Thursday, January 17, 2008

    Anyone got a light?

    (From the Lighter Side of Theology)
    CHANGING A LIGHT BULB THE CHRISTIAN WAY

    How many Christians does it take to change a light bulb?

    Charismatic: Only 1
    Hands are already in the air.

    Pentecostal: 10
    One to change the bulb, and nine to pray against the spirit of darkness.

    Presbyterians: None
    Lights will go on and off at predestined times.

    Roman Catholic: None
    Candles only.

    Baptists: At least 15.
    One to change the light bulb, and three committees to approve the change and decide who brings the potato salad and fried chicken.

    Episcopalians: 3
    One to call the electrician, one to mix the drinks and one to talk about how much better the old one was.

    Mormons: 5
    One man to change the bulb, and four wives to tell him how to do it.

    Unitarians:
    We choose not to make a statement either in favor of or against the need for a light bulb. However, if in your own journey you have found that light bulbs work for you, you are invited to write a poem or compose a modern dance about your light bulb for the next Sunday service, in which we will explore a number of light bulb traditions, including incandescent, fluorescent, 3-way, long-life and tinted, all of which are equally valid paths to luminescence.

    Methodists: Undetermined
    Whether your light is bright, dull, or completely out, you are loved. You can be a light bulb, turnip bulb, or tulip bulb. Bring a bulb of your choice to the Sunday lighting service and a covered dish to pass.

    Nazarene: 6
    One woman to replace the bulb while five men review church lighting policy.

    Lutherans: None
    Lutherans don't believe in change.

    Amish:
    What's a light bulb

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Thursday, January 10, 2008

    The following was posted to InsideHigherEd in response to a book review about Academic Labor:

    I married the oldest of a large extended family. Thus, over the last ten years, I have been witness to lots of discussions about college. At no point did the qualifications of the professors come into it. I will say it again...they didn't care if the prof was tenured or not.

    They cared about: class size (only because they were afraid of their own note-taking abilities or they were afraid of "getting lost" in the mix); "hardness" of material; cost; brand association upon graduation.

    Administration is customer facing--they know these concerns. They also pay the bills and balance the sheets. Since adjuncts help pay bills with no customer recoil, they will continue to be used, ever more and more.

    Will students notice, care, act? Only later, when they are, themselves, beholden to the brand. It is a vicious cycle, not really mentioned, with a new crop of eager, anxious and oblivious "clients" each September.
    Read the review. It gives a good history (if slightly abridged) of the notorious 1989 report about all of those retiring Liberal Arts profs.

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Monday, January 07, 2008

    Higher Ed pay

    The Dem debate sparked a TTD (tempest in a teacup dabate) over at InsideHigherEd.com when Chaz Gibson claimed an average of $200k annual for professors.

    What is interesting about the debate (the IHE, not the Dem's) is that the comments range from pissed off adjuncts to FT profs all parsing out if they are "cush" or not.

    My take, and I have been slow to realize this, is that higher ed is a choice (mission field if you would) that few should choose. Those who do, accept the negative consequences. Those who would wish to but can't afford it...realize that higher ed has always been a sport of the rich. There is no Right to Educate.

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