And wants to help students learn. I don't see the non-chalantness in this announcement. I see a teacher telling students that the ball is entirely in their court and if they don't pick it up he's not going to.
They're not his wards or possessions, and he will provide knowledge and help. He will not compel, entice, wheedle, cajole, or otherwise waste his time trying to get students who don't want to be there to be there. He is not primarily the agent of a credentialing agency, nor does he work for a test-prep agency. The motivation comes not from him, but from the students.
He's probably better suited to teaching majors and upper-classmen, after all the slackers and students whose sole motivation in taking his course is to check off a box some place are weeded out. On the other hand, he's more likely going to have a course in which the top 50% or 75% can learn more than a prof who's really concerned about validating the bottom 15% in his class. Gen ed requirements are a great thing, for some students. For others they just highlight the difficulty of getting a piece of paper that they foolishly think guarantees them a job and advancement. (Which is precisely the point of all the "college doesn't really help you" banter from perhaps 5 years ago--it does, but only if you learn. If you get a piece of paper, it doesn't help you nearly as much as if you get a piece of paper *and* learn.)
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