clear guidelines or instructions. I had to spend three hours — minus the ’45 minutes I meditated every class’ — trying to articulate what I care about, why I do what I do, and my case for first person reporting that includes rigorous research.”

Adding it was “really hard” and that she doesn’t believe she was paid enough, Duca wrote, “I honestly think that higher education is a huge f—ing scam and I am disappointed with how it went. There’s just such an emphasis on the grades and I found it very frustrating to be trying to encourage students to express themselves with joy and be repeatedly asked, ‘What are our grades?’”

According to a Tuesday piece from Buzzfeed that largely outlined Duca’s new book and profiled her, a complaint was filed by some of her students to NYU journalism school’s institute director, Ted Conover, and associate director, Meredith Broussard. Ten students signed the complaint, according to Buzzfeed, and five of them spoke to Buzzfeed for the profile, choosing to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisal from Duca, largely known for her public sparring with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, or her professional contacts.

Duca did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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