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.
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.
Labels: adjunct, class, higher education, rant, role of college
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posted by Piss Poor Prof at 12:03 PM
2 Comments:
True enough, but I would argue a second point. The insular ignorance of beltway mediafolk like Charlie Gibson is stunning. Forget explaining the reality of salaries, imagine his reaction if he were to learn that upwards of 65% of profs any given college live hand-to-mouth as adjuncts. The hard truth is that most people simply don't know we exist. Instead, they simply subscribe to some tweedy fantasy that bears no resemblance to reality. I think Gibson's ignorance only scratches at the surface. This may, or may not explain why so few care about adjuncts. Perhaps they believe we're doing this on a lark.
I agree. There needs to be transparency in the system. But, the idea that teaching college is a cush job, I think, will mitigate any sympathy. We are not, after all, digging ditches or picking cotton (common fallback jobs worthy of sympathy).
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