14/05/2025
When Professors Teach Wrong – And Then Call It “Correct”
My son — a first-year Computer Science student — just faced an exam question from a PhD instructor that left me stunned.
Here was the question:
“You’re at home, and you have internet. On which device can security be installed?”
A. Router
B. Access Point
C. Switch
(Choose one only)
My son thought about the typical setup in most apartments — usually just a modem/router. No access points, no switches.
So he answered “Router” — a smart choice, based on actual use cases.
But then came the correction from the professor:
“Wrong. The correct answer is: Switch.”
Let me say this, as a Network Infrastructure Specialist:
That answer is wrong.
And the question itself is deeply flawed.
Why?
Because all three devices — Router, Access Point, and Switch — can have security configurations.
Let’s be clear:
• Routers handle NAT, firewall rules, VPN, port filtering
• Access Points handle WPA2/3, MAC ACLs, guest isolation, VLANs
• Switches handle 802.1X, port security, MAC lockdowns, VLANs, ACLs
So which device “has security”?
All of them do — if you understand real networks.
The question assumes only one correct answer and teaches students that network security is device-dependent, instead of what it really is:
A layered approach across multiple network points.
My son reasoned like an engineer.
The PhD answered like someone stuck in a textbook.
We need to stop teaching one-size-fits-all IT.
Especially when students are smart enough to apply real-world logic — and get penalized for it.
To that professor: if you’d like to discuss switch security, I’d love to show you a port security ACL vs. a firewall policy on a home router — and explain which one’s more relevant in a real-world apartment.
Let’s teach facts. Not guesses.
