Mark Bauerlein couldn't be more wrong, at least judging from my sixteen years' experience as a literature professor at a "public ivy" in the Southeast. Over that time, I've given advice to students doubting their faith, to those deliberating whether to terminate a pregnancy, and, most recently, to a former student now pursuing a PhD at Harvard about what I consider to be the most important qualities in a life partner. Sure, there are students who just want to exit my classes unnoticed, and with a good grade. But I don't think I am deluding myself to say that I have changed lives, not just by encouraging my students to privilege an intellectually vibrant and curious life over one focused on accumulating wealth and status, but also by caring enough about each student who seeks me out so that they feel as though their insights and observations are worth having. If Prof. Bauerlein does not have these experiences with his students, I've every idea that the fault lies with him: no young person wants a mentor or confidant who possesses such rigid and negative views about the generation he is teaching, and many will rightfully shy away from a professor who craves "disciples". There is a huge gap between good mentoring and expecting to be treated like a rock star by adoring fans, and there are moments in this editorial where Bauerlein seems to solicit precisely this superficial and adoring form of attention.
12
Follow the money, Professor. That is all society cares about anymore, as your survey data confirm. I too am a UCLA graduate, some 45 years ago. State support was huge, more than 60% of the budget. Now it approaches 15%. Round after round of budget cuts have been matched by ever-increasing tuition. Class sizes have grown along with the ranks of adjunct and part0time faculty.
You and I lived privileged lives as students. I probably had a dozen mentors among my professors, predominantly in the history department. Many stayed friends for decades after I graduated, some (well, those still alive) today. And yes, our interactions outside class clearly affected my world view, philosophy of life, career path, everything.
But that is nostalgia. The challenge for you and our large research universities today (as your comments almost certainly do not apply to smaller liberal arts colleges or community colleges), is to embrace modern technology. Your students live it. And it can be a tool for interpersonal interaction, very strong such interaction, if properly understood and used.
I had one of my best lunches yesterday with my wife and our daughters. We bantered, shared memories, insulted each other, all the things a great lunch should be. I was alone in a restaurant in Northern California, one daughter was in Los Angeles, another in San Francisco, the third in the Midwest, and my wife elsewhere in Southern California. How did we do it? Our iPhones.
You and I lived privileged lives as students. I probably had a dozen mentors among my professors, predominantly in the history department. Many stayed friends for decades after I graduated, some (well, those still alive) today. And yes, our interactions outside class clearly affected my world view, philosophy of life, career path, everything.
But that is nostalgia. The challenge for you and our large research universities today (as your comments almost certainly do not apply to smaller liberal arts colleges or community colleges), is to embrace modern technology. Your students live it. And it can be a tool for interpersonal interaction, very strong such interaction, if properly understood and used.
I had one of my best lunches yesterday with my wife and our daughters. We bantered, shared memories, insulted each other, all the things a great lunch should be. I was alone in a restaurant in Northern California, one daughter was in Los Angeles, another in San Francisco, the third in the Midwest, and my wife elsewhere in Southern California. How did we do it? Our iPhones.
12
My West Point military officer husband used his GI bill to get his PhD in Information Technology....Then was hired for the graduate division of a private university.
The college accepted a LOT of foreign students..and did NOT require TOEFL.
"The TOEFL iBT test measures your ability to use and understand English at the university level. And it evaluates how well you combine your listening, reading, speaking and writing skills to perform academic tasks.
The average English skill level ranges between Intermediate and Advanced."
So all that was required was Platinum credit card to pay the hefty tuition. Then 9/11 happened and foreign students were having difficulty getting visas. No problem at this school!
My husband spent 16 hours a day preparing classes, using state of the art technology--giving quizzes, tests, grading papers...
I tried to read some of these papers---Impossible. Anything that WAS readable was plagiarized..cut and pasted from the Internet. I have a law degree in addition to my MD so I wrote on their syllabus "Why plagiarism is illegal" and gave each class a lecture.
95% of the students continued to copy and paste. They were so egregious my husband finally flunked them. They would go STRAIGHT to the Dean who would give them an A for the entire course!
My husband was humiliated. He LOVED to teach. He even gave them our home phone number and his private cell. This West Point grad watched the fall of our civilization at this college.
The college accepted a LOT of foreign students..and did NOT require TOEFL.
"The TOEFL iBT test measures your ability to use and understand English at the university level. And it evaluates how well you combine your listening, reading, speaking and writing skills to perform academic tasks.
The average English skill level ranges between Intermediate and Advanced."
So all that was required was Platinum credit card to pay the hefty tuition. Then 9/11 happened and foreign students were having difficulty getting visas. No problem at this school!
My husband spent 16 hours a day preparing classes, using state of the art technology--giving quizzes, tests, grading papers...
I tried to read some of these papers---Impossible. Anything that WAS readable was plagiarized..cut and pasted from the Internet. I have a law degree in addition to my MD so I wrote on their syllabus "Why plagiarism is illegal" and gave each class a lecture.
95% of the students continued to copy and paste. They were so egregious my husband finally flunked them. They would go STRAIGHT to the Dean who would give them an A for the entire course!
My husband was humiliated. He LOVED to teach. He even gave them our home phone number and his private cell. This West Point grad watched the fall of our civilization at this college.
46
It seems that the author relied solely on data for in reaching his conclusions about the role professors play in students’ lives in 2015,while he drew on his own experience,, and interviewed Dr. Gitlin in person in terms of past student attitudes. Based on this,I question his conclusions, including :”My students have a new attitude. ”This is a teacher who rejects my worst and esteems my best thoughts and words, 'they say to themselves.”
Did he ask them? Or is that his assumption? That’s not what I said to myself after similar conferences. What I said to myself was :”I am a terrible writer,and should switch majors”,as my teacher ripped apart everything I wrote,told me that I was the worst writer she’d ever met.
My Freshman English teacher at Barnard College crushed my confidence in my abilities as a writer to such an extent that .I switched my major to psychology and gave up my dream of becoming a writer.
I took that class in 1980. It was not until I started commenting in the New York Times recently, that it occurred to me that my teacher might have been wrong,for Editors started choosing my comments as Editor’s Picks,and readers started voting my comments up to the #1 comment on more than a few occasions,including one occasion when my Editor’s Pick comment was #1 out of 1,162 .
I hope Mr. Bauerlein is gentle with his students when providing feedback.
Had my teacher been gentler,I would have become a writer.
Did he ask them? Or is that his assumption? That’s not what I said to myself after similar conferences. What I said to myself was :”I am a terrible writer,and should switch majors”,as my teacher ripped apart everything I wrote,told me that I was the worst writer she’d ever met.
My Freshman English teacher at Barnard College crushed my confidence in my abilities as a writer to such an extent that .I switched my major to psychology and gave up my dream of becoming a writer.
I took that class in 1980. It was not until I started commenting in the New York Times recently, that it occurred to me that my teacher might have been wrong,for Editors started choosing my comments as Editor’s Picks,and readers started voting my comments up to the #1 comment on more than a few occasions,including one occasion when my Editor’s Pick comment was #1 out of 1,162 .
I hope Mr. Bauerlein is gentle with his students when providing feedback.
Had my teacher been gentler,I would have become a writer.
9
As a senior at a large public institution like University of Washington, I can relate to everything said in this article. Even after I was accepted into a small engineering department, I noticed that professors are more interested in their research than actually invoking curiosity in the students' minds. For students, getting good grades meant everything for acceptance into competitive majors and high paychecks in the future. I don't remember any professors who really encouraged people to come to office hours (in my small dept anyways).
4
I'm sorry that you feel this way, Mark Bauerlein. My office hours are typically full with students wanting to talk, listen, kvetch, think aloud together. My friends include former students from long ago and more recently. Perhaps it is the R-1 mentality that creates a structure wherein your students do not see you as mine see me? My students know I value them and care about them, as a group and as individuals. They know I am here to teach, and to learn, and to do my own research, but they know I am here for them. It's not just about their learned minds - it's about their more full hearts.
17
I totally agree that we need more face time in high education. However, that depends on what type of professors you are talking about. There are tenure-track and non-tenure-track professors. You can't blame adjuncts nor lecturers to rush out of class and office hours to their next job so they can pay their bills. A friend of mine is a part-time lecturer with a PhD. He said his tenured colleagues don't even care to complete end of the semester assessment for the class they teach and there is nothing the dean can do about it because of tenure. He said these tenured people don't spend much time on campus, either perhaps they don't expect students to visit them and they can do research online. The question is why we bother to have a physical university and waste so much money for little returns.
As universities nationwide hire more non-tenure track faculty and tuitions continue to increase, our students are getting a rotten deal for education. Also students tend to rate professors higher with a better grade. When there are more adjuncts on campus, to keep their job they need better teaching ratings. This tells us taxpayers our tax dollars are getting worse returns on investment not because adjuncts are bad, but the higher ed system is not working.
As universities nationwide hire more non-tenure track faculty and tuitions continue to increase, our students are getting a rotten deal for education. Also students tend to rate professors higher with a better grade. When there are more adjuncts on campus, to keep their job they need better teaching ratings. This tells us taxpayers our tax dollars are getting worse returns on investment not because adjuncts are bad, but the higher ed system is not working.
17
When I was an undergrad I spent a lot of time with my professors, and some are still my friends -- it was a halcyon time when we walked outside and sat on benches and had discussions about just about anything. This was the life and person I wanted to become.
But years later I am still an adjunct and don't have time for such things. My office hours are as minimal as possible because I have to get to the next campus. I share an office with several other people, sharing resources and tables to meet with students. I don't make enough money to just hang around and talk to students, but I do stay up until 1 or 2 am in the morning to make sure I answer their email once I get home. The students are also busy with their kids, and jobs, and a million other distractions -- they don't have time for office hour discussions either.
It's all a damn shame.
But years later I am still an adjunct and don't have time for such things. My office hours are as minimal as possible because I have to get to the next campus. I share an office with several other people, sharing resources and tables to meet with students. I don't make enough money to just hang around and talk to students, but I do stay up until 1 or 2 am in the morning to make sure I answer their email once I get home. The students are also busy with their kids, and jobs, and a million other distractions -- they don't have time for office hour discussions either.
It's all a damn shame.
32
Teaching has become so complicated that professors are no longer teachers and teachers are not professors; and schools have become so complicated that universities are driven by budgets not the goal of education, which is what a school is supposed to be focused on.
4
I taught philosophy from 1963 to 2003. What changes I saw. In the 90's I got out some old tests from the 60's. I didn't have the nerve re-giving these tests.
Something had changed the students and something had changed me. In the 60's, all through the war the doors in the department were always open and arguments were loud--a few times students wandered in and got involved. By the 80's publish or perish had taken over and the doors closed. One student in 2002 said I was "mean" (More probably than not it was a student I made take a test she was trying to get out of because of a campus party the night before--she actually told me this). I was distressed but now I'm proud of the description.
One thing I did do was in the beginning of the semester every student had to come to see me for a personal interview--I wanted to know who they were. I didn't want to walk into a class of strangers. I retired too late, I think-at 69,
Something had changed the students and something had changed me. In the 60's, all through the war the doors in the department were always open and arguments were loud--a few times students wandered in and got involved. By the 80's publish or perish had taken over and the doors closed. One student in 2002 said I was "mean" (More probably than not it was a student I made take a test she was trying to get out of because of a campus party the night before--she actually told me this). I was distressed but now I'm proud of the description.
One thing I did do was in the beginning of the semester every student had to come to see me for a personal interview--I wanted to know who they were. I didn't want to walk into a class of strangers. I retired too late, I think-at 69,
10
Hmmm... I was not coddled by my professors at Berkeley. I picked the ones who wanted student interaction and they gave me sometimes stern but always fair feedback. I worked hard for my A's in philosophy and harder for my B's in the sciences.
It's true that not nearly enough students spoke up in large classes, sometimes even in discussion groups. The most striking consequence was that many didn't learn how express themselves in conversation and thus become true intellectuals. I suspect this is a failure rooted in high school preparation rather than the dilution of college standards.
My favorite memory of college is of when I asked my professor of Chinese history a question about the absence of development of democracy in China, even as inclusion among the elite was broadened. In short, he said: "The Chinese NEVER voted in any sphere of life; this seemed profoundly unwise to them.... I love this question and you (students) should all think about it."
I don't remember any of my A's on papers or tests. I remember my interactions with professors. That part of Mr. Bauerlein's argument I wholeheartedly agree with.
It's true that not nearly enough students spoke up in large classes, sometimes even in discussion groups. The most striking consequence was that many didn't learn how express themselves in conversation and thus become true intellectuals. I suspect this is a failure rooted in high school preparation rather than the dilution of college standards.
My favorite memory of college is of when I asked my professor of Chinese history a question about the absence of development of democracy in China, even as inclusion among the elite was broadened. In short, he said: "The Chinese NEVER voted in any sphere of life; this seemed profoundly unwise to them.... I love this question and you (students) should all think about it."
I don't remember any of my A's on papers or tests. I remember my interactions with professors. That part of Mr. Bauerlein's argument I wholeheartedly agree with.
11
I went to college in the era evoked by professor Bauerlein. I loved my classes, my professors, my books. I was in it for the intellectual intensity; never thought about a job or money. Also never once went to a professor's office hours. It never occurred to me that a professor might want to talk to me. And I was doing well. Well enough to get get into a top graduate program and to be a professor at a leading research University today. Maybe I didn't go to office hours because I was a girl and felt that my professors perhaps didn't see me as an intellectual first--nearly all professors were male. Perhaps it was because I came from a family without means and didn't feel entitled to such attention. Perhaps I was just shy. But I see the same thing today. Many students who come to office hours are great, but many are blowhards who imagine that they are geniuses. On the other hand, some brilliant students can barely force themselves into their professors offices and apologize for their presence the whole time.
Finally, I don't think the professor as guru model is great. As a student I wanted to learn, not follow. As a professor, I am suspicious of faculty who seek a following. Following isn't great for thinking. Its also potentially dangerous--especially for female students.
Finally, I don't think the professor as guru model is great. As a student I wanted to learn, not follow. As a professor, I am suspicious of faculty who seek a following. Following isn't great for thinking. Its also potentially dangerous--especially for female students.
32
Universities and colleges have become more like corporations. Whether one looks at humanities courses or research labs, there is little to suggest that these are institutions of learning. The emphasis is on either churning out grades, papers and degrees or research papers. Mentorship is almost completely gone.
It would help to reshape the system and switch to something like the classic European, or even older Asian, model with an emphasis on the tutorial/mentoring system. This must include at least two sessions a week where student meets one-on-one with the tutor/mentor for an open discussion on an assigned topic.
How can we expect to train the next generation to think critically if all we have them do is swot for exams and write endless term papers?
It would help to reshape the system and switch to something like the classic European, or even older Asian, model with an emphasis on the tutorial/mentoring system. This must include at least two sessions a week where student meets one-on-one with the tutor/mentor for an open discussion on an assigned topic.
How can we expect to train the next generation to think critically if all we have them do is swot for exams and write endless term papers?
4
A response: "I Will Not Be Lectured To. I’m Too Busy Teaching."
http://www.thetattooedprof.com/archives/356
http://www.thetattooedprof.com/archives/356
2
This condition is a by-product of the corporatist "student as customer" business model widely imposed upon higher education these days. It often includes standardized cookbook course curriculums that are designed to intellectually handcuff professors and students and discourage free ranging intellectual discourse. And, of course , this capitalistic package comes complete with self entitled consumers formerly known as students and their helicopter parents -hovering about and making phone calls to complain about anything they deem disturbing about their kids bought and paid for degree program.
Another reason for this condition is the ever growing phalanx of adjunct faculty who work part time with no benefits for subsistence wages and must, by necessity, hurry along after class in order to get to their other jobs.
Another reason for this condition is the ever growing phalanx of adjunct faculty who work part time with no benefits for subsistence wages and must, by necessity, hurry along after class in order to get to their other jobs.
8
Having worked at a NYC university for the past decade, it is all about "student retention"
... or as I prefer "maintaining the revenue stream".
Good Luck to all of the 2015 Graduates
(you'll need it!)
... or as I prefer "maintaining the revenue stream".
Good Luck to all of the 2015 Graduates
(you'll need it!)
10
I feel very fortunate to have been part of a well funded, small department less than 10 years ago. I hear about the educations of my peers and the massive lecture courses and I can't help wonder how they believe their education to be superior to many others based on the name of the university.
It's 8 years since I finished university, and just 2 months ago I was able to ask without hesitation, for a letter of recommendation for grad school. My friends find it odd when I read something from Facebook from one of the 4 professors from my department that I'm friends with. Along with no less than 20 other students that are in the same network. Now some of my peers are also becoming experts and professors at other universities. I hope that after 2 years of grad school I'll have something to bring to the table as well.
It's 8 years since I finished university, and just 2 months ago I was able to ask without hesitation, for a letter of recommendation for grad school. My friends find it odd when I read something from Facebook from one of the 4 professors from my department that I'm friends with. Along with no less than 20 other students that are in the same network. Now some of my peers are also becoming experts and professors at other universities. I hope that after 2 years of grad school I'll have something to bring to the table as well.
Reading this piece makes me happier and prouder than ever I attended -- and was graduated from -- a small liberal arts college you've probably never heard of.
Almost thirty years later I am still in touch with many of my teachers, including both my undergraduate faculty advisors, one of whom is retiring after a forty-two year career and a room full of teaching awards. When we speak, write, or email, I'm told students of this generation are disinterested, less curious, and perhaps most important, less fun.
I don't think, for numerous reasons, my advisor has the student-faculty relationships that existed in years past. And I feel sorry for today's students, who, through circumstance and perhaps their own faults, can cultivate such wonderful friendships. I'll make sure that topic comes up when I visit my advisor and the family this fall at their new retirement home.
Almost thirty years later I am still in touch with many of my teachers, including both my undergraduate faculty advisors, one of whom is retiring after a forty-two year career and a room full of teaching awards. When we speak, write, or email, I'm told students of this generation are disinterested, less curious, and perhaps most important, less fun.
I don't think, for numerous reasons, my advisor has the student-faculty relationships that existed in years past. And I feel sorry for today's students, who, through circumstance and perhaps their own faults, can cultivate such wonderful friendships. I'll make sure that topic comes up when I visit my advisor and the family this fall at their new retirement home.
3
My teachers are my fondest memories of high school & college. A few were jerks, two have been my lifelong role models, and some others have had a profound affect on my life.
3
This lament about lack of contact between professors and students is an oft heard one, with a nostalgic and somewhat romanticized longing for the days of Mr. Chips. But this professor's description of how he leans against the state of higher education by devoting uncounted hours meeting with students in his office every other week for detailed real time feedback on their writing, waiting patiently while they make the fix is an expensive luxury. I visited the Emory University website to see just how many courses and students he has been teaching, wondering how many hours were spent this way each week. For fall 2014 and spring 2015 the course atlas lists Bauerlein for only one course, ENG 150, in fall 2014, Great Works of Literature, which meets for 1 hour 15 minutes Monday and Wednesday morning. Most faculty at most universities teach more courses and thus meeting for hours with individual students is not an option. My brother, an engineer, after listening to me describe the amount of time I spent meeting with individual students, asked, "How can you afford that? What is your 'hourly billing rate'?" I had never heard asked in academe. A quick calculation showed that an hour of my time costs the university more than I thought (and much less than my brother's). Sadly, Baumol's cost disease means that higher education must become more efficient, otherwise tuition costs will continue outpace inflation. Time spent with individual students ticks up costs like a taxi meter.
8
Ah, back in the days when professors had tenure and real salaries and did not depend upon student reviews to keep their pathetic, underpaid jobs. How much time do you think a professor earning $3-4k a class has to spend mentoring? Or fighting departmental disapproval when they try to fail a student who is "trying hard" but still can't manage to write a grammatical sentence. That student would not even have been admitted in 1960. Nowadays, he gets a B at worst. But, the top level of administrators and celebrity professors is rich and getting richer, so the system is working for the people who control it. Sound familiar?
32
Spot on!! Much more has been lost than even this brilliant piece can extend! Also an early '80's liberal arts graduate. The rapore with teachers was essential if not a given part of the whole educational process. The good professors didn't need the accolade of being temporarily worshiped , they achieved far more in the continual references to them ( by those of us) over the years who knew and appreciated and revered and hopefully emulated their abilities and eternal quests for wisdom. Much has been lost to the money machinery of the present day philosophy of education.
1
Worship at the Golden Altar of the Almighty Dollar has turned education into a commodity to be bought and sold, and the customer (or his/her parents footing the bill) demands high quality (A's) for what they've purchased. Students actually learning anything is of secondary importance, and not really their job.
10
This is the topic for another whole series of articles, but the headlong dash toward cyber-'learning' further exacerbates the distance between prof and student, and diminishes the role of good teaching. I am not convinced that, as currently constituted, it contributes much to subject mastery -- but it does churn-out degrees.
5
I taught philosophy for forty years, moved into administration then retired. I had many interesting office conversations with students that, I expect, benefitted both of us. These would usually begin with a minor point of issue that a student needed clarified and then branched out. I had the impression that students had few other opportunities to discuss matters that meant a great deal to them. These events withered to almost none after the internet allowed the student to get the minor issue resolved without coming to the office.
2
Forty-four years ago, I took Civil War history from Professor Emory Thomas at the University of Georgia. To this day I remember him telling this story.
A graduate student was working late in the library, and his supervising professor, passing by, asked what he was doing. The student responded, "I'm researching this small skirmish after the Battle of the Wilderness, and one account say ten Confederate soldiers died, and another says eleven." The professor responded, "You're a Southern historian, go with ten and let's go get a beer." The scene switches to 120 years before, a lone Confederate cavalryman is riding in the woods near the skirmish, a shot rings out and he falls dead; no one sees him or finds his body.
Professor Thomas then said, "always remember that what happened and what gets reported are not the same thing." An awesome teacher.
A graduate student was working late in the library, and his supervising professor, passing by, asked what he was doing. The student responded, "I'm researching this small skirmish after the Battle of the Wilderness, and one account say ten Confederate soldiers died, and another says eleven." The professor responded, "You're a Southern historian, go with ten and let's go get a beer." The scene switches to 120 years before, a lone Confederate cavalryman is riding in the woods near the skirmish, a shot rings out and he falls dead; no one sees him or finds his body.
Professor Thomas then said, "always remember that what happened and what gets reported are not the same thing." An awesome teacher.
13
Says it all.
http://youtu.be/WGL8FEMc378
http://youtu.be/WGL8FEMc378
2
My students only spend 2 to 3 hours per week on my classes by their own admission, in a discipline were you really need to spend more time to be successful. I certainly do not give out many A's, but the problem is, they are perfectly content with their C's and D's.
5
Colleges are no longer run by acadenics or educators. Most college adminstrators have not studied for a PhD, the highest form of academic accomplishment. Most adminstrators have MBA, if that. So they are not socialized into and probably don't care about or understand academic pursuits, I would suggest that this is one of the major factors of changes in universities. The people at the top have little interest or experience with the "product" so why should the consumer-students? The faculty themselves are an anachronism, just grant generating (and grade generating) machinery. IMO.
12
The author writes only about large universities where undergraduates are herded into large classes with graduate student teaching assistants as the primary contacts for undergraduates. At smaller liberal arts colleges students do interact with professors.
15
This professor is a little out of touch with reality. College for a family who receives no financial aid is at least a $250,000 investment at a school like Emory. If the child is not going to be able to get decent grades there is no point in them attending that institution at that price. And if the child is doing an English degree, they are probably planning on graduate school afterwards. So grades matter. The world has changed and students have changed. Colleges and professors need to adapt. We are not living in some utopian world where you can just go to college, study what you love and figure it out later.
8
If everyone gets the same decent grade, it becomes worthless, throwing away the $250,000. People pay a lot to attend sports events, maybe we should fix them so the home team always wins. Get your money's worth!
4
A terrific article that still fails to explain the big picture of why these changes have taken place. In the 1960s, the universities became a target for the right-wing, with Reagan being one of the first to attack academic institutions. Since then, there has been a coordinated assault by the right on academia, ranging from stacking boards of regents and academic administration with people who see the role of universities as nothing more than kicking out as many job-trained graduates as possible and producing, through research, as many profitable patents as possible. What has been under assault is precisely the notion of the university as a counterbalance to a social system dominated by rank materialism and self-interest. Such a system makes the public easily manipulable by the 1% which controls economic rewards. In contrast, an educated public that views itself as citizens and values community and other non-material things would counterbalance the control of the 1%. Numerous changes have been made to academia as well as other aspects of the socio-economic system to insure that these have little chance of producing the latter kind of public. In academia, these include: ever tightening budgets, redirection of budgets from education to research, student amenities, and administrative salaries; replacement of tenure track professors by adjuncts; the reframing of education as an economic investment with profs as customer service agents; the decline of the humanities; and on and on.
33
Moving the University to a corportate model and hiring adjuncts to save money causes the problem you discuss. Today's Univeristy is concerned about making money, not educating students
27
As a current undergraduate freshman student, I'd like to point out that this view that professors are not as appreciated by students is not at all held by all. Based on these statistics, I seem to be in the minority as one who chose a small liberal arts school specifically because it allowed me to further engage with my professors-- I want to learn from these people who know much more than I and can teach me so much about life. I go to my professors' office hours frequently and I've been lucky enough to have professors who do take an interest in advising us on how to succeed in college and in life. And I don't think I'm in the minority at my school: though we might not tell professors directly, we rave about them amongst ourselves, talk about the ones who do more than just teach their syllabi and go no further. Please don't allow the current generation to be so generalized as uncaring about the types of people we are paying exorbitant rates to guide our education. The seeming commodification and disconnect between professors and students may be an alarming trend, but it is not the norm everywhere, and based on my single year of college, I wouldn't believe anyone who tried to convince me of its absolute truth.
65
Universities are the repositories of the past and originators of the new. Or that is what we think that they should be. While we all have visions of the university that we attended our memories may not be accurate and they are static. The world that today's students enter when they leave the hallowed halls of universities is far different from the world that I entered when I graduated more that 55 years ago.
Universities have been the portal through which students passed to a good paying job which means a job with high status, a white collar job. When most people did not have a college degree it was straight forward for college graduates to find the job that they wanted.
Today, when perhaps half the high school graduates enter college, and we are trying to increase that percentage, a college degree is no guarantee of a good job. First many of the white collar jobs have disappeared and second the competition for the remaining jobs is fierce. The promise of a college education is now often a hollow one.
Faculty have to adjust to the changing means of communication. Emails are not a bad way of communicating, for one thing it leaves a permanent record of the interaction which both sides can use as a reference as to what was said. (My experience is that students do not always hear what a faculty has said.)
To pine for the old days is not the way of improving what happens now. We need to be creative in our universities if we want to educate our students.
(Submitted yesterday)
Universities have been the portal through which students passed to a good paying job which means a job with high status, a white collar job. When most people did not have a college degree it was straight forward for college graduates to find the job that they wanted.
Today, when perhaps half the high school graduates enter college, and we are trying to increase that percentage, a college degree is no guarantee of a good job. First many of the white collar jobs have disappeared and second the competition for the remaining jobs is fierce. The promise of a college education is now often a hollow one.
Faculty have to adjust to the changing means of communication. Emails are not a bad way of communicating, for one thing it leaves a permanent record of the interaction which both sides can use as a reference as to what was said. (My experience is that students do not always hear what a faculty has said.)
To pine for the old days is not the way of improving what happens now. We need to be creative in our universities if we want to educate our students.
(Submitted yesterday)
5
Turn the question of college around.
Since it has become the absolutely necessary ticket to being considered for many jobs, its importance as an opportunity for deep learning has gone down. In most cases, it doesn't really matter if people arriving in the workforce after four years do so with a great body of knowledge.
Many people (I would guess a majority) wind up working in fields where their degrees are not strictly relevant, like my daughter, working for a digital company with her psychology degree. Why did she need the degree in the first place? To prove she could make it class on time and turn in all the required work? To prove she's smart? That doesn't take four years.
Employers have reduced the value of true education by not counting it as important. Unless it is the official, graded, judged and degreed kind of education, it doesn't count, at least not until someone is actually on the job and has a chance to prove other value. Even then, a person with a more prestigious degree would be chosen for a leadership position or given more rapid advancement because...why?...because that's the way it is done.
The late David Carr noted in his book that the recent college graduates arrive at their jobs "knowing nothing but what they have learned in their hot house colleges". They have not bothered, have not ventured, into other realms of learning, the kind that occurs in everyday life, because, you see, it doesn't count. Only the degree matters.
Doug Terry
Since it has become the absolutely necessary ticket to being considered for many jobs, its importance as an opportunity for deep learning has gone down. In most cases, it doesn't really matter if people arriving in the workforce after four years do so with a great body of knowledge.
Many people (I would guess a majority) wind up working in fields where their degrees are not strictly relevant, like my daughter, working for a digital company with her psychology degree. Why did she need the degree in the first place? To prove she could make it class on time and turn in all the required work? To prove she's smart? That doesn't take four years.
Employers have reduced the value of true education by not counting it as important. Unless it is the official, graded, judged and degreed kind of education, it doesn't count, at least not until someone is actually on the job and has a chance to prove other value. Even then, a person with a more prestigious degree would be chosen for a leadership position or given more rapid advancement because...why?...because that's the way it is done.
The late David Carr noted in his book that the recent college graduates arrive at their jobs "knowing nothing but what they have learned in their hot house colleges". They have not bothered, have not ventured, into other realms of learning, the kind that occurs in everyday life, because, you see, it doesn't count. Only the degree matters.
Doug Terry
3
With tuition at Emory running $44,000, what's the make a BA, $176,000? And students are supposed to being thinking about... their studies? Tuition to university in France this year is 402 euros or $451, and that's whether you're a French citizen or an engineering student from Africa. Time to rethink the commercialization of American society.
30
'In 1967, 86 percent of respondents checked “developing a meaningful philosophy of life,” more than double the number who said “being very well off financially.... The first has plummeted to 45 percent; the second has soared to 82 percent."
How to interpret this stat? It would be a natural consequence of more democratic access to higher education. You don't want college to make you well off if you already are.
How to interpret this stat? It would be a natural consequence of more democratic access to higher education. You don't want college to make you well off if you already are.
4
In agreement with madrazo1 and Paul (in the Times Pick category), the changes that Dr. Bauerlein describes here can largely be accounted for by how the universities relationship to money has changed over the last forty years. If 3/4 of your faculty are part-time (and don't have offices, steady classes that they teach each semester, salaries, etc.) it's difficult to create the kind of mentor/mentee culture that is described here. And more to Paul's point, faculty are busy worrying about and working on how to keep their jobs and their departments funded. That is to say, being a "moral authority" is wonderful so long as you can afford it. If you want to encourage your students to come talk to you during office hours, I suggest looking around at what's going on in universities from an economic or structural perspective. They might find that more interesting than diatribes about what's wrong with them and the other professors at your university. This editorial is a perfect example of why some people don't take English professors seriously.
11
Schools hire huge number of adjuncts, they use student evaluations to make sense of thing (even with small and biased samples), and the administrative ranks are growing. College was "democratized" and with it students who could not read, write, or do math were allowed to enter college. The whole system degraded. Faculty were loaded with administrative tasks as well, or need to publish or perish. Virtually no college professor is ever given any training in how to teach or counsel. Finally, education is a credence good...you have to "believe" your professor actually knows something. It is a very odd world, now assaulted by MOOCs and certification programs.
9
The majority of the teaching in my department is done by adjuncts who are only paid for their class hours, not for time spent with students after class, not for preparation, not for grading . Some adjuncts don't even have offices in which to meet students - -and the situation seems to be getting worse.
I may be biased because I am an adjunct, but it seems to me that the full timers do as little as possible and complain about it.
I may be biased because I am an adjunct, but it seems to me that the full timers do as little as possible and complain about it.
21
The problem is the current mutation of capitalism itself, which has changed "the System" since the 1970's. Education for profit--just like healthcare for profit--has mutated our CONCEPT of the function of education into what it is today, and so has the function of professors, just as the function of doctors has. Teachers in general are being "educated" (programmed is a better word) to function as mere technicians when, in fact, we are IMPARTING some part of our essential selves to the students as well as a part of the other "information" we impart to them. The students pick up on this, from Kindergarten on, and view themselves as mere technicians too. "If I meet this grade standard, this performance rubric, I should get the A." Nobody is actually being taught to think for themselves anymore...and the teachers are victims of this mutated self-view, since they will lose their jobs if the grades go down too far, since all performance is calibrated according to standards that can never take into account anything unquantifiable. But the majority of human existence and human consciousness is still unquantifiable, just as "dark matter" is still the majority of what actually constitutes the universe. We have painted ourselves into a digital corner while most of what we do and are is analog. Everybody needs to read Iain McGilchrist's "The Master And His Emissary" to get a better grip on what is really going on here...
7
As someone who has moved back and forth between industry and professorship for twenty years I find myself very much in touch with my students -- especially the ones who have become my peers. I used to issue my students a "Lifetime Warranty" in class and indeed many will come back to me with the same questions or issues they might have had as students: How to solve a particular problem, negotiate the workplace, or even just a request for a recommendation. Some have even become Facebook friends and I've enjoyed watching their kids grow up. So good for you, professor Bauerlein, and hopefully many others will follow your lead.
3
This article is more bash than brilliant. The basic premise is that changing grades from an 'A' leads to better education. The premise is just as shallow as the supporting historical facts.
The truth be said: an 'A' is a carrot, not an evaluation: employers have to do their own application evaluations, not depend on symbols -- grades and the name of the graduates' university is not a fact analysis.
A fact is merely something you can measure, not an necessarily an expression of truth. It's always been that way! Check the measuring stick, brother: are you using a standard ruler or are you going metric on me.
The truth be said: an 'A' is a carrot, not an evaluation: employers have to do their own application evaluations, not depend on symbols -- grades and the name of the graduates' university is not a fact analysis.
A fact is merely something you can measure, not an necessarily an expression of truth. It's always been that way! Check the measuring stick, brother: are you using a standard ruler or are you going metric on me.
2
I am lucky, and my students are as well. When I retired from public school teaching I was hired as an adjunct at two local universities. After years of dealing with behavior management, I finally was able to teach content. My classes are small ( no more than 17), and even when I am teaching three courses, I have the time and the interest to get to know my students as individuals. Over the past ten years I have heard from many of them telling me how much they learned in my class, not only about the subject (composition/seminar on identity), but about life in general, and their lives in particular. Students have to work hard to earn an "A" in my classes, and I feel that I am mentoring them not only in their writing and issues of identity, but with lessons which will help them in their adult lives.
3
As a PhD student, someone under 30, and if I can manage to get hired for one of the few professor jobs available in this market, a future faculty member, I'm dismayed by the tone of this article and also by the NYT continually publishing these curmudgeonly "good old days" and/or snobby opinion pieces (e.g. Christy Wampole's latest). What are these good old days, when women were routinely dismissed even more so than now? In the early 1980s when "outstretched legs of English majors" blocked the hallways, how many of those legs were lanky, male, white? Bauerlein sounds out of touch. Faculty can treat students like colleagues and peers AND give critical feedback. Mutual respect at any age is one foundation for solid relationships. If there's going to be generalizations that don't distinguish among individuals- students and professors with varied projects, motivations, and reasons for being part of the university, then I'd ask: who wants to be disciples of the generation that knew about climate change and has done little to stave it off, of the generation that either perpetrated or stood by as neoliberal capitalism became the norm? Professor Bauerlein, we don't need you to correct our misplaced modifiers. That's not where moral authority comes from.
Let's see more op-eds about what we can do, collectively, to make the most of higher education. How about putting forth interesting ideas and opening them up for critique? This was a good and memorable piece... http://nyti.ms/1EpNJGE
Let's see more op-eds about what we can do, collectively, to make the most of higher education. How about putting forth interesting ideas and opening them up for critique? This was a good and memorable piece... http://nyti.ms/1EpNJGE
17
As usual, the writer and comments largely ignore the source of the problem that's staring them in the face: the commodification of education.
Universities don't back up their faculty: Does anyone seriously think those professors don't wish they could lower the boom on hapless, lazy, entitled students who expect an A because they are at college solely to confirm their employability?
Employers are given an outsized voice: they don't care about thinking citizenship--only workers. So their political will is expressed in the toxic notion that we should serve only utilitarian functions.
Administrators cater to capitalists and the worker-students. Try getting a dean to back up a serious charge og plagiarism of an F in this environment.
There's one group here interested in education--and they get the blame? Please.
Universities don't back up their faculty: Does anyone seriously think those professors don't wish they could lower the boom on hapless, lazy, entitled students who expect an A because they are at college solely to confirm their employability?
Employers are given an outsized voice: they don't care about thinking citizenship--only workers. So their political will is expressed in the toxic notion that we should serve only utilitarian functions.
Administrators cater to capitalists and the worker-students. Try getting a dean to back up a serious charge og plagiarism of an F in this environment.
There's one group here interested in education--and they get the blame? Please.
12
Typically English Professors have much more face time with students than other Professors. The discipline of "English" encompasses much more than just the courses taught; somehow, it includes the students' intellectual development in an all round sense of the terms as writing, reading and critical thinking are part and parcel of English. With writing is wrapped up a student's self-esteem as well; if a writing professor gives a negative feedback then the student feels like much more than a poor grade is at stake. My guess is that the evaluation of learners in English courses is far more subjective than the same in science and math courses. There is a joke in our department, that we end up being the "dorm nannies" of students for whom other professors like those in the sciences and business, have very little time.
I deeply sympathize with the tenor of this article, but it is missing the wider social and economic context. No article can do everything. But you don't mention tuition, adjuncts, or the growth of administration compared to faculty once. Thus it slightly veers towards resentment that we are no longer the new priests of culture and secular morality.
I am sure others will bring you to task for not mentioning the adjunctification of the professoriate. If the university thinks teaching is temp work, why shouldn't students treat it like a customer service?
But it is not just the worshiping of mammon as opposed to ... professors? ...that is the issue here. It is the dissipation of the middle class and the fact that many students know they have strapped a load of debt not only to their own backs, but their parents' as well. 'Here's 100k in debt for a BA with pedigree, in the middle of an ongoing economic crisis. Now, go off and pursue knowledge for it's own sake!'
In the early 1960s, my relative, then eighteen, worked one summer on a union job in a mine in Montana and made enough to afford tuition, room , and board for the year at a private college in Helena. State tuition was free.
As a professor myself at an incredibly expensive school, what mainly distracts students are the multiple jobs they work and/or performance anxiety and risk averse behavior resulting from helicopter parenting. The parenting is only intensified by the disappearing middle class. Still, good points here.
I am sure others will bring you to task for not mentioning the adjunctification of the professoriate. If the university thinks teaching is temp work, why shouldn't students treat it like a customer service?
But it is not just the worshiping of mammon as opposed to ... professors? ...that is the issue here. It is the dissipation of the middle class and the fact that many students know they have strapped a load of debt not only to their own backs, but their parents' as well. 'Here's 100k in debt for a BA with pedigree, in the middle of an ongoing economic crisis. Now, go off and pursue knowledge for it's own sake!'
In the early 1960s, my relative, then eighteen, worked one summer on a union job in a mine in Montana and made enough to afford tuition, room , and board for the year at a private college in Helena. State tuition was free.
As a professor myself at an incredibly expensive school, what mainly distracts students are the multiple jobs they work and/or performance anxiety and risk averse behavior resulting from helicopter parenting. The parenting is only intensified by the disappearing middle class. Still, good points here.
5
As an almost 60 year old returning student, about 40 years after my first go round at the university, all I can say is: hogwash. If anything, we have as society have taken away our support. 40 years ago, I could work a summer and have enough to go to school, paid for mostly by myself; now kids (i.e., my fellow students) are facing mountains of debt and an uncertain job market. Is it any wonder that some of the more ethereal concerns and less remunerative pursuits have gone by the wayside? And yes, students are consumers. I adored 40 years ago many of my profs, and the same is true today. But then and now I occasionally ran into a teacher who was lousy, despite having a .Phd after their name. I'm sure that the modern wide dissemination of student opinion can be a pain in the butt for an instructor, but that horse is out of the barn, so deal, as the young folks say ;-)
7
It's actually more frightening than that.... Finding meaning and making money have not traded places. Rather, they have become one and the same.
2
I graduated from undergraduate school in 1969. In my final term a group of us started going about for pizza and beer on Friday afternoons and we started inviting our professors. By the end of the term there was over a dozen of us going including several professors. And I treasure those conversations with my peers and professors, all interacting equally (with a little professorial deference). I can't recall the topics of those conversations but I recall the tone and the acceptance in them.
As a professor myself, there was plenty of pizza (no beer as I taught lower division students). I hope that students are not being deprived of the intellectual acceptance that socializing with their professors gives. It also serves to help professors remember that students are people one provides an education "with" not "to." Turning the professorate into grade technicians serves no one.
As a professor myself, there was plenty of pizza (no beer as I taught lower division students). I hope that students are not being deprived of the intellectual acceptance that socializing with their professors gives. It also serves to help professors remember that students are people one provides an education "with" not "to." Turning the professorate into grade technicians serves no one.
29
It is unrealistic and grossly unfair to expect extracurricular involvement with students of adjunct faculty who are already being exploited by the universities. With such dismal working conditions how could any student look to them for life guidance or aspire to emulate them?
9
I'm a university professor and in my opinion, a college education is degrading into a glorified high school degree. Administrators, pressured by state legislators, are focused on improving the percentage of students obtaining the degree (and preferably in 4 yrs). I am not sure when this happened but now obtaining a degree is slowly becoming a 'right' and if the students can't do the work, it is because we are expecting too much of them. Lost is the students RESPONSIBILITY to really work at their classwork and adequately master the material. We are beginning to base a ever greater portion of a students grade based on attendance, just to get them to show up to class. Is this how we should be treating young adults? At what point in their lives do we say firmly that actions have consequences, and if you fail to properly address the class material, you will fail the course! Isn't this a better option then passing them through (so the legislature will keep the funding coming), only to have them fail in their prospective fields because they are inadequately prepared? It's only a matter of time before the degree that many of the students have is no real reflection of their mastery of critical thinking, clear writing, or subject competency .... in many ways, we are already there.
14
With my own years of college teaching, I found the author's concerns over the changing role of the professor interesting with some good points made. At the same time, the column presented this issue rather superficially.
A good professor should be a guide and a resource; a mentor for some. A good professor also should be a key component of an important, campus based, support system. The author's view of a professor as a 'moral light,' too, adds a rather ambiguous responsibility to what most often already is a very busy schedule.
Higher ed has also increasingly turned to adjuncts and year to year 'temporary' faculty contracts. This further reduces broader campus investment by professors since they also often now have other sources of income as well. The professor, therefore, becomes poorly embedded into the campus community.
Professors also typically have many other campus obligations from publishing to sitting on multiple committees also cutting into student/teacher time. In this way, if is often the Administration who do not prioritize faculty/student engagement even while they may claim otherwise.
Professors also need to make a different effort.
They have to get out on campus, advise clubs and go to events; athletic and otherwise when possible. They need to eat lunch on campus away from their office and Dept lounge area.
But they also need to know at the end of the day, that Administration will value such efforts over yet another neverending committee meeting.
A good professor should be a guide and a resource; a mentor for some. A good professor also should be a key component of an important, campus based, support system. The author's view of a professor as a 'moral light,' too, adds a rather ambiguous responsibility to what most often already is a very busy schedule.
Higher ed has also increasingly turned to adjuncts and year to year 'temporary' faculty contracts. This further reduces broader campus investment by professors since they also often now have other sources of income as well. The professor, therefore, becomes poorly embedded into the campus community.
Professors also typically have many other campus obligations from publishing to sitting on multiple committees also cutting into student/teacher time. In this way, if is often the Administration who do not prioritize faculty/student engagement even while they may claim otherwise.
Professors also need to make a different effort.
They have to get out on campus, advise clubs and go to events; athletic and otherwise when possible. They need to eat lunch on campus away from their office and Dept lounge area.
But they also need to know at the end of the day, that Administration will value such efforts over yet another neverending committee meeting.
2
What you're noting is important: the switch in what students look for--financial success being so much more important than a meaningful philosophy of life, for example. But I wonder if looking to faculty is the only or first answer. Instead of the "you" being faculty, what if it were parents? What if it were administrators? You, dear parent (of which I am one as well as faculty), need to engage your child to think of things beyond mere financial survival. You, dear higher ed administrator, need to emphasize the benefits of students learning about themselves as much as that six-figure income touted as a benefit of attending your school.
I would love to have as much time as you seem to have to meet individually with students, and I do require conferences. But teaching four writing-intensive classes each term, with a high level of service and professional development obligations, make frequent engagements outside of class difficult.
I am one of the "lucky" contract faculty members who has a full-time, promotable position; not so lucky are the many adjuncts and other contract faculty who are seen as cost-savers to administrators who too often want to impress the world of higher ed by fancy and costly initiatives that don't always provide what students really need while reducing faculty funding.
It's a great reminder to use classroom time wisely and to keep the bar high. Let's extend that goal to others as well. It takes a community to foster thoughtful minds.
I would love to have as much time as you seem to have to meet individually with students, and I do require conferences. But teaching four writing-intensive classes each term, with a high level of service and professional development obligations, make frequent engagements outside of class difficult.
I am one of the "lucky" contract faculty members who has a full-time, promotable position; not so lucky are the many adjuncts and other contract faculty who are seen as cost-savers to administrators who too often want to impress the world of higher ed by fancy and costly initiatives that don't always provide what students really need while reducing faculty funding.
It's a great reminder to use classroom time wisely and to keep the bar high. Let's extend that goal to others as well. It takes a community to foster thoughtful minds.
3
"In their first year, 33 percent of students report that they never talk with professors outside of class, while 42 percent do so only sometimes. Seniors lower that disengagement rate only a bit, with 25 percent never talking to professors, and 40 percent sometimes."
Gee, do you think this might have something to do with the fact that 75% of the faculty are contingent and are not paid to and don't have time for meeting with students outside of class? You want engaged faculty, start paying us like engaged faculty. Most of us can't meet with students because we're cobbling together a living from part time jobs at two to three widely scattered institutions. More tenure track lines, year long contracts, and pay parity would fix this. So would acknowledging that yours is not the only kind of institution we teach at. Support your adjunct colleagues in their efforts to provide a quality education to the students you seem to not like very well.
Gee, do you think this might have something to do with the fact that 75% of the faculty are contingent and are not paid to and don't have time for meeting with students outside of class? You want engaged faculty, start paying us like engaged faculty. Most of us can't meet with students because we're cobbling together a living from part time jobs at two to three widely scattered institutions. More tenure track lines, year long contracts, and pay parity would fix this. So would acknowledging that yours is not the only kind of institution we teach at. Support your adjunct colleagues in their efforts to provide a quality education to the students you seem to not like very well.
17
Grades are live book reviews on Amazon where most of them are 5s. No one likes to give bad grades since the attitude is let the market decide.
1
University admins figured out that keeping students around generates more revenue. There's no money in flunking students. College went corporate, pandering to the customer while gouging them on cost.
1
Just like any other American brand, the A grade has been diminished through exploitation. The simple solution is to follow brand marketing to it’s logical conclusion: supersize it. Let’s create a new grade, the Greek capital letter Omega, meaning Great. And we’ll give it a numerical value of 5.0, whereas an A remains at 4.0.
Because of its “newness and freshness” professors will feel compelled to reserve Omega for only the best of the best, as A was once regarded.
And Omega continues as a University’s marketing tool to attract America’s most qualified graduation high-school students. In the tradition of Spinal Tap, University’s could proudly show off that, “our grades go to Omega.”
Because of its “newness and freshness” professors will feel compelled to reserve Omega for only the best of the best, as A was once regarded.
And Omega continues as a University’s marketing tool to attract America’s most qualified graduation high-school students. In the tradition of Spinal Tap, University’s could proudly show off that, “our grades go to Omega.”
1
I suspect the good professor's views are biased. In the real world it is a truth universally acknowledged that every student in possession of a good mind is in want of a business professor. Instead of meeting with English professors I suspect that students are meeting with their business professors, professors who value productivity and entrepreneurship, professors who know just as the students do that the business of America is business.
Freedom!!!
And money!!!
Freedom!!!
And money!!!
1
Not my experience.
Business school is just that. Fine for the people who want that, but the most interesting students come into my office with their curiosity intact their sophomore year. They are still open to classics, literature, sculpture, science, and my topic. Later, they pick a direction - late sophomore or first semester junior year.
The trend I see with this generation is pursuit of several interests with minors and double majors. I think it is good to relate the learning in class to life off campus and the skills and tools needed, but not exclusively. One successful lecture was ethics of persuasion in one class - the guest lecturer had them all saying, "Wow, those were debates in ancient Greece - those are the same issues today with modern technology!" Sweet. It gave them a way to see their modern dilemmas and direct attention to deeper thought.
Business school is just that. Fine for the people who want that, but the most interesting students come into my office with their curiosity intact their sophomore year. They are still open to classics, literature, sculpture, science, and my topic. Later, they pick a direction - late sophomore or first semester junior year.
The trend I see with this generation is pursuit of several interests with minors and double majors. I think it is good to relate the learning in class to life off campus and the skills and tools needed, but not exclusively. One successful lecture was ethics of persuasion in one class - the guest lecturer had them all saying, "Wow, those were debates in ancient Greece - those are the same issues today with modern technology!" Sweet. It gave them a way to see their modern dilemmas and direct attention to deeper thought.
1
In many higher education institutions that the poor and middle class can afford, faculty have a union ("to protect them") and an administration that, with the union, creates "measures" to determine faculty "effectiveness". Need I also say that tenure has been declining and schools, eager to say money and have a "flexible" work force hire part time faculty who are "nice". All of this combined create faculty who rubber stamp student achievement. We are creating mediocrity. And if one speaks out about this, and disrupts or disturbs the balance, it is cards for you! No longer collegial, dear friend.
4
I find it exceedingly frustrating that apparently the only solution is for professors to put in an 80-hour week holding required semi-weekly meetings with every student. Seriously? I think a better solution might be to save the "A" grade for students who display true intellectual engagement.
2
I agree that students and professors should engage more and that discussion and dialogue are at the heart of a good education, but I think there's more to why students are focused on graduating and getting a paycheck. The country is a different place now, and doing better than your parents is not the guarantee it was in 50s and 60s. In addition, a greater percentage of the population attends college now than fifty years ago, and I'd venture that there are a lot more working class students. Going to college to "develop a meaningful philosophy of life" might be a luxury of people who grew up in households that didnt worry about money. Thirdly, college is much less affordable now - and unfortunately the anxiety of getting paycheck to be able to pay student loans looms large over the heads of most undergraduates.
3
As an academic advisor, I have probably played a role in this change. Students see me more often then they do their professors. Our conversations revolve around managing the bureaucracy of higher ed, career goals and curriculum. The higher learning that goes with conversations in an office or a lab still happen with a number of students, but not all 30,000 of them at my institution. There are not enough professors with enough time to do that. The numbers of full-time faculty are shrinking and part-time adjuncts are paid a pittance to teach. My university is growing in its student numbers, but it won't be matched by faculty increases. And now that education costs the same as a mortgage, we can't expect students not to demand career preparation. The poll cited indicates they clearly know the costs of their education and have a real need to survive financially after college. Students of the 60's and 80's didn't have these financial problems, they had the luxury of pursuing education for the sake of wisdom and knowledge itself.
69
In regard to your last point, which is well taken, someone needs to come up with a comprehensive, bullet proof explanation of why college cost so much more, in relative terms, than in the past. What happened? One partial answer is the edifice complex of college presidents and other administrators. Another is competing for higher rankings on US News. Still another is students who demand amenities over excellent teaching (which is difficult to know about in advance in any case).
I lay a lot of blame on the unanticipated effect of student loans, allowing tuition to be raised without any sense that students were going to be denied opportunities. The entire student loan system is a scandal, a wealth transfer system from the rising generation to their elders. I am not sure anything like it has occurred previously in human history, other than indentured servitude.
Doug Terry
I lay a lot of blame on the unanticipated effect of student loans, allowing tuition to be raised without any sense that students were going to be denied opportunities. The entire student loan system is a scandal, a wealth transfer system from the rising generation to their elders. I am not sure anything like it has occurred previously in human history, other than indentured servitude.
Doug Terry
2
When I was a student in the 80’s, I wasn’t aware that I would not “have a real need to survive financially after college.
I’m not sure where you got the idea that students in the 1980’s had the “luxury of pursuing education for the sake of wisdom and knowledge itself.”.
Are you under the impression that student’s in the 1960’s and 1980’s all had trust funds?
I’m not sure where you got the idea that students in the 1980’s had the “luxury of pursuing education for the sake of wisdom and knowledge itself.”.
Are you under the impression that student’s in the 1960’s and 1980’s all had trust funds?
I wonder if part of the cultural change lies in scripted educational approaches that put a lot of emphasis on rubrics and predetermined "learning outcomes." Such approaches have become very common in K-12 but are making their way higher. They turn education into a matter of checking the boxes.
1
So true. Believe it or not, "Culture of Assessment" is a catchphrase.
1
I've checked the Emory U. site, it seems that the author is teaching one undergraduate class this semester, and one independent study.
Nowadays most professors (yes, tenured ones too) teach 3-4 courses per semester (5 at community colleges) and have much larger class sizes than those at Emory. They also must carry out a high amount of "service" to the college or university, in addition to making progress in their own research. It's wonderful that Emory still supports such academic schedules but this is by no means the norm. The model the professor uses (face to face meetings for all assignments) is just not feasible on most campuses.
I also don't think it's typical or natural for students to look to their professors for "moral and worldly understanding". The more serious students are looking for expert advice and opinions, and guidance in furthering their study in the discipline.
Nowadays most professors (yes, tenured ones too) teach 3-4 courses per semester (5 at community colleges) and have much larger class sizes than those at Emory. They also must carry out a high amount of "service" to the college or university, in addition to making progress in their own research. It's wonderful that Emory still supports such academic schedules but this is by no means the norm. The model the professor uses (face to face meetings for all assignments) is just not feasible on most campuses.
I also don't think it's typical or natural for students to look to their professors for "moral and worldly understanding". The more serious students are looking for expert advice and opinions, and guidance in furthering their study in the discipline.
6
As an executive with a major state university I see the story from a different perspective. The problem being professors who do there best to make themselves unavailable. Professors who depart campus as soon a class is done. Professors who say, "you can't make me do that." We had a professor paste a terse notice on her office door that students wishing to see her outside of the classroom had to make an e-mail appointment. She simply did not answer her e-mails. These are not rogue behaviors, they are commonplace.
Consequently, we had to negotiate into four instructor labor contracts that instructors (i.e. professors) had a responsibility for a minimum amount of after class counseling hours. That's a sad commentary on the nature of academia. It is an unfortunate result of unionization of faculty. When professors treat their teaching and mentoring responsibility as so much piece work they might as well work in a factory. Sadly the students are being shortchanged by well paid under performing instructors.
Consequently, we had to negotiate into four instructor labor contracts that instructors (i.e. professors) had a responsibility for a minimum amount of after class counseling hours. That's a sad commentary on the nature of academia. It is an unfortunate result of unionization of faculty. When professors treat their teaching and mentoring responsibility as so much piece work they might as well work in a factory. Sadly the students are being shortchanged by well paid under performing instructors.
6
"Sadly the students are being shortchanged by well paid under performing instructors."
Sad to see the "paint all faculty with the same brush" negative viewpoint on the performance off faculty at UAA (except in the unlikely event that all instructors at UAA are indeed under performing).
On the other hand, kudos to you for being the only administrator to comment on the piece. And, I guess as a bonus, if it doesn't already, the faculty union now clearly knows your POV when the next contract negotiations come around.
Sad to see the "paint all faculty with the same brush" negative viewpoint on the performance off faculty at UAA (except in the unlikely event that all instructors at UAA are indeed under performing).
On the other hand, kudos to you for being the only administrator to comment on the piece. And, I guess as a bonus, if it doesn't already, the faculty union now clearly knows your POV when the next contract negotiations come around.
As some posts note, the rise in administration eclipses rather than supports higher education. We might also add a patent-office mentality reaching well below the elite universities, feeding on part-time instruction and corporate approval at "public" universities. No wonder students and professors often see themselves in anonymous production lines where meaning and ideas matter less while widgets matter most.
1
I love the personal contact of teaching. I enjoy taking on the required writing intensive 1-to-1 core seminar and being a reader on honors theses. I get to know these young people and they are funny, smart, and so hopeful.
College age is such a delightful time to oversee in a young person's life. They come in kids and for most, somewhere in their sophomore or junior year they turn a corner and begin being adults. It is rewarding to see them come into their own. I tell parents that I get the fun - they did the hard work of raising their child and I get gently nudge them to independence and self determination. Being a college professor is rewarding.
All of that mushy stuff noted - the work load is tremendous. There are weeks where I don't return calls and come home to fall asleep on the couch. I work 12 months of the year. People, including administrators, do not know how much work goes into teaching college. All the important stuff of standing in the hallway asking what the student thinks and going over an extra draft of a paper or helping with IRB or writing the many letters of recommendation are efforts that are not counted by the people who allocate funds and resources.
Yet, it makes a real difference. I know that when I look a student in the eyes and I listen to them that that helps them trust themselves. I get to question them in my special role. I want them to get that they are incoming and I (and my generation) is outgoing.
College age is such a delightful time to oversee in a young person's life. They come in kids and for most, somewhere in their sophomore or junior year they turn a corner and begin being adults. It is rewarding to see them come into their own. I tell parents that I get the fun - they did the hard work of raising their child and I get gently nudge them to independence and self determination. Being a college professor is rewarding.
All of that mushy stuff noted - the work load is tremendous. There are weeks where I don't return calls and come home to fall asleep on the couch. I work 12 months of the year. People, including administrators, do not know how much work goes into teaching college. All the important stuff of standing in the hallway asking what the student thinks and going over an extra draft of a paper or helping with IRB or writing the many letters of recommendation are efforts that are not counted by the people who allocate funds and resources.
Yet, it makes a real difference. I know that when I look a student in the eyes and I listen to them that that helps them trust themselves. I get to question them in my special role. I want them to get that they are incoming and I (and my generation) is outgoing.
75
While I share the disappointment inherent in under-used office hours, I suggest that other venues are even more important for learning. With apologies to fields of study where teaching and learning are best accomplished through sitting and talking, what about places where students learn by doing? Labs, studios, field settings, etc. are the places for deeper engagement. Simplistically, we can teach by talking about a thing, and we can teach by doing a thing. Both methods serve a purpose, but (pardon my lapse into personal anecdote), I seldom engaged with any professors deeply until on a field trip, or during late hours in a studio, or in any setting outside the classroom (and the equally structured office hours).
1
While I agree with the article, and commend Prof. Bauerlein for his approach to student interaction, I'm not sure most professors today are equipped to be a "moral authority". I'd be happy if most professors were simply willing to help our kids become better thinkers.
mark bauerline covers lot of territory- but specifically to address his concern that 82 % of entering freshmen now pick making money as their main objective. What has changed from 1967 to have kids make this shift? Accept some responsibility Mr. Bauerline. The exorbitant price of Emory and like universities demand that these incoming freshman look at college as a job market provider. They no longer have the luxury of developing a meaningful philosophy of life as a main objective when all they can think about is the crushing debt they are accumulating. Matter of fact, I would equate some of the lending practices of our universities as ranking right up there with the subprime lenders. How can they hold the moral ground when they prey on 18 year olds who have no concept of the burden they are signing for.
7
You act as if professors are responsible for (or even have a say in) raising tuition--a move they more reliably oppose than members of the public who constantly vote to gut support for education generally. Their salaries and security have withered in favor of greedy administrators who service the financial imperatives of the whole culture.
3
MARK BAUERLEIN's What's the Point of a Professor hit a nerve. For the past few years, I've been tormented with this onerous task: How not to flunk students. This semester has been a major relief. Only one suspected of cheating and that one stopped attending classes. All can write, some are very good and a few are exceptional or are on the road to being exceptional and the push back has been mild compared to previous years. One more time: What a relief.
My news writing classes require students to publish or perish, though the imperative is very toned down for undergraduates. Of course. I missed the days when classes started and I anticipated beating a previous record (unofficial, of course) of students winning SPJ awards; or internships, paid, through the Business Press Education Foundation; or internships, paid, with the American Society of Magazine Editors or internships, not paid, with New America Media but incredibly helpful.
One student, because of NAM's internship, even earned a contributing credit on a New York Times article about suicides in Korean American communities. She spoke and wrote fluent Korean and was an assistance to the NYT reporter who wrote the story. Despite what I think I see as a lot more students seeking easy courses and workloads and pressure on instructors to accommodate their demands, we still play a role but it obvious depends on the ethos of the academic community.
My news writing classes require students to publish or perish, though the imperative is very toned down for undergraduates. Of course. I missed the days when classes started and I anticipated beating a previous record (unofficial, of course) of students winning SPJ awards; or internships, paid, through the Business Press Education Foundation; or internships, paid, with the American Society of Magazine Editors or internships, not paid, with New America Media but incredibly helpful.
One student, because of NAM's internship, even earned a contributing credit on a New York Times article about suicides in Korean American communities. She spoke and wrote fluent Korean and was an assistance to the NYT reporter who wrote the story. Despite what I think I see as a lot more students seeking easy courses and workloads and pressure on instructors to accommodate their demands, we still play a role but it obvious depends on the ethos of the academic community.
1
As described, I recall sitting and waiting, with my legs sticking into the hall way, and everyone pulling legs in or carefully remaining still for those who would walk past, or over, while we waited our turn consulting with the prof. In the last three years I have returned to the undergraduate classroom as a non-traditional student exploring a new subject area. I have noticed with alarm the absence of undergrads prowling the halls and waiting to see their professors. I've just attended the graduation ceremony at the same school where much was said about the opening of minds, and I wondered just how much opening had happened. It's a terrible waste of potential to do this job poorly; individual potential is wasted and society suffers for lack of engaged minds.
Yes, it's shocking that "A" has become the most common grade at American colleges and universities.
However, it's not surprising.
Almost half the professors these days are "adjunct faculty," hired (or not hired) from semester to semester.
And whether they will return to teach again is, in a large part, determined by student evaluations required at the end of each course.
Adjunct professors who demands good work from their students and grades according to the quality of that work will soon find themselves without teaching jobs. It doesn't matter whether they are talented or effective teachers.
Many students blame professors for any poor grade they receive and give those teachers very negative assessments on on evaluations or sites like ratemyprofessor.com
Adjunct professors quickly learn that, if you want to survive as a faculty member, you'd better give a high percentage of "A"s and "B"s. Otherwise, you'll be "voted out," destroyed by your evaluations.
It's just part of the continuing corruption of higher education in this country.
However, it's not surprising.
Almost half the professors these days are "adjunct faculty," hired (or not hired) from semester to semester.
And whether they will return to teach again is, in a large part, determined by student evaluations required at the end of each course.
Adjunct professors who demands good work from their students and grades according to the quality of that work will soon find themselves without teaching jobs. It doesn't matter whether they are talented or effective teachers.
Many students blame professors for any poor grade they receive and give those teachers very negative assessments on on evaluations or sites like ratemyprofessor.com
Adjunct professors quickly learn that, if you want to survive as a faculty member, you'd better give a high percentage of "A"s and "B"s. Otherwise, you'll be "voted out," destroyed by your evaluations.
It's just part of the continuing corruption of higher education in this country.
26
sorry to say that it's not the fault of students but of professors, especially the increasing proportion of adjuncts who want to be rehired. attacks on tenure make it more likely than not that it will get worser...... he said ironically. check my name on rate my professor; which is as reliable as the ubiquitous student evaluations selectively used by administrations to 'judge' classroom performance.
As someone integrally involved in the setting of a large public university, and as the parent of children who are currently college students, I could not relate to this article. If an undergraduate has the gumption and tenacity, she or he could approach many a professor and develop that mentor-student relationship. I see it happen before my eyes. College is an amazing bridge between the dependence of childhood and the independence of emerging adulthood: the resourcefulness it takes to advocate for oneself includes seeking out a professor and forming a mentor relationship. But first, the student herself or himself would need to know her or his interests and goals; many times, our college freshmen and sophomores, sometimes even juniors, are still in the discovery phase.
Even so, I would offer that electronic communication can perhaps serve to distance the opportunity for meaningful contact. Beyond email, assignments, and the submission of those assignments, and the posting of grades are handled in an online portal.
As for the reported surge in As on college campuses, perhaps the availability of information via the Internet, and the speed of modern technology, has attributed to superior work. From high school onward, I see it right there around my kitchen table, homework afoot: a universal library of credible information at their fingertips.
Even so, I would offer that electronic communication can perhaps serve to distance the opportunity for meaningful contact. Beyond email, assignments, and the submission of those assignments, and the posting of grades are handled in an online portal.
As for the reported surge in As on college campuses, perhaps the availability of information via the Internet, and the speed of modern technology, has attributed to superior work. From high school onward, I see it right there around my kitchen table, homework afoot: a universal library of credible information at their fingertips.
1
The Internet hasn't. trust me on this.
If I were a professor?
I would probably be fired because I would innocently and stupidly speculate on problems such as nurture versus nature. I would observe the tension between the two affecting every aspect of a modern society. I would observe how we try so hard to make up for differences of nature, talent, intellect by nurture, education, but nature, talent continues to "leak" all around us whether we speak of Obama or Bill Gates or a famous musician--not to mention an athlete. I would observe how the wealthy constantly try to avoid having their children judged brutally by pure merit by shielding them with wealth (nurture, riches, cloaking them). I would observe how the less wealthy malign the wealthy but the less wealthy want to be wealthy too and believe they too can be exceptional by nurture (which drives grade inflation in schools for example).
We have attempt after attempt to present nurture triumphant over nature but for all nurture it is coming down to society finally trying to capitalize on and even improve nature by means of increased testing in school and personality profiles all across a person's life whether the person is rich or poor. Ultimately we are subconsciously pressing for an answer to that big question with respect to civilization: How can we constantly increase the wealth of a society without the citizens degenerating in luxury? The answer eventually means a talented, creative yet remarkably disciplined citizenry--that which is unnatural today.
I would probably be fired because I would innocently and stupidly speculate on problems such as nurture versus nature. I would observe the tension between the two affecting every aspect of a modern society. I would observe how we try so hard to make up for differences of nature, talent, intellect by nurture, education, but nature, talent continues to "leak" all around us whether we speak of Obama or Bill Gates or a famous musician--not to mention an athlete. I would observe how the wealthy constantly try to avoid having their children judged brutally by pure merit by shielding them with wealth (nurture, riches, cloaking them). I would observe how the less wealthy malign the wealthy but the less wealthy want to be wealthy too and believe they too can be exceptional by nurture (which drives grade inflation in schools for example).
We have attempt after attempt to present nurture triumphant over nature but for all nurture it is coming down to society finally trying to capitalize on and even improve nature by means of increased testing in school and personality profiles all across a person's life whether the person is rich or poor. Ultimately we are subconsciously pressing for an answer to that big question with respect to civilization: How can we constantly increase the wealth of a society without the citizens degenerating in luxury? The answer eventually means a talented, creative yet remarkably disciplined citizenry--that which is unnatural today.
1
I've been an adjunct for many years, also worked in industry in high tech for several decades. I agree with much of what the author said.
Roughly 70% of the instructors at the schools I teach at are adjuncts, with no private office. So office time is not available in the usual sense. You squeeze in time with students when you can. I try to accommodate anyone wanting to meet in some way.
But something that frustrates me and many of my colleagues is the sense of entitlement among students today, it is shocking. If they show up, they think they should pass. If they turn in an assignment that should get them an A, or B at the least. Somehow this is what our changing culture and parenting messages has conveyed it seems.
One major problem in my view are the instructor evaluations. They carry inordinate weight, and they should be abandoned or given almost no weight in evaluating professors for retention or advancement. They are a root cause of grade inflation. Doing this would require common sense, and I can assure you there is little if any common sense on college campuses today.
It's all about being PC, endless committees with inputs from unqualified faculty or administrators, and not hurting anyone's feelings. Holding people to high standards and offering constructive criticism can hurt people's feelings. Actual competence, demonstrated knowledge and skills frequently takes a back seat.
Roughly 70% of the instructors at the schools I teach at are adjuncts, with no private office. So office time is not available in the usual sense. You squeeze in time with students when you can. I try to accommodate anyone wanting to meet in some way.
But something that frustrates me and many of my colleagues is the sense of entitlement among students today, it is shocking. If they show up, they think they should pass. If they turn in an assignment that should get them an A, or B at the least. Somehow this is what our changing culture and parenting messages has conveyed it seems.
One major problem in my view are the instructor evaluations. They carry inordinate weight, and they should be abandoned or given almost no weight in evaluating professors for retention or advancement. They are a root cause of grade inflation. Doing this would require common sense, and I can assure you there is little if any common sense on college campuses today.
It's all about being PC, endless committees with inputs from unqualified faculty or administrators, and not hurting anyone's feelings. Holding people to high standards and offering constructive criticism can hurt people's feelings. Actual competence, demonstrated knowledge and skills frequently takes a back seat.
1
Tenured professors being replaced by adjuncts, everything being monetized, could be the problem.
A good article but did overlook two major changes since the early 1980s that impacts this issue a great deal (and most definitely since the 1960s) which is: 1) the dramatic increase in research expected out of full-time faculty. In a recent talk a sociologist famous for a book introducing a dramatic new theory in the 1970s said that he could never have written it today given the tenure expectations that now exist that would prohibit the long process he required to develop a dramatic new research paradigm. Secondly, the student population in the 1980s and definitely the population in the 1960s are much different than today. Nearly half of the college students today would have gone straight in to the workforce 35 years ago. We have to keep this in mind in terms of grade and the limited role for professor-student meeting time. That said, the author probably is right about Harvard where there is no dramatic change in the student body but the faculty are increasingly hired based on non-teaching, non-mentoring qualifications compared to 35 or more years ago.
2
What has the college administrators and trustees been doing during this period of grade inflationary? Basically nothing. They have the information they need. Where do they get it? The simple answer is "student evaluations." This is the way it works. At the end of the semester, each student has the chance to evaluate the course and teacher. Each student can take a few minutes and check off a few boxes and write a few words. All this information is fed into a computer and out comes a rating. Obviously, this method is cost effective and at the same time, it gives a measure of "student satisfaction." In this way, there is no need waste valuable time on classroom visitation, course content or evaluation of innovation in the classroom. It seems to be working. Students, sorry customers, and administrators are happy. Isn't that what is important?
1
Thank you Professor Bauerlein for helping me appreciate my job anew. As a professor at Hampshire College, where students design individualized courses of study in consultation with faculty advisors, and pursue projects with faculty mentors, I have lots of opportunities to meet with students. Indeed the sorts of conversations that you worry are a thing of the past are the backbone of our curriculum. And, while I hope that all of this 'face time' provides my students with mentorship and guidance, they are also opportunities for me to learn. Oh and grade inflation? We don't worry about that. We have narrative evaluations, not grades. These allow us to give rigorous and detailed feedback about student preparation at every step of their education. There are institutions in higher ed that live these ideals, and where the work of being a professor is exhausting but thoroughly engaging and rewarding. I am very lucky to be at one of them.
54
I have spent thirty years teaching at a variety of institutions - community colleges, a small private university, and a large public research university. I have never forgotten why I pursued this career path in the first place, specifically, the love of learning, teaching, and interacting with students. It is from these things that I derive my greatest professional satisfaction. The students are why we are here and why we have our jobs. It is a fact worth remembering.
2
As a retired university professor who came of age during the 1960's, I have a different perspective on the barrier between students and their instructors. Over my 40 plus of years teaching at both private and state schools like Duke and The University of Michigan--Ann Arbor, I have witnessed a massive divestment in public education which accounts for two-thirds of all undergraduate degrees. As states have trimmed their budgets, class-size has ballooned making it impossible to even learn the names of your students and have time to meet with them individually. To further compensate for lost income major research universities have increased the pressure on their faculties to obtain federal grants that pay "indirect costs" to the universities. That puts professors, as the author notes, in their laboratories working with their graduate students and further distancing them from their undergraduates. However, at some universities, like my second alma mater, Carnegie Mellon, and Stony Brook University where I still teach, professors open the doors of their laboratories to undergraduates providing them with both personal contact and invaluable research experience that gives them an edge in gaining admission to a graduate program. So, the situation for student-professor contact in higher education is not all one-sided. It just requires more careful searching and screening.
68
I recently left a large comprehensive university for a research position in a medical school. Over the 20+ years that I spent at Big State U, I saw tuition ever increasing and the uper-archy demanding more and more that we keep our students happy, enrolled and bringing their tuition dollars. Class sizes increased, teaching loads increased and the administration increased. Our job increasingly became one of bringing tuition dollars to the institution. Teaching evaluations had little to do with effectiveness; rather the focus was on how happy the student is. One of my favorite examples is, "Professor knows his or her subject area." Many of my junior colleagues admitted to "dumbing down" the content of their courses so that they would receive favorable evaluations from the students. What about the dichotomy often expressed between teaching and research. Remember that major universities are places that create new knowledge and most of my colleagues happily invited undergraduates to their laboratories or research activities. To me, research is teaching and I do understand that in the life sciences, research funding has become quite scarce over the past decade or two and so many faculty spend increasing time and effort to obtain funding as necessary for promotion and tenure. So, for the dept heads and deans, with research funding becoming less and less, the sure funding comes from the tuition dollars. Bottom line. Keep 'em happy and show what wonderful jobs that await them.
1
As we have turned our universities into corporations under the delusion that the best design for any institution is private enterprise, we have wittingly or unwittingly turned everyone associated with universities -- students, professors, administrators, alumni, parents -- into capitalist maximizers in almost every area of their activities. Institutionally, professors ARE now service providers, students ARE customers, and administrators ARE corporate managers. Reforming universities on this model is about as promising as the task of reforming mercenary armies. We've actually lost the concept of PUBLIC universities.
6
American universities have sold out to the marketplace and commercial interests. You can't serve God (Mind) and Mammon. To me that sums up the situation.
2
Make all classes pass/fail. This will eliminate the arbitrary and subjective distinctions that decide the difference between an A, B, and C. This will also free students to approach their studies with intellectual freedom knowing that trying new and creative approaches to their learning won't destroy their chances for graduate school.
2
Our system is also a meritocracy. I wouldn't want to admit someone to graduate school without knowing they have the aptitude & motivation to succeed. A grade or long-term GPA is a (imperfect) indicator of that.
"You can’t become a moral authority if you rarely challenge students in class and engage them beyond it. If we professors do not do that, the course is not an induction of eager minds into an enlarging vision." Amen! Prof. Bauerlein's students are lucky to have an excellent teacher like him who invests his own energy and time to engage them, beyond the dry requirements of his teaching load. Sadly, his attitude is rare among the many faculty I know, who like to complain bitterly about "administrative bloat" while shedding almost all of the duties outside the classroom that professors used to fulfill, most of which involve interacting with students. The people who now do most of the mentoring, guiding, comforting and conversing with students at R1 universities are staff, who work year-round in campus offices, without job security and subject to the whims and tempers of tenured faculty, who can hardly be bothered to give or grade their own exams in their end-of-semester rush to leave campus, often for lovely destinations. Not to mention the MBAs who run universities these days, pushing staff to "do more with less."
Education should be a two-way street, a dialogue and not a transaction. When professors treat teaching as an after-thought and students as no more than the unavoidable providers of their own salaries and perks, students will reciprocate by regarding the whole thing as a business arrangement. Who is most responsible for this: the 18 year-olds or "faculty governance"?
Education should be a two-way street, a dialogue and not a transaction. When professors treat teaching as an after-thought and students as no more than the unavoidable providers of their own salaries and perks, students will reciprocate by regarding the whole thing as a business arrangement. Who is most responsible for this: the 18 year-olds or "faculty governance"?
3
This is a great article. It is interesting to connect professor engagement with the quality of preparedness of students coming into the workforce. I remember thinking about this topic when starting graduate school at the University of Chicago, a place known for being very rigorous. There was one professor who had official office hours on the syllabus but he was basically accessible at any time of the day in his office. The reason? He was working hard himself. He has produced an average of two-plus published papers per year for the past forty years. He recently was awarded a Nobel for his work. The primary thing that I picked up from him was not related to the subject he taught; it was related to his personal productivity habits. It takes a lot of character over a long period of time to have that type of career. Every day, just adding value and hammering it out. His was the "one in eight doors" that was open. Given the growth in tuition and budget sizes, I just wonder if these professors have more or less become disengaged fat cats. Get to work and get your door open.
1
Being an English professor today is the equivalent of leaning a dead language. It's all about what students need to do to earn a buck.
1
All I can say is "speak for yourself!" I, and my entire department still have a C+/B- average.
I teach at Columbia, where I am also chair of a department. In addition I have a vibrant research program typically involving 15 post-docs/grad students/ undergrad students. I have open office hours for the one class I teach each semester and I find that the day before exams are swamped with students. Students do care about knowledge, but they have to know that you care as well. These 20 year-olds can be drawn into academic pursuits - five of these students each year on average end up doing research in my lab. Where the price lies is in life - how much sleep do I get ? (5 hours on a good night). Too much burden in placed on academics, and far too many profs. take the easy way out - meaning minimizing teaching. Blame the (non-profit) university and its unending pursuit to make money, not the students or the teachers, who are merely pawns in this game.
3
Are you in a STEM area? If so, I imagine many students visit to make sure they are getting the "right" answers and "right" methods, not to have intellectual conversations.
2
Actually I am in a sTEM program. I teach thermodyamics - which is the closest we get to philosophy !!! The kids come to figure out the framework of how to think about such problems, and that frequently leads to hours of discussion about the different ways of thinking about (STEM) reality.
1
So, perhaps the presidents of the nation's top 100 colleges need to come together and mutually agree on the following:
1. Students will be required to take core courses in the humanities and sciences, as they used to have to do before colleges became essentially malls in which students could shop for and buy whatever courses they felt would least challenge them.
2. Courses will become academic again. English classes will become English classes (e.g. "Shakespeare I and II" or "The Romantics." No more "Shakespeare and Gender" or "The Romantics and Popular Culture."
3. Grading will be done on a curve, with only the top 10% getting As, and the average grade being C.
4. Students no longer get to rate or otherwise evaluate their professors. If they have real concerns, they need to go and have a conversation first with the professor, then with the dean.
If the top 100 colleges mutually agreed to do these things, everyone else will soon follow suit. College administrators need to understand that if they don't do this, they are going to reach a very sudden tipping point at which students (and their parents) are suddenly going to realize that college just isn't worth it. It doesn't educate you, and just costs a ridiculous amount. So why bother?
1. Students will be required to take core courses in the humanities and sciences, as they used to have to do before colleges became essentially malls in which students could shop for and buy whatever courses they felt would least challenge them.
2. Courses will become academic again. English classes will become English classes (e.g. "Shakespeare I and II" or "The Romantics." No more "Shakespeare and Gender" or "The Romantics and Popular Culture."
3. Grading will be done on a curve, with only the top 10% getting As, and the average grade being C.
4. Students no longer get to rate or otherwise evaluate their professors. If they have real concerns, they need to go and have a conversation first with the professor, then with the dean.
If the top 100 colleges mutually agreed to do these things, everyone else will soon follow suit. College administrators need to understand that if they don't do this, they are going to reach a very sudden tipping point at which students (and their parents) are suddenly going to realize that college just isn't worth it. It doesn't educate you, and just costs a ridiculous amount. So why bother?
2
Almost everywhere, students are still required to take core courses in the humanities and the sciences, but I liked the way you tried to blame leftist-sounding courses for everything.
I suggest you head on over to the engineering building to see students, professors, and in my case as corporate collaborator, outside
mentors and sponsors full engaged. Yes, no doubt, grade matters, but
the Professors and the Students I work with also driven to succeed,
that is solve a worthwhile problem that matters. In our case, its demonstrating affordable, safe, germ-free water treatment modules for point of use and point of exit - sanitation, pathogen inactivation.
mentors and sponsors full engaged. Yes, no doubt, grade matters, but
the Professors and the Students I work with also driven to succeed,
that is solve a worthwhile problem that matters. In our case, its demonstrating affordable, safe, germ-free water treatment modules for point of use and point of exit - sanitation, pathogen inactivation.
You want students to engage more in intellectual life and to see college as something more than an over-priced glorified trade school? Fine, then stop saddling them with huge debt loads on graduation. Expecting people under 30 to carry $30,000 to $100,000 debt loads is as scandalous as it is insane. And do ever higher tuition rates really accomplish anything other than arbitrarily limiting the pool of available students to those who can pay over those who are qualified? I don't think so.
I teach at a community college in one of the poorest counties in the USA. I get the full range of talent from students who can barely read to those who would be at an ivy league school but for the lack of money and connections. While I do have some students who see my role as a professor as that of a retail clerk doling out A's that they've paid for (if not exactly earned), most of my students do see college as a huge opportunity to be admitted into the larger intellectual life (as well as the commercial life) of a society from which they are mostly excluded.
I teach at a community college in one of the poorest counties in the USA. I get the full range of talent from students who can barely read to those who would be at an ivy league school but for the lack of money and connections. While I do have some students who see my role as a professor as that of a retail clerk doling out A's that they've paid for (if not exactly earned), most of my students do see college as a huge opportunity to be admitted into the larger intellectual life (as well as the commercial life) of a society from which they are mostly excluded.
5
An epitaph for academe as we knew it. UCLA. The Sixties. The professor's door opens, a prophetic voice:
"This is the end, beautiful friend. This is the end, my only friend. The end of our elaborate plans. The end of everything that stands. The end." (Jim Morrison)
"This is the end, beautiful friend. This is the end, my only friend. The end of our elaborate plans. The end of everything that stands. The end." (Jim Morrison)
Welcome to the world of online learning. Instead of engaging my science students through drama, debate, field trips, etc. The university is nudging everyone to do all online. They say our "customers" like that more. Welcome to online learning where we can all be the University of Phoenix.
2
I spent 10 years in the 'halls of academia' starting in the 60's and never experienced the mentoring the article suggests and I attended some very good schools. Professors were respected, some revered, but no one I knew had the relationship with any of them that this article described. Professors were much too busy to spend time with students. There were exceptions, but they were few and far between.
To the writer of this article, if you're this negative, it might be time to leave teaching. I'm a teacher myself, high school history, sure things have changed over the 25 years I've been teaching, but kids are still engaged. The students today are fine and will be good people.
1
I taught at many colleges and universities in the United States and abroad over the course of last three decades. Most often faculties, in their informal dialogues, complain that most of their students are not "college materials" these days. But they doll out, in average and across the disciplines, 43% "A" grades. If students these days are after "careers," not "ideas," what the faculties are up to? Are they "accreditors" as the author of this article claims, or promoters of false grades? How would they claim of higher moral ground for themselves, if their grades, in most cases, are so funny? Moreover, if grades don't reflect preparation of students, what message are the faculties transmitting to potential employers or the society at large?
About a decade ago, I was asked to teach a new course in statistical science for 30 medical students interested in becoming clinical researchers. I was excited.
In lively class sessions, we discussed real/realistic studies that exemplified the statistical thinking, methods, and software at hand. I did not assign mundane "textbook" exercises or give tests. Instead, students created studies from their own areas of interest. They could get help from any source, including each other. Then they presented their projects in small seminar sessions in which I probed the student's understanding, gave “tough love” feedback, and finally scored the project as “passing” or “more work needed.” I used this format for 30 years to force student-professor interaction and thicken the young researcher’s skin. It induces learning that sticks.
Unfortunately, the medical school required that students receive letter grades. So, as was explained throughout the course, B’s went to those who completed the core set of projects and A’s to those who completed some “optional” work I had assigned. (A “C” was equivalent to “F.”) As I expected, about 3/4 earned A’s, the rest B’s.
A few days later, the Dean of Medicine phoned. “Why did you give so many B’s?” he asked. I explained the grading scheme. “But these students should never get B’s. You need to change those grades,” he ordered. For various reasons, I simply acquiesced.
Then I returned to teaching only courses in the graduate school. Nuf said.
In lively class sessions, we discussed real/realistic studies that exemplified the statistical thinking, methods, and software at hand. I did not assign mundane "textbook" exercises or give tests. Instead, students created studies from their own areas of interest. They could get help from any source, including each other. Then they presented their projects in small seminar sessions in which I probed the student's understanding, gave “tough love” feedback, and finally scored the project as “passing” or “more work needed.” I used this format for 30 years to force student-professor interaction and thicken the young researcher’s skin. It induces learning that sticks.
Unfortunately, the medical school required that students receive letter grades. So, as was explained throughout the course, B’s went to those who completed the core set of projects and A’s to those who completed some “optional” work I had assigned. (A “C” was equivalent to “F.”) As I expected, about 3/4 earned A’s, the rest B’s.
A few days later, the Dean of Medicine phoned. “Why did you give so many B’s?” he asked. I explained the grading scheme. “But these students should never get B’s. You need to change those grades,” he ordered. For various reasons, I simply acquiesced.
Then I returned to teaching only courses in the graduate school. Nuf said.
4
If a professor teaches in such a way that s/he can be replaced by a computer, then s/he OUGHT to be replaced by a computer.
This essay contains a hodgepodge of statistics, personal stories, and interviews, without doubt selected by the author to back up a preexisting opinion. As such it is necessarily unconvincing.
But I can tell you one thing: I am not frightened of being replaced by a computer because I teach in a way that cannot be replaced by a computer.
This essay contains a hodgepodge of statistics, personal stories, and interviews, without doubt selected by the author to back up a preexisting opinion. As such it is necessarily unconvincing.
But I can tell you one thing: I am not frightened of being replaced by a computer because I teach in a way that cannot be replaced by a computer.
Although I never viewed any of my professors as moral authorities, I did spend hours conversing with them during office hours and off campus. I learned by picking their brains. I wanted to know how to think about a topic or how to approach a question. Usually a confusion could be cleared up through conversation that would never have been resolved by my merely rereading a passage multiple times.
This was the late 70s-early 80s when one could still sit in an office and smoke a cigarette with a professor, bad as that sounds today!
This was the late 70s-early 80s when one could still sit in an office and smoke a cigarette with a professor, bad as that sounds today!
1
The first word that jumps to mind is "adjuncts." Do we teach students not to expect human mentoring when we stack our colleges and universities with the day laborers of academe? Second, we look at the past through rose tinted lens. I do remember a time when nobody criticized a prof and you certainly didn't blame him or her for your grade, but I never remember a time when eager young Socrates wannabees were more than a minority. In my memory, while my private liberal arts college was well endowed, my experiences at large public universities include facing up to low budgets, no money, and students with little choice but to get practical degrees as quickly as possible. It has never been great, but what I see now are students deeply yearning, at least some students, for more. Not more money or more amenities, but actual knowledge. And that's a good sign.
2
What's sad is that many adjuncts are more committed than regular faculty. They often have been working in the field for many years and enjoy teaching. Most full time faculty are researchers who must get grants and are often far removed from the "real world." Students mostly get in their way.
Adjuncts should not be looked on as "less than" even if their pay is "less than." They are often vlaue added for the students.
Adjuncts should not be looked on as "less than" even if their pay is "less than." They are often vlaue added for the students.
2
I'm an adjunct English instructor at a community college, about the same age Prof. Bauerlein, and I disagree with him.
1. In 1967 students were more interested in developing a meaningful philosophy of life than being well off financially. The economic climate has changed. Students in 1967 were more assured of a comfortable middle class life than they are now. It makes sense that their goals are financial. This does not reflect a disinterested student but a financial reality.
2. Many of my students are deeply engaged. I don't require that they see me twice/week, but I am available constantly, day or night, by email. How does is this inherently bad? It's wonderful. My students email while working on papers, and I answer promptly. This helps me, too, to know their processes and their levels of dedication to the assignments. I know, by the email exchanges, how much work and thought has gone into their papers. It helps me to understand them on multiple levels in a way that I think is superior to the authors required office time during which he picks apart misplaced modifiers. It is the deep, analytic process at work, the meaningful philosophy Prof. Bauerlein is lamenting having lost.
3. I'd like to see the author not speak for all of us. I teach ("challenge") my students to think critically and independently, and they respond well. I respect them, and I am interested in them. I hear from them often, both during and after their semesters with me.
1. In 1967 students were more interested in developing a meaningful philosophy of life than being well off financially. The economic climate has changed. Students in 1967 were more assured of a comfortable middle class life than they are now. It makes sense that their goals are financial. This does not reflect a disinterested student but a financial reality.
2. Many of my students are deeply engaged. I don't require that they see me twice/week, but I am available constantly, day or night, by email. How does is this inherently bad? It's wonderful. My students email while working on papers, and I answer promptly. This helps me, too, to know their processes and their levels of dedication to the assignments. I know, by the email exchanges, how much work and thought has gone into their papers. It helps me to understand them on multiple levels in a way that I think is superior to the authors required office time during which he picks apart misplaced modifiers. It is the deep, analytic process at work, the meaningful philosophy Prof. Bauerlein is lamenting having lost.
3. I'd like to see the author not speak for all of us. I teach ("challenge") my students to think critically and independently, and they respond well. I respect them, and I am interested in them. I hear from them often, both during and after their semesters with me.
1
Our colleges are nothing more than machines, and the "adjuncting" of America is to blame. I taught briefly as an adjunct at a so-called non-profit private college in Westchester County, NY. I did not have an office. I was not part of a community of scholars. I had to vacate my classroom within seconds so the next adjunct could start his class. I didn't even have five minutes to talk to the students. I taught a canned curriculum from the textbook publisher.
The campus was an intellectual desert filled with kids up to their ears in debt, or commuters working two jobs. Bulletin boards were filled only with approved advertisements from test prep companies and the military. One day I posted a flyer for a local rally in favor of wildlife and it was taken down within minutes. Truly eerie that Big Brother was monitoring a lone bulletin board in a stairwell.
While they could not pay me more than $2k per class, they were building a multimillion dollar expansion outside of my classroom window, complete with bus service to the mall, retail stores, and a gym. The important things.
We get what we pay for, and we are paying for bloated, capitalist machines. It was hard to tolerate the financial, intellectual, and moral poverty of it all. Greed is mentoring the next generation.
The campus was an intellectual desert filled with kids up to their ears in debt, or commuters working two jobs. Bulletin boards were filled only with approved advertisements from test prep companies and the military. One day I posted a flyer for a local rally in favor of wildlife and it was taken down within minutes. Truly eerie that Big Brother was monitoring a lone bulletin board in a stairwell.
While they could not pay me more than $2k per class, they were building a multimillion dollar expansion outside of my classroom window, complete with bus service to the mall, retail stores, and a gym. The important things.
We get what we pay for, and we are paying for bloated, capitalist machines. It was hard to tolerate the financial, intellectual, and moral poverty of it all. Greed is mentoring the next generation.
6
I have been a professor at a large university for over 20 years. When I think back to my undergrad days I rarely spoke with any of my professors, so I disagree that we communicate less with students today than in the past. Indeed, I think there is a lot more communication, which is more effective, via email. Mine is on 24/7 and I usually answer quickly and as precisely as I can. What might have declined is face to face talks, but only with undergrads. With grad students this can be daily, esp if you run a laboratory with ongoing research projects.
I do agree with the writer on 2 points, and that is the fact more students receive A's and the demise of formal titles of Dr or Professor. First, in terms of my classes students do work at a very high level and do deserve the A's they receive. Second, there has been a move to a more casual campus the past few years, driven largely by administrators. Many do not have PhD's, nor do they publish or carry out research, so they feel these titles are not deserved in terms of themselves. But they have undue influence over how our universities are run and promote the use of casual campus titles. I am not sure this is a good idea, as the 10 plus years of dedicated study and research and dedicated scholarship that a person needs to put in to receive a high level PhD is not acknowledged.
I do agree with the writer on 2 points, and that is the fact more students receive A's and the demise of formal titles of Dr or Professor. First, in terms of my classes students do work at a very high level and do deserve the A's they receive. Second, there has been a move to a more casual campus the past few years, driven largely by administrators. Many do not have PhD's, nor do they publish or carry out research, so they feel these titles are not deserved in terms of themselves. But they have undue influence over how our universities are run and promote the use of casual campus titles. I am not sure this is a good idea, as the 10 plus years of dedicated study and research and dedicated scholarship that a person needs to put in to receive a high level PhD is not acknowledged.
"...When college is more about career than ideas, when paycheck matters more than wisdom..." It's good to see that some idealism still exists at professorial level, but for heaven's sake, universities were set up in the English-speaking world to do two major things: to train men for the professions--doctors, teachers, government and other administrators. Engineers etc. came later, but were part of the vocational mix. (Jonathan Swift attended Trinity, Dublin, a college set up by Liz I to train pastors.)
The second major aim was to provide some social polish and a semblance of culture to the landed-class in waiting. Young "squireens" had to find some place to sow their wild oats and learn a foreign phrase of two before going on the grand tour. Then, back to real life, to marriage, and the burden the country estate.
In the modern environment, all that has changed is the range of businesses serviced and the class of the students equipped--oh, and the gender of the students. When professors realizes these origins of their institutes, they can craft and dispense their challenging pearls of wisdom with care. First impressions--one chance,
The second major aim was to provide some social polish and a semblance of culture to the landed-class in waiting. Young "squireens" had to find some place to sow their wild oats and learn a foreign phrase of two before going on the grand tour. Then, back to real life, to marriage, and the burden the country estate.
In the modern environment, all that has changed is the range of businesses serviced and the class of the students equipped--oh, and the gender of the students. When professors realizes these origins of their institutes, they can craft and dispense their challenging pearls of wisdom with care. First impressions--one chance,
1
Higher education is an usual business where the average customer tries very hard to get as little as possible for their money.
100
Or students are overjoyed if a professor cancels a class or stops early. WOuld the students be happy if a rock concernt were cancelled or let out early?
I graduated from college in l962. All of us, whether A students or C students had confidence that we could find jobs and do well in life. Money was important but not our top concern. We all felt we could cope with whatever life offered. We had confidence that opportunities would open for us.
That's not true anymore. Students understand that true opportunity is rare, that good jobs are rare, that benefits are even more rare, and that pensions are nonexistent. In my day we didn't have to amass a lot of money because we assumed we would have pensions. Health insurance was mostly non-profit and mostly provided by employers. Employment with a large company was thought to be a lifetime commitment by both employer and employee.
Today's students are concentrated on money because our financial system has rigged the game against all but those who already have lots of money and/or connections. Here in Maine a graduate of a wonderful top college is working at a remainder store.
That's not true anymore. Students understand that true opportunity is rare, that good jobs are rare, that benefits are even more rare, and that pensions are nonexistent. In my day we didn't have to amass a lot of money because we assumed we would have pensions. Health insurance was mostly non-profit and mostly provided by employers. Employment with a large company was thought to be a lifetime commitment by both employer and employee.
Today's students are concentrated on money because our financial system has rigged the game against all but those who already have lots of money and/or connections. Here in Maine a graduate of a wonderful top college is working at a remainder store.
1
I attended college almost 20 years ago and the trend of assembly-line ("publish or parish" and "manufacture" as many kids with a diploma as possible) education, academia-as-a-business mentality was already well in place. Starting out as a physics major at University of Texas, I became extremely demoralized as the year went on- I had no contact with most of my professors because my introductory classes were simply too big to allow for it. Lucky for me, I had to take some humanity courses and one of them happened to be a philosophy course.
This is when I started making contact with my professors. Not only were the classes smaller because philosophy is not a path to extreme riches, but the discipline itself required a deep personal and very human understanding between the student and the teacher. I changed my major to philosophy at this point because this type mentorship felt important to me at that stage in my life.
I don't understand how youth today can truly mature properly without forming deep relationships with adults outside of their immediate family in a university or internship setting during early adulthood. This seems to be an important right of passage in human development. I guess such an issue would not concern the business class running our country and our universities because to them people are simply products and consumers after all.
This is when I started making contact with my professors. Not only were the classes smaller because philosophy is not a path to extreme riches, but the discipline itself required a deep personal and very human understanding between the student and the teacher. I changed my major to philosophy at this point because this type mentorship felt important to me at that stage in my life.
I don't understand how youth today can truly mature properly without forming deep relationships with adults outside of their immediate family in a university or internship setting during early adulthood. This seems to be an important right of passage in human development. I guess such an issue would not concern the business class running our country and our universities because to them people are simply products and consumers after all.
1
At a loss for words--the agenda is just too burning as well as profound. If I had a Plato over, teaching a class or two, why would I need all those widgets? That's what a friend of mine pointed out when dwelling on all this tech leverage. It remains to be seen if a genius can be raised without ever being exposed to genius. In a sense, whoever has a creative faculty, might see it evolve amidst poor professors standing in their way to an even higher extent compared to what it could have been when exposed to brilliant, ready-made solutions only. The big question, though, is, Do we really need genius? The whole of market economy builds upon the unthinking lay masses--and a sect of tech sages claiming little voting power. So human capital ends up increasingly commodified as life grows ever more complex--so we now need more skills to press them buttons than we do to score high on our tests. And I've barely scratched the surface.
To me the crux of Dr. Bauerlein's article is exactly the difference between an excellent education and a poor education. Of course, it is a continuum. As I watched my children's friends attend West Virginia University (my alma mater), contact with professors was essentially nonexistent. They floated around in peer groups and partied and became part of the 25% retention rate.
My son attended Brown University for a degree in Biology. There the situation was a only bit better. However, having a professor to work with on a daily/weekly basis was a fight. What drove him was the incredibly high expectations and requirements. He had no choice but to become more organized. He met the challenge. At the end of his sophomore year an Emeritus professor studying wasps took my son under his wing. He was a wonderful individual with whom my son got to spend summers in Maine. In the end my son finished his honors thesis but hated bugs.
My daughter attended Kenyon College. The teaching was the primary activity of the professors. The first day of being at the college she went to her advisor's house for tea. Over the next four years she work directly with 4 PhDs. She wrote and presented papers with them. She was published with another in a text book. Two of them had a deep influence on her for which I'm eternally grateful. She blossomed not just morally but in many ways. She left there really motivated and quickly received her doctorate. At its best this is how education was meant to be.
My son attended Brown University for a degree in Biology. There the situation was a only bit better. However, having a professor to work with on a daily/weekly basis was a fight. What drove him was the incredibly high expectations and requirements. He had no choice but to become more organized. He met the challenge. At the end of his sophomore year an Emeritus professor studying wasps took my son under his wing. He was a wonderful individual with whom my son got to spend summers in Maine. In the end my son finished his honors thesis but hated bugs.
My daughter attended Kenyon College. The teaching was the primary activity of the professors. The first day of being at the college she went to her advisor's house for tea. Over the next four years she work directly with 4 PhDs. She wrote and presented papers with them. She was published with another in a text book. Two of them had a deep influence on her for which I'm eternally grateful. She blossomed not just morally but in many ways. She left there really motivated and quickly received her doctorate. At its best this is how education was meant to be.
3
The author assumes that all of those students were waiting eagerly to discuss the meaning of life. But how many of them were there to talk about more mundane things - things that nowadays can be dealt with over email? I get a lot of emails from students, but if it were 1980 they would have to physically come see me to ask all of their questions.
Second, the full vs empty hallways and open vs closed doors is certainly a powerful image, but the reality is that professors have office hours. I don't know - maybe professors had more office hours in other times. But today it's rare to see all of the professors on a given floor holding OH at the exact same time - a coincidence that would create the teeming hallways situation. However, I have to say that I will still see students lined up outside a given prof's office during her/his OH.
Second, the full vs empty hallways and open vs closed doors is certainly a powerful image, but the reality is that professors have office hours. I don't know - maybe professors had more office hours in other times. But today it's rare to see all of the professors on a given floor holding OH at the exact same time - a coincidence that would create the teeming hallways situation. However, I have to say that I will still see students lined up outside a given prof's office during her/his OH.
1
I note that other community college teachers commenting here disagree with much of this article. Me too.
I teach engineering classes in a community college and my most common grade sure isn't "A". Most of the faculty members of my (Science/Engineering) division are earnest, serious and engaged. The majority of my students are similarly motivated.
My classes are typically 15 to 20 students and I make a point to talk to all of them individually on a regular basis. I know most of them by name and they know who I am too. This would be the "norm" for most of my colleagues too.
"Extra curricular" activities for my students include FIRST Robotics and the Society of Automotive Engineers competitions. These are motivating and fun but also with great educational value.
We don't "do" tailgate parties and there is no "party dorm" where I work.
Community colleges are a not panacea for problems in higher education but they have a number of distinct benefits over 4-year schools:
1-Our classes are typically much smaller.
2-0ur 1st through 4th semester classes are taught by regular, experienced people and not underpaid graduate students with little or no experience.
3.Many of our students work AND at least partly pay for their own education, causing them to really value the effort and cost of going to college.
I teach engineering classes in a community college and my most common grade sure isn't "A". Most of the faculty members of my (Science/Engineering) division are earnest, serious and engaged. The majority of my students are similarly motivated.
My classes are typically 15 to 20 students and I make a point to talk to all of them individually on a regular basis. I know most of them by name and they know who I am too. This would be the "norm" for most of my colleagues too.
"Extra curricular" activities for my students include FIRST Robotics and the Society of Automotive Engineers competitions. These are motivating and fun but also with great educational value.
We don't "do" tailgate parties and there is no "party dorm" where I work.
Community colleges are a not panacea for problems in higher education but they have a number of distinct benefits over 4-year schools:
1-Our classes are typically much smaller.
2-0ur 1st through 4th semester classes are taught by regular, experienced people and not underpaid graduate students with little or no experience.
3.Many of our students work AND at least partly pay for their own education, causing them to really value the effort and cost of going to college.
1
professor bauerlein's habit of previewing students' essays is not the norm, too few others require outlines and/or drafts which are parsed before the final paper is written, a process that not only improves the quality of the writing but frames a process of development that is a valuable tool across the curriculum....the problem for many faculty and students is the heavy lifting, the rigor (remember that?) of concerted effort, diligence, initiative, etc, the demonstration of which are requisite for the A or "outstanding" grade.
too much of the student/faculty exchange these days is driven by the need for high marks on the student evaluations that figure in retention, promotion and tenure decision...popularity contest is not a reach, even if a syllabus includes specific language regarding attendance, preparation, presentation, etc., the reaction to middle or low grades almost always includes a call from one of the deanery, who hint at the possibility of reconsideration and chafe at the pushback of citation from the college catalog describing the grading system.
one useful reply is to offer the dean the option of requesting the student's permission to review the record, including essays and exams, and, if granted, hand the file to the dean for a "second opinion."
too much of the student/faculty exchange these days is driven by the need for high marks on the student evaluations that figure in retention, promotion and tenure decision...popularity contest is not a reach, even if a syllabus includes specific language regarding attendance, preparation, presentation, etc., the reaction to middle or low grades almost always includes a call from one of the deanery, who hint at the possibility of reconsideration and chafe at the pushback of citation from the college catalog describing the grading system.
one useful reply is to offer the dean the option of requesting the student's permission to review the record, including essays and exams, and, if granted, hand the file to the dean for a "second opinion."
1
"The world is passing through troublous times. The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all restraint. They talk as if they knew everything, and what passes for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for the girls, they are forward, immodest and unladylike in speech, behavior and dress."
-spoken by Peter the Hermit 741 years ago
-spoken by Peter the Hermit 741 years ago
1
With due respect to Prof. Bauerlein's intent, this is a great example to show to students of the problems of giving a mushy diagnosis of a problem, failing to look at the structural causes for it, and blaming the intermediary. WHY do students come to college with more interest in making money than contemplating meaning? WHY do professors feel pressure to give out A's, maximize research and spend relatively little time with mandatory office hours? Hmmm.... could the grip of neoliberalism on US society, the narrow metrics for evaluating faculty put in place through the neo-corporate governance at today's universities, the bifurcation of faculty into research-producing and teaching-overloaded halves (both overworked), and the anti-inellectual strain of American politics/media have to do with the problem? Nah; let's make it about how we should just put more time into grading student writing, because our overworking more than we already do is going to change the structural problems that make it hard for us to be considered a "moral authority" (no hubris there). Most professors I know love teaching, try to inspire students, and "want" time with students as much as Bauerlein. Perhaps we could make headway against the anti-rational, hyper-capitalist expectations students absorb from the culture around them if time we spent with them didn't get us punished in our advancement, relegated to second-tier status, or forced to undermine any semblance of work-life balance.
5
In Brazil we experience exactly the same thing. Great article, thanks.
2
I used to visit professors after class quite frequently in order to bargain for a higher grade on returned assignments. After graduation I went to Wall St. and made millions.
1
All that bargaining, huh?
I see that you missed the point of his essay; blinded, perhaps, by the dollar sign cataracts covering your eyes?
Our country's obsession with standardization reinforces the notion that teachers and professors are accreditors and not mentors. When we place a higher value on test scores than on interpersonal relationships between teachers and students we set the stage for automated instruction to replace in-the-flesh teaching and learning. When we advocate measuring the value of a college degree by the earnings of graduates and/or workforce preparedness we replace idealism with utility. The good news for those who want to make colleges profit centers who serve customers is that these trends make operating a college more efficient. You can devise computerized curricula that guide students toward lucrative jobs and develop computerized assessments that determine if the students meet the entry standards for those jobs. When that's completed you can eliminate those pesky professors who want decent wages and benefits and assurance of long term employment and put crazy ideas in student's heads... ideas like critical thinking, for example.
2
Two points. First, Bauerlein forgets to mention that almost all professors are not trained as future classroom teachers. They are trained intensely as future research and publishing scholars. They are not aware of the latest research on learning which demands they abandon the centuries-long myths that teaching is talking and learning is note-taking and grade-getting. Second, "It hasn't always been this way." In what universe is Bauerlein living? So much moaning and groaning. So much complaining. So much condemnation. So much accusation. So much self-pitying. So much tearing of clothes. So many ashes covering mortarboards. So much exchange of academic robes for sackcloth. So many going around in barefeet.
I have a simple question. Where and when was this golden age when students were paragons of intellectual and moral virtue? When was this golden age when professors were divinely perfect, when they were paragons of intellectual and moral virtue, above the quest for position and prestige and renown and …..? It must have been long, long, long time ago, before my seventy-four years on earth, because it wasn’t on my watch either as a k-12 schoolboy, as an undergraduate, as a graduate, or during my forty-six years as a faculty member.
I have a simple question. Where and when was this golden age when students were paragons of intellectual and moral virtue? When was this golden age when professors were divinely perfect, when they were paragons of intellectual and moral virtue, above the quest for position and prestige and renown and …..? It must have been long, long, long time ago, before my seventy-four years on earth, because it wasn’t on my watch either as a k-12 schoolboy, as an undergraduate, as a graduate, or during my forty-six years as a faculty member.
If you teach at a small school, you can retain rigor and spend time with students. They will respect you for it. What's the point of 150-student classes? That's the salient question.
I do give out too many As, but Bs are common, Cs occasional, and Ds and Fs happen for the truly lazy.
I do give out too many As, but Bs are common, Cs occasional, and Ds and Fs happen for the truly lazy.
I was an English major, over 30 years ago, at an upstate SUNY college. I had no idea what I would do career-wise at that time, but I knew I liked to write. And my junior-year grammar course was one of the best classes I ever took. The lessons of that class have remained with me and helped me not only professionally, but personally as well.
About ten years ago, I decided to look up my grammar professor, who was around 60 at the time of the class I took. I found him in a very rural upstate town and called him on the phone. His wife answered, and then put him on the phone after I'd identified myself. I proceeded to tell him that, while I'm sure he wouldn't remember me, he had had a profound and meaningful impact on my life via his teaching in thwt rammer class. I went into greater detail about how I'd become acutely focused on everything I wrote and spoke over the years, with a sharp eye on correct grammar. His lessons , I told him, were timeless.
He was floored (perhaps that I'd cared to call, had remembered him, or maybe that I was simply able to find him). And the most heartwarming moment came as we were saying goodbye and hanging up. I kept the phone to my ear, and as he slowly hung up, I could hear him begin to tell his wife what the call was all about. There was more than a hint of joy in his voice. And then the phone went dead as the call ended.
Robert Wheeler, wherever you are, you were wonderful. Thank you.
About ten years ago, I decided to look up my grammar professor, who was around 60 at the time of the class I took. I found him in a very rural upstate town and called him on the phone. His wife answered, and then put him on the phone after I'd identified myself. I proceeded to tell him that, while I'm sure he wouldn't remember me, he had had a profound and meaningful impact on my life via his teaching in thwt rammer class. I went into greater detail about how I'd become acutely focused on everything I wrote and spoke over the years, with a sharp eye on correct grammar. His lessons , I told him, were timeless.
He was floored (perhaps that I'd cared to call, had remembered him, or maybe that I was simply able to find him). And the most heartwarming moment came as we were saying goodbye and hanging up. I kept the phone to my ear, and as he slowly hung up, I could hear him begin to tell his wife what the call was all about. There was more than a hint of joy in his voice. And then the phone went dead as the call ended.
Robert Wheeler, wherever you are, you were wonderful. Thank you.
306
It surely seems that the the core angst over nearly any university issue--and it covers a broad range of them from administration to tenure to tuition to job placement and more--resides in the humanities, and undergraduate humanities at that.
Students at music conservatories, those in engineering, or foreign languages; in natural or physical sciences, or in technical fields such as medicine, aviation or business; in structured social science fields such as economics or anthropology for example, or students who are primarily focused on athletics or graduate students from masters through PhD--that is, all those students who know what they want-- don't seem to have the same problems. They don't obsess about grades, they obsess about their own performance. And one-on-one interaction with faculty and staff defines their relationship with the institution.
It appears that this vast ocean of "undecideds," of unstructured, unfocused, undisciplined students that are not attempting to develop a specific skill, have the most problems and are the source of most of them.
As for the university as an institution, it is a medieval-era one and clearly cries out for modernization. For example, compressing the BA/BS to no more than three years (cf Weslyan); an MBA or JD in less than two, and for the love of God, what are PhD students doing taking taught classes and spending 4-7 years (or more) on campus, then becoming "post-docs" for another year or two?
Students at music conservatories, those in engineering, or foreign languages; in natural or physical sciences, or in technical fields such as medicine, aviation or business; in structured social science fields such as economics or anthropology for example, or students who are primarily focused on athletics or graduate students from masters through PhD--that is, all those students who know what they want-- don't seem to have the same problems. They don't obsess about grades, they obsess about their own performance. And one-on-one interaction with faculty and staff defines their relationship with the institution.
It appears that this vast ocean of "undecideds," of unstructured, unfocused, undisciplined students that are not attempting to develop a specific skill, have the most problems and are the source of most of them.
As for the university as an institution, it is a medieval-era one and clearly cries out for modernization. For example, compressing the BA/BS to no more than three years (cf Weslyan); an MBA or JD in less than two, and for the love of God, what are PhD students doing taking taught classes and spending 4-7 years (or more) on campus, then becoming "post-docs" for another year or two?
1
>
Such is the price of conformity and the icy water of bourgeois individualism.
Such is the price of conformity and the icy water of bourgeois individualism.
2
Prof. Bauerlein would do well to acknowledge the economic reality which has created the environment he describes. The "professor" whose passing he laments, the one with the leisure time to engage with students outside of the classroom, no longer exists. With estimates pegging the number of courses in US colleges today taught by adjuncts and part-timers at about 70% and up, today's "professor" is more likely a lowly-paid at-will employee, rushing from campus to campus, trying to string together enough courses per semester to earn a living just at the poverty line. He or she hands out A's regularly because A) even one complaint from a student can mean never being asked to teach for that college again, and A) this individual is so pressed for time that giving out A's is the most efficient thing to do because, the lower the assignment grade, the more work and corrections that need to be done to justify it. Meanwhile, that tiny percentage of tenured faculty left in America can't be there for students outside of the classroom as much as they once were because they have become overwhelmed with the administrative workload that used to be distributed across a wider margin of full-time faculty, but now falls solely to their shrinking numbers. Theirs is a life in which classes and students are increasingly seen as interruptions of their constant committee meetings. Far from being moral authorities, professors today are demoralized by their working conditions.
8
I returned to get my 4 year degree after being away for 10 years and at that time I could see the beginnings of what he is talking about. So many of my classmates never spoke to the professor outside of class (except to complain about a grade, of course).
How is there not a single mention of research in this piece? Faculty members are also under far greater pressure to produce research publishable in top-tier academic journals or presses than they were in the good ol' days of the 1960s.
There are more students attending college than ever before, encouraging administrators to pass much of the instructional work so rightly lionized in this essay on to contingent adjunct faculty who are usually under-paid and over-stressed about the prospects of getting another semester's worth of work from their current institution. It's difficult to cultivate the kind of student-mentor relationship Bauerlein advocates when both student and would-be mentor know they'll never see each other again in three months.
And before everyone laments the university's perpetuation of "coddling the younger generation" as opposed to giving them the rod they so loved in their own youth, consider why the "A" is so common now: a junior faculty member's career is, to a startling degree, contingent upon the student evaluations that this newspaper has previously criticized. It is an imperfect metric of instructional performance that punishes rigorous criticism and rewards encouragement. If you want to fight grade inflation, start by protecting the regulator (professor) from this kind of capture.
These aren't vague cultural issues floating in the ether -- a lazy malaise consuming teachers and students. They're rational responses to market signals.
There are more students attending college than ever before, encouraging administrators to pass much of the instructional work so rightly lionized in this essay on to contingent adjunct faculty who are usually under-paid and over-stressed about the prospects of getting another semester's worth of work from their current institution. It's difficult to cultivate the kind of student-mentor relationship Bauerlein advocates when both student and would-be mentor know they'll never see each other again in three months.
And before everyone laments the university's perpetuation of "coddling the younger generation" as opposed to giving them the rod they so loved in their own youth, consider why the "A" is so common now: a junior faculty member's career is, to a startling degree, contingent upon the student evaluations that this newspaper has previously criticized. It is an imperfect metric of instructional performance that punishes rigorous criticism and rewards encouragement. If you want to fight grade inflation, start by protecting the regulator (professor) from this kind of capture.
These aren't vague cultural issues floating in the ether -- a lazy malaise consuming teachers and students. They're rational responses to market signals.
12
A couple of quick points: Professors "can be" arbitrary and capricious. Some try to seduce their students and change grades. Students are usually required to purchase the one book they ever wrote, content assigned for their classes, horribly overpriced.
They professors wax eloquently about their vision of X, which is usually the same as every othe professor that year, or critical theory. They test on reviewable material, so you should never have taken notes on their pet peeves.
The grades they do hand out depend not on merit but on how objectively the matter can be reviewed. If squishy, a squishy mark. If there is no way out, they have to give you an A, such as a science subject.
(Confession. I got a -C in an an undergrad poetry course, and that is quite simply because the prof. was trying to flirt with this knockout blonde, who looked my way at the wrong time in response to one of his questions).
I'll never forget it. Almost messed up my law school entry. Highly traumatized as we speak. PTSD, shaking all night. (I did date her, though. Prof. had good instinct. Too overweight).
They professors wax eloquently about their vision of X, which is usually the same as every othe professor that year, or critical theory. They test on reviewable material, so you should never have taken notes on their pet peeves.
The grades they do hand out depend not on merit but on how objectively the matter can be reviewed. If squishy, a squishy mark. If there is no way out, they have to give you an A, such as a science subject.
(Confession. I got a -C in an an undergrad poetry course, and that is quite simply because the prof. was trying to flirt with this knockout blonde, who looked my way at the wrong time in response to one of his questions).
I'll never forget it. Almost messed up my law school entry. Highly traumatized as we speak. PTSD, shaking all night. (I did date her, though. Prof. had good instinct. Too overweight).
I am an adjunct in an online graduate program. Despite enjoying the work in many ways I have been sad to realize that informal contact has been architected out of the program. There literally is no way to engage or discuss outside of email, which students typically only use when something in the course software isn't working, or when they want an extension.
Things may be bad in face-to-face teaching, but they are worse online, and I haven't heard a single complaint (from faculty or students).
Things may be bad in face-to-face teaching, but they are worse online, and I haven't heard a single complaint (from faculty or students).
3
Perhaps students who take classes online want the simlest experience possible. As do administrators. Pay the tuition, get the grade, move on?
1
I mean "simplest"
There are professors and then there are professors. I had the misfortune to attend a well known premed, prelaw mill in Lancaster PA. I visited my calc prof once during scheduled office hours to ask a question:
"Get out of my office; I earn $XX per year salary and 3 times that from royalties. I do not need (i.e., want) students".
A Philosophy 101 prof at the same "school" told a student colleague "Sit down and shut up; I'm the professor, you're not".
That prof never saw my face again as I had zero to learn by sitting in his course. I had no option but to sit in calc classes. I ended up transferring to another place, did quite well and remember most of the profs there with affection and respect. Not so the first place.
"Get out of my office; I earn $XX per year salary and 3 times that from royalties. I do not need (i.e., want) students".
A Philosophy 101 prof at the same "school" told a student colleague "Sit down and shut up; I'm the professor, you're not".
That prof never saw my face again as I had zero to learn by sitting in his course. I had no option but to sit in calc classes. I ended up transferring to another place, did quite well and remember most of the profs there with affection and respect. Not so the first place.
For the past thirty years every American kid is told from the first second that he or she pops out of the womb that everything they do is perfect, that they are awesome(!!) and that they don't need to listen to, or have anything to learn from, anyone else but themselves. Their disdain for professors and their demands for an "A" are just another manifestation of this.
1
College students today are less wealthy than long ago, They are paying their own way and working more hours, incurring more loans and requiring more years to earn their degrees. This means they have less free time on their hands. And so they can't engage their professors out of class. But this doesn't mean that today's students are less intellectually motivated. College professors are a smart and thoughtful lot, among the best minds any of us ever encounter. If they are capable and motivated teachers, students will be engaged and will get a quality education. The wealthier students of the past had more free time, but they weren't any smarter or more motivated. Democratization of education gives professors the opportunity to touch more and more diverse minds. And the skilled teachers among them will have a greater impact than ever.
2
Isn't the point of professors to avoid students, sit in the office, drink coffee and write something that nobody reads?
3
Sadly what we have today is 'job training', not education. With that passion for learning has all but disappeared. When I went to college most of my classes had no more then twenty students and interaction with the teaching staff was fierce, in a very kindly and passionate way. Few if any professors were doing research. The learning process was geared to thinking, that is understanding and using the knowledge you gained. Cost is now outrageous, being almost a thousand percent higher then what I paid, adjusted for inflation. I left school with no debt, my parents, who were lower middle class, could afford to pay out of pocket. Today I do some on line courses. If anything it has taught me how I miss the 'real thing', being in a class room with a small group of people, and a great teacher. This generation of students does not know what they are missing.
1
I supervise postdoctoral psychologists in writing reports of psychological testing they do. We go through these reports line by line, word by word. I emphasize that they must write about unique people living unique lives, not just about test data or so-called "facts" of psychological theory or practice. As we do this editing -- individually and in group supervision -- I can see them watch and clarify their thinking habits and their thinking style. And they are loving it, as this clarifies what sort of psychologists they really want to be.
1
A more wrongheaded, self-congratulatory essay could not be written. If you want students to engage, if you want them to focus on meaning and not dollars, professors should start holding down the price of admission to their noble halls. When students have to plunk down $200,000 to get a degree at the better schools, or simply $50,000 at the more affordable state schools, there is every reason they should be keen to their financial prospects, and who has time to develop relationships instead of "networking"? By the time they reach university, today's students have already internalized the aggressively arriviste values of their society, of which most professors themselves are unconscious complacent embodiments, in their charming earnest way. Changing that ethos will take much more than required office hours. Start laying your ax to the commercial nature of American society itself by offering free university. Emory currently charges $44,000 a year for your office hours. When you get that number to $0, come back and writer another essay about how lousy your students are. My students in France currently pay 402 euros (or $451) for the year, and I assure you, they know they are students and not customers.
5
Exactly. In the US more mentoring occurs in the former-students' first jobs than ever occurred in their colleges. And to be an effective mentor, and to immediately appeal to their budding ideas about society and culture and their role in shaping the future, one should have a command not only of what the employee needs to do, but also of technology, history, the Constitution, poetry, economics, demographics, geography as well as a good idea of how the business must change to prepare for the future.
free University huh? Who's going to pay the bills? Professors have little to do with how much tuition is charged, that's Administration.
2
The truth is that learning has disappeared from the goals of college “education” purchasers and providers. Is it any wonder that “finding meaning and making money have traded places”? Today’s students are constantly reminded of the absolute necessity of a college degree, but not of the need for actual learning. In 1967, college was a privilege: students had to demonstrate a high level of academic achievement. Today, there’s a program for anyone wanting a degree, no matter how ill-prepared or incapable.
I returned to school after 30+ years, and have seen how universities have lowered their academic standards, benefiting underachievers. In each of several upper-level online courses I've taken, 15% of students were functionally illiterate, their grasp of English grammar and punctuation so tenuous that effective participation in class discussions was impossible. An additional 30% produced D-level work. In 1967, these students would have failed high school. But, in 2015, they are gaining admittance to universities, passed in class after class, accruing enough credits to graduate. Who does it help when universities award degrees to students who cannot read or write, make decisions, or solve simple problems?
There’s a growing assumption that the very act of awarding a university degree to a substandard student somehow confers learning itself. Unfortunately, it is fostered by the universities themselves, by our political leaders, and by education oversight agencies
I returned to school after 30+ years, and have seen how universities have lowered their academic standards, benefiting underachievers. In each of several upper-level online courses I've taken, 15% of students were functionally illiterate, their grasp of English grammar and punctuation so tenuous that effective participation in class discussions was impossible. An additional 30% produced D-level work. In 1967, these students would have failed high school. But, in 2015, they are gaining admittance to universities, passed in class after class, accruing enough credits to graduate. Who does it help when universities award degrees to students who cannot read or write, make decisions, or solve simple problems?
There’s a growing assumption that the very act of awarding a university degree to a substandard student somehow confers learning itself. Unfortunately, it is fostered by the universities themselves, by our political leaders, and by education oversight agencies
2
Yes there is a difference between intellectual experience, education, training, learning. memorizing for a test, and filling a seat. At each school, the tuition is the same, the diploma is the same, but the "value" and the real outcme is quite different.
1
A younger family member applied to law school. He bragged on his admission application essay that as a mere student, he was able to show adult and mature college administrators and professors the proper way to treat student clubs. Students clubs, such as the chess club and the French club, that are so important to vibrant intellectual life. There was not a single sentence in the entire essay. He is so proud of his As. Further, when the first black president of the United States was elected, he sent me an email with images that were not satire or poliiical commentary. He believes he is goin go to work for John McCain or Ted Cruz.
I am an older alumna of Barnard College. We might be lesbians and outrageous intellectuals of no merit but we can just laugh. Some of us throw candy at political parades in small towns. Others work for U.S. Senators and note that even John McCain or Ted Cruz will decline the great honor of having a straight A, local college legend in his own mind work for them. Some parents write large checks for tuition without noting that their sons have no idea what subjects and verbs are. My mom managed to teach me, a future Barnard alumna, to respect older people. When I applied to law school, I knew not to write that I knew better than professors at my elite law school. My professors taught me to respect them. One of them gave me a C once. I lived.
I am an older alumna of Barnard College. We might be lesbians and outrageous intellectuals of no merit but we can just laugh. Some of us throw candy at political parades in small towns. Others work for U.S. Senators and note that even John McCain or Ted Cruz will decline the great honor of having a straight A, local college legend in his own mind work for them. Some parents write large checks for tuition without noting that their sons have no idea what subjects and verbs are. My mom managed to teach me, a future Barnard alumna, to respect older people. When I applied to law school, I knew not to write that I knew better than professors at my elite law school. My professors taught me to respect them. One of them gave me a C once. I lived.
7
Is it worth going into eternal debt for anything less than an "A"? College today is basically a bribe paid to various interests for supposed entry into the workforce, usually for jobs that, in actuality, require no prior knowledge. In that way, it is reminiscent of the exorbitant "fee" illegal immigrants pay to be smuggled over the border. In both cases, the only guarantee is that the creditors will be merciless in reclaiming payment.
1
I deeply value the contributions of ALL of my teachers, since grade school, where I was taught by Polish nuns from WW II, through graduate school. Of course some were better, much better, than others.
The best were real gems and I wish they were still around, I am 71. It would be wonderful to converse with them.
Percentage of A's Grade inflation, language inflation, everyone is a "client" not a "Customer". And Woe-Begone - everyone above average !
Everyone pandered to by everybody; selling, promoting and hyping for Wallet/Mind/Vote/Attention/Eyeball Share.
The Education Industrial Complex !
"Tranquillity Base . . ."
The best were real gems and I wish they were still around, I am 71. It would be wonderful to converse with them.
Percentage of A's Grade inflation, language inflation, everyone is a "client" not a "Customer". And Woe-Begone - everyone above average !
Everyone pandered to by everybody; selling, promoting and hyping for Wallet/Mind/Vote/Attention/Eyeball Share.
The Education Industrial Complex !
"Tranquillity Base . . ."
I have been teaching at a midsize suburban college for many years. I find the exact opposite is true about our students. Yes they do want As, but interaction with them is much more frequent than it used to be. I am often bombarded with emails and visits about clarification, assignments, the meaning of the "prompt," (a word I despise,) and requests for direction about tests and assignments. I find that our students are used to a tremendous amount of parental guidance and intervention, and are very anxious about working on their own.
1
It seems days are pretty much changed towards the worse. It appears teachers and professors are evaluated more by their looks and dress sense rather than their teaching skills. Modern gadgets also have contributed further to this mess because of too much of distraction.
Valuation of teachers and professors by the students has added further muck. Marketing of Schools and Colleges by the management for showcasing their talent and the interest of students in getting easy high grades has highly inflated the grades, which has further degraded the quality of education.
It seems literally no one cares or has precious little time to think about paying proper salaries to the professors and teachers. Interaction between the teachers and students in the High Schools, between professors and students in the Colleges seems to have reached very low level.
Who will bell the Cat then ?.
Valuation of teachers and professors by the students has added further muck. Marketing of Schools and Colleges by the management for showcasing their talent and the interest of students in getting easy high grades has highly inflated the grades, which has further degraded the quality of education.
It seems literally no one cares or has precious little time to think about paying proper salaries to the professors and teachers. Interaction between the teachers and students in the High Schools, between professors and students in the Colleges seems to have reached very low level.
Who will bell the Cat then ?.
I have been a history professor for the past 33 years, and before that a student for 13 years. When I compare my experience from the fall of 1969 with that of my students today, it's almost as if we inhabit two different worlds. Forty-six years ago, I think I took three or four courses taught by graduate students -- none were adjuncts in the modern sense of the word. I was a regular visitor to my professors' office during their consultation hours. My classmates and I worked together on homework, but we also discussed the readings beyond what was required for the course.
I see little similarity in the lives of many of my students. Why? The nature of student life has changed dramatically. Many of my students are married, and most of those have children. These are not 40- or 50-somethings returning to college; they are 20 with spouses and children. Every semester I have at least one with a family crisis. It's hard to discuss history when the present intrudes so forcefully. Most work -- and not just to afford lattes, but to keep a roof over their families' heads and food on the table, to say nothing of the cost of education. In the fall 1969, I did not know a married student, or one with children, or one that worked full-time and came to class after working the night shift.
Yes, all the things that commenters have said about the nature of student goals and initiative, or the validation culture are probably true, but real education begins when one is free to reflect.
I see little similarity in the lives of many of my students. Why? The nature of student life has changed dramatically. Many of my students are married, and most of those have children. These are not 40- or 50-somethings returning to college; they are 20 with spouses and children. Every semester I have at least one with a family crisis. It's hard to discuss history when the present intrudes so forcefully. Most work -- and not just to afford lattes, but to keep a roof over their families' heads and food on the table, to say nothing of the cost of education. In the fall 1969, I did not know a married student, or one with children, or one that worked full-time and came to class after working the night shift.
Yes, all the things that commenters have said about the nature of student goals and initiative, or the validation culture are probably true, but real education begins when one is free to reflect.
“We may be 50-year-olds at the front of the room”.
My Daughter, a science teacher, who is deeply involved in creating good learning environments, told me of a science lab design that was shown to her by a fellow educational progressive. He asked what’s wrong with this design? She saw it immediately – it was focussed on the Teacher - the X year old at the ‘front’ of the room.
In contrast her school actively searches design that helps students work in a learning environment through their own initiative facilitated, and guided, by teachers committed to working in a learning environment. Using latest technology she is in constant communication with her students - morning, noon and night! The school web site contains complete explanation of how grades are awarded and what students Must do to achieve specific grades the system is wholly transparent. Parents can track students performance and understand how it is evaluated.
My Daughter, a science teacher, who is deeply involved in creating good learning environments, told me of a science lab design that was shown to her by a fellow educational progressive. He asked what’s wrong with this design? She saw it immediately – it was focussed on the Teacher - the X year old at the ‘front’ of the room.
In contrast her school actively searches design that helps students work in a learning environment through their own initiative facilitated, and guided, by teachers committed to working in a learning environment. Using latest technology she is in constant communication with her students - morning, noon and night! The school web site contains complete explanation of how grades are awarded and what students Must do to achieve specific grades the system is wholly transparent. Parents can track students performance and understand how it is evaluated.
1
THE POINT OF A PROFESSOR . . .
...is to of course have a deep knowledge of their field and be intellectually inclined and to have the passion for learning and instill that passion and degree of curiosity to his/her students.
Both inside the classes and outside in a more personal manner.
...is to of course have a deep knowledge of their field and be intellectually inclined and to have the passion for learning and instill that passion and degree of curiosity to his/her students.
Both inside the classes and outside in a more personal manner.
1
The entire American higher education system operates within the context of American consumerism and a business mentality. These commercial interests are run by big money criminals and morally wicked people who will do anything to protect their wealth and make more money, even send missiles against the Pentagon, WTC, destroy entire countries etc. The state of American students compared to their world collegues is deplorable. American students are the products of their corrupt big money cultural mentality. They behave mechanically running after the carrots of these "money pigs" without any capacity for metaphysical thinking. They accumulate content but with little sense of larger meaning, etc. They are generally outright stupid when they are viewed in a context of what it means to be truly educated. They are not interested in the personalities or values of their professors because they themselves are without value or the capacity to develop value. They are very much like the worthless material products of their materialistic economy. This is just another disastrous factor in an American culture which has been decayed and an vapid wasteland for decades.
If your observations are correct the students today are really missing one of the best experiences in getting a college education. I went to New York University in the early 1970s and latter the University of Utah. I studied Middle Eastern studies which was a small field at the time but I felt that at both schools that the professors cared about teaching and made every effort to help and nurture me. In fact my professors were my friends and I am still friends with some of them after all these years. I still have the thirst for knowledge that they instilled in me. I'm grateful!
MARK BAUERLEIN asks an important question. Very important in today's world of diminished respect and understanding of the role of education, teaching and learning. The attack is by the for-profit sector, but far too many have bought into that critique without considering the question of: "what is the point of a Professor?"
MARK BAUERLEIN however, answers that question very poorly and I, as a professor, feel somewhat embarrassed by his argument. It is superficial; he does not address the issue of the role of an instructor in LEARNING processes in general, beyond post-class mentoring or interaction. The role of a professor in (online or onsite) pedagogy is really key. Because we have for-profit corporations seeking to replace teachers and profs with AI technology.
Society and educators need to ask and explore that question more seriously, thoughtfully, and intellectually. I have researched this topic for several decades and I encourage everyone to consider this question, read about it, ponder it, and discuss it whenever possible.
MARK BAUERLEIN however, answers that question very poorly and I, as a professor, feel somewhat embarrassed by his argument. It is superficial; he does not address the issue of the role of an instructor in LEARNING processes in general, beyond post-class mentoring or interaction. The role of a professor in (online or onsite) pedagogy is really key. Because we have for-profit corporations seeking to replace teachers and profs with AI technology.
Society and educators need to ask and explore that question more seriously, thoughtfully, and intellectually. I have researched this topic for several decades and I encourage everyone to consider this question, read about it, ponder it, and discuss it whenever possible.
The entire American higher education system operates within the context of American consumerism and a business mentality. These commerical interests are run by big money criminals and morally wicked people who will do anything to protect their wealth and make more money, even send missles againt the Pentagon, WTC, destroy entire countries etc. The state of American students compared to their world collegues is deplorable. American students are the products of their corrupt big money cultural mentality. They behave mechanically running after the carrots of these "money pigs" without any capacity for metaphysical thinking. They accumulate content but with little sense of larger meaning, etc. They are generally outright stupid when they are viewed in a context of what it means to be truly educated. They are not interested in the personalties or values of their professors because they themselves are without value or the capaicty to develop value. They are very much like the worhtless matrial products of their materalistic economy. This is just another disastrous factor in an American culture which has been decayed and an vapid wastland for decades.
1
Having spent over a decade teaching young adults, I must say the author confirms my belief that many university professors live in some sort of alternate dream world. A brief glimpse of reality through the velvet curtains of academia have shocked him.
Higher education is now simply a business (as previous NYT articles have explained). Costs continue to rise well beyond inflation and most of that money goes to the "machine" - that is, the administration. It's not about learning - it's about income and image. A degree and letter grades are products marketed like washing machines.
Higher education is now simply a business (as previous NYT articles have explained). Costs continue to rise well beyond inflation and most of that money goes to the "machine" - that is, the administration. It's not about learning - it's about income and image. A degree and letter grades are products marketed like washing machines.
Your comments are less true, surprisingly, in the hard sciences. One'd think science is heartless and the humanities are nurturing, but the nature of scientific research requires team work in a collaborative lab, so undergraduates are often indicated into a network of grad students, post-docs, lab technicians, researchers all headed by a professor. On the other hand, humanities research is by and large a solitary act, reading in the library. If humanities professors changed their research methods, farm out more of their tasks to grad students, a meaningful relationship could be built with undergrads.
2
Academia has turned into a corporatized business where administrators are richly rewarded; useless, bamboozling and bean-counting Information Technologists (IT) are considered gods, professors are made out to be second-class citizens and the students are ripped off to pay for administrators' perks and huge salaries, and fund the cost of hugely inflated administration staffs that have zero contribution to process of educating students. The administration inflation has left the professors and students in the dust.
Relying on students evaluations or ratemyprofessor.com for accurate feedback--as opposed to student perceptions of what occurs--is poor research and statistically skewed toward the views of those who complete such surveys. In 25 years of full-time teaching, I have always had a lot of contact with students, including spending hours reviewing essays with them, discussing their work, my field, and many other subjects. Students actively seek out my colleagues and me, and those waiting lines of students can be witnessed at my university. It is true that students *do* have other means of communication now, which they often rely on instead of seeking out the professor, but I think both students and professors would rather answer the quick questions on e-mail and use that face time for real conversation and consultation.
If there really is less consultation time with students (it is easy to wax nostalgic about the 'good old days'), it is not only about students-as-consumers culture. There is enormous pressure on instructors to do many things than other teach (including contacts outside the classroom as teaching), including publishing, applying for grants, and administration, and this has little to do with students-as-consumers but with burgeoning university administrations, which self-perpetuate by creating more administrative levels, and with the pressure to secure funding from both the government (in my case) and outside funding bodies.
If there really is less consultation time with students (it is easy to wax nostalgic about the 'good old days'), it is not only about students-as-consumers culture. There is enormous pressure on instructors to do many things than other teach (including contacts outside the classroom as teaching), including publishing, applying for grants, and administration, and this has little to do with students-as-consumers but with burgeoning university administrations, which self-perpetuate by creating more administrative levels, and with the pressure to secure funding from both the government (in my case) and outside funding bodies.
1
Money = buying power = freedom = value. If that's the standard equation of our times, then a humanities professor's multivariate, messy approach to value (think for yourself; question authority; read widely; practice the principle of charity; think critically) won't mean much to students; actually, it won't even make any sense. For why train yourself to question everything when success means obedience? Why care about Plato or Shakespeare when social norms prod you along like cattle through the money = value life passage? Before students enter the academy, they need to have already been exposed to a culture of intrinsic value, to discovering and practicing what's lastingly emotionally significant. Conditions outside the academy matter. But then, inside, student evaluations (not in themselves, but how they're used, administratively) are also to blame. If students are academic consumers, then PhD instructors (there aren't many "professors" anymore) must become exuberant personalities doling out praise for memorization. Instructors who don't, instructors insisting that students feel uncomfortable or intellectually challenged or at risk of failing, will be wiped out. Students now wield the power to reduce instructors' chances of getting rehired through bad evaluations. If I can't prove that "85% of my students said they loved me," then I'm out. Thus, teaching conforms to the money = value equation. Giving out As and not challenging students' ethical norms buys job security.
I recently completed a professional degree after completing a PhD. During my PhD days I enjoyed working closely with professors. As a law student, I found that professors often imposed obstacles before a student could attend office hours. Profs would fail to show up, or would limit students to attending once per semester, or would require a week's advance notice, etc. Access to professors was a coveted good, not an intrinsic part of the educational process. Frankly, I was pretty appalled at the institution's commitment to "education".
1
When the self-serving IT (information tech) "digital metricians" are fired for contaminating academia, we professors can start being professors!
As commentators here pointed out, the student opinion/evaluations metrics/numbers are the tail wagging the academic dog. Yes, it is false and it is an abomination. Numbers/metrics are the latest tool of lazy academic administrations who are more concerned with numbers than with quality, or with spending ANY time evaluating the quality of studies vs the numbers game. A shameful situation that has degraded academic standards over a generation while putting a fraudulent numbers game on a pedestal. It is time to put an end to this disastrous charade that has polluted academic standards and, thereby, the quest for knowledge itself.
As commentators here pointed out, the student opinion/evaluations metrics/numbers are the tail wagging the academic dog. Yes, it is false and it is an abomination. Numbers/metrics are the latest tool of lazy academic administrations who are more concerned with numbers than with quality, or with spending ANY time evaluating the quality of studies vs the numbers game. A shameful situation that has degraded academic standards over a generation while putting a fraudulent numbers game on a pedestal. It is time to put an end to this disastrous charade that has polluted academic standards and, thereby, the quest for knowledge itself.
3
"Students email teachers all the time — why walk across campus when you can fire a note from your room? — but those queries are too curt for genuine mentoring. We need face time." This is a surprising from an English professor. As a Masters student in Massachusetts, in 2010 - 2012, the best professor I had (who won the students award for best professor this year, again) emailed me short responses to rather lengthy emails I sent him and still does to this day on occasion. I greatly value his perspective particularly his insight into simplifying my complexity into a succinct summary of the paradox of the situations I face. He also had an open door policy and often times I would arrive at his office housed in the hallowed building and he would drop what he was doing and give me his undivided, mind blowing attention. I got the sense always that he was stimulated by my input, that he was learning as much from me - there was no moral superiority required.
But, it was in the lecture experience itself, a case study driven teaching experience, where his genius was most evident. Weaving together narratives from the 80 or so students in each class, knowing all of our backgrounds, names and being sensitively aware of each our knowledge boundaries. He communicated intimately in a grand setting. Reacting to the tiniest shift in body language, pushing our collective learning. Our external success is a byproduct of this process. The response was always thunderous applause from us.
But, it was in the lecture experience itself, a case study driven teaching experience, where his genius was most evident. Weaving together narratives from the 80 or so students in each class, knowing all of our backgrounds, names and being sensitively aware of each our knowledge boundaries. He communicated intimately in a grand setting. Reacting to the tiniest shift in body language, pushing our collective learning. Our external success is a byproduct of this process. The response was always thunderous applause from us.
(Let me edit my post)
A professor is a person who does research AND teaches.
Research is fraught with erroneous paths.
A good researcher (assuming he or she has taken a sufficient number of erroneous paths; e.g.: made mistakes), is one who can anticipate errors.
In all my years teaching, I VERY rarely have students ask me how to solve problems.
Almost always, they ask "what did I do wrong?"
A good lecturer can teach how to do things correctly.
A good professor (who has balanced research and teaching) can teach how NOT to do things wrong.
And that is far more important.
A professor is a person who does research AND teaches.
Research is fraught with erroneous paths.
A good researcher (assuming he or she has taken a sufficient number of erroneous paths; e.g.: made mistakes), is one who can anticipate errors.
In all my years teaching, I VERY rarely have students ask me how to solve problems.
Almost always, they ask "what did I do wrong?"
A good lecturer can teach how to do things correctly.
A good professor (who has balanced research and teaching) can teach how NOT to do things wrong.
And that is far more important.
2
Professors?
Please. Most students are taught by low-paid, no-benefits adjuncts, who work hard and have little time for office hours.
Paying $40k per year - or much more- is no guarantee a student will even get an instructor, let alone a professor employed full time.
75% of undergrad classes are adjunct or TA-taught. It's a scandal...
Please. Most students are taught by low-paid, no-benefits adjuncts, who work hard and have little time for office hours.
Paying $40k per year - or much more- is no guarantee a student will even get an instructor, let alone a professor employed full time.
75% of undergrad classes are adjunct or TA-taught. It's a scandal...
1
It's the same dynamic that's changed therapy from a series of personal therapeutic challenges into a drug dispensary. The teacher's character, experience, point of view is devalued; same for the student as a result.
My late wife was an education prof at University of Michigan, and for what the students were paying the main reason for meeting with her was to demand to know why they didn't get an A in her class and what they had to do to increase their grade. Then you have the adjuncts and teaching assistants (grad students) who are paid to do the actual classroom teaching at McDonald's wages with no benefits or security while the U gets $100,000 for 4 years/in-state. The administration, however, was in the habit of giving themselves regular pay raises. Cynicism about government is one thing, but when higher education has more in common with union-busting corporations in cahoots with backers like the Kochs, you've got to start to wonder is taking classes in "Hustling & Rackets: Legal and Illegal, a Practicum" isn't the way to go...except you have to learn that stuff on your own and bootstrap your way up.
3
The sentiment in this article led me to leave my tenured role in a U.S. college and move to NZ, where I make twice as much teaching very bright adults and have normal working hours. I found US education, unless at the elite institutions, to be a joke.
1
Among the many issues embedded here, one that stands out is the time students have to see their professors. I teach at a large public university in southern Illinois. Many of my students are first-generation, working class people who work at 1-2 jobs while also taking a full course load. Many have little time to line up outside our offices to wait. We have to schedule meetings that can fit around many other demands on their time.
As to grading, I believe that what students need most is feedback on their effort. I try to inspire them to understand that they need to take responsibility for their own education. The degree to which they are able to do so is the degree to which they are preparing for adult responsibilities. Of these, there are a great many more with which they have to contend in their day-to-day lives than we did, not the least of which is rising student indebtedness.
Finally, while grade inflation has no doubt been rising for many years, we should also acknowledge the existence of the "Gentleman's C" that was used at several elite universities for generations. These were given to the scions of wealthy families at places like Harvard and Yale so that the not-too-hard-working progeny of the elite could make it through school with minimal effort. Hey! One of these grew up to be President of the United States before settling into his life's work as a painter.
As to grading, I believe that what students need most is feedback on their effort. I try to inspire them to understand that they need to take responsibility for their own education. The degree to which they are able to do so is the degree to which they are preparing for adult responsibilities. Of these, there are a great many more with which they have to contend in their day-to-day lives than we did, not the least of which is rising student indebtedness.
Finally, while grade inflation has no doubt been rising for many years, we should also acknowledge the existence of the "Gentleman's C" that was used at several elite universities for generations. These were given to the scions of wealthy families at places like Harvard and Yale so that the not-too-hard-working progeny of the elite could make it through school with minimal effort. Hey! One of these grew up to be President of the United States before settling into his life's work as a painter.
3
The range in caliber of the professors and schools is as significant as that of the students. In pursuing a graduate degree at a state school in northern central Florida, my thesis advisor referred me to his office hours when I came by to chat. When someone I know with a graduate degree from a famous private school near San Francisco visits there, his professors stop teaching and allow him to address the students and the professors.
1
Excellent article in all its sincerity by all means. Unfortunately, money has taken over and nothing matters other than money to the present generation, there may be some exceptions though.
When I was an undergrad in NYC (1960s), I and fellow English majors often went to lunch or dinner with our profs or were invited to their homes (often in twos and threes, but sometimes alone). Some of us formed intellectual and social relationships with those profs that lasted for decades. Leon Botstein once described how important it had been for him to play chamber music with faculty members at their homes. I've just read 50 comments here, and not one remarked on the chilling effect of the paranoid policies and draconian rules that have sought to discourage, ban, or punish any "relating" by teachers and students that might even appear faintly personal. Faculty have chosen to avoid any situation that might arouse suspicion or perhaps even open the way to a false accusation. Reasonable efforts to protect students from coercion or predation have morphed into machinery for governing speech and personal relationships. To everyone's cost.
3
Today the primary function of the university professor is to indoctrinate young people into the delights of social Marxism and radical egalitarianism.
I've got 3 degrees, but to do it over again I'd go to a community college and study carpentry, or welding, or software applications, and self-provide my own education.
I've got 3 degrees, but to do it over again I'd go to a community college and study carpentry, or welding, or software applications, and self-provide my own education.
As a current college student, or as Bauerlein might say—a stupefied young American that you really just shouldn’t trust—I do agree with some of the points in this article. I understand the urge to lament a shift away from deep thinking and mentorship. But, as the New York Times reported a few months back, schools are selling themselves to be more prestigious by upping their price tags. If we are paying nearly $60,000 a year, putting ourselves in debt and/or significant financial strain on our families, we need to be job-oriented. Students are pressured to bury their schedules with extracurriculars and internships, and often don’t have the time that perhaps they would like to ‘[develop] a meaningful philosophy on life’. However, I’m not making excusing for students. Likewise, I understand the pressures on both adjunct and tenured faculty. The collective college culture of ‘students as customers’ and ‘professors as providers’ strains both the role of student and professor. As always, it has been enlightening to read the remarks of an elder moral authority on my generation.
Cheers.
Cheers.
4
I'm the same age as Dr. Bauerlein, and I can say emphatically that the faculty at my undergraduate institution were not "moral authorities." They loved their research areas and had devoted their entire adult life to academics. They worked 80+ hours a week -- leaving them no time for the kinds of varied life experiences and contemplation of the human condition that leads to moral authority. I learned this the hard way, when my father, a difficult and domineering man, died when I was in college. Naively, I thought that the faculty would be good people to discuss this with. They had nothing useful to say -- even in classes where the subject matter directly related to family and death. (If you're going to assign King Lear, one would hope you'd have something more profound to say to a student who just lost her father than "Would you like to be excused from the assignment?")
Faculty are domain-specific experts. It is a mistake to expect Yoda-like levels of wisdom and compassion from them.
Faculty are domain-specific experts. It is a mistake to expect Yoda-like levels of wisdom and compassion from them.
5
Wrong from the start. Not all students will go to graduate school or a job, some will be unemployed, many underemployed. Less than half of community college students graduate--a tragedy, a bottomless pit undergoing energetic and constant excavation.
Lectures aren't even Medieval (in those days, students were called on to respond, constantly). We have MOOC's, we can provide the very best lectures to all, with interactive assessments. Do it!
In order to prescribe what students are to learn, we must achieve confidence that we can test it. Testing is now a dirty word, and increasingly we rely on take home exams, papers--and plagiarism.
Do most professors care about helping students move into productive and satisfying careers outside academia? Absolutely not!
If "moral authority" is "Of course you need to vote for Hilary, but in fact Warren would be much better," then it's in oversupply.
But, look on the bright side. Everyone wants more equality, right? Well, giving everyone A's promotes equality.
Lectures aren't even Medieval (in those days, students were called on to respond, constantly). We have MOOC's, we can provide the very best lectures to all, with interactive assessments. Do it!
In order to prescribe what students are to learn, we must achieve confidence that we can test it. Testing is now a dirty word, and increasingly we rely on take home exams, papers--and plagiarism.
Do most professors care about helping students move into productive and satisfying careers outside academia? Absolutely not!
If "moral authority" is "Of course you need to vote for Hilary, but in fact Warren would be much better," then it's in oversupply.
But, look on the bright side. Everyone wants more equality, right? Well, giving everyone A's promotes equality.
This article misses the reality - OK, the reality in Australia. In order to make universities profit centres & give the Vice Chancellor a huge salary, the kind of staff we had 40 years ago when I was an undergraduate have disappeared.
They've been replaced by part time tutors who now are paid to spend EIGHT MINUTES per semester per student. Anything over that is unpaid.
And of course everyone gets great marks because Mum & Dad, many of them from foreign countries - we've learned to bloodsuck India & China - aren't going to keep shelling out six figures per year for a a grade that reflects their offsprings' true abilities.
They've been replaced by part time tutors who now are paid to spend EIGHT MINUTES per semester per student. Anything over that is unpaid.
And of course everyone gets great marks because Mum & Dad, many of them from foreign countries - we've learned to bloodsuck India & China - aren't going to keep shelling out six figures per year for a a grade that reflects their offsprings' true abilities.
1
What college taught me was to take the professor, not the course. A good teacher could make anything interesting and worthwhile. A bad teacher tended to shoot his or her wad in the catalogue course description, leaving little to be gained from the class itself.
The best teachers understood that their job was to teach, teach both subject matter, critical thinking, and respect for the academic process itself. Whether you and they disagreed was secondary. In fact, you were helped to develope the tools to disagree with them and the perspective to know when such was appropriate. Handholding and the developement of self-esteem, on the other hand, was what one had girlfriends and boyfriends for.
The best teachers understood that their job was to teach, teach both subject matter, critical thinking, and respect for the academic process itself. Whether you and they disagreed was secondary. In fact, you were helped to develope the tools to disagree with them and the perspective to know when such was appropriate. Handholding and the developement of self-esteem, on the other hand, was what one had girlfriends and boyfriends for.
2
Pr. Bauerlein makes good points, but forgets to mention the source of all this. Think about it this way: since the 1980s people were explained that greed was good. Individuals were to be ranked according to merit, which was in turn reduced to financial success. Furthermore, in the last few decades, the price of education has skyrocketed, which strands students with huge debts that have to be repaid. With these environment factors, Pr. Bauerlein should understand why, in the minds of his student, career replaces wisdom and students consider themselves as customers and not disciples: sadly, this is what is needed to survive in the beautiful world they landed in these days.
1
I find this piece loathsome on so many levels. On my campus, probably one of the lower-tier institutions this writer dismisses, we spend hours with students, and I mentor many. My SUNY campus is built on small classes; teaching is what we are paid to do, and if we're no good at it we don't get tenure. Outrageously, fewer nationwide are in tenure-track positions; most teaching is done by a ludicrously underpaid precariat. Yet some of our adjuncts are deeply dedicated and spent plenty of time with students outside of class. Students are no dumber than they were when Plato complained about them; what's truly dumb is the world-weary cynicism of the overprivileged.
3
I have taught as a fulltime English Professor over the past 42 years in several departments, tenured in two of them. I am still a fulltime English professor and have a named chair. I have never thought of myself as a "moral authority," nor did I ever think of the professors who taught me as "moral authorities.". And what's more, they didn't think of themselves that way; if they had, I,would have thought of them as impossibly pretentious. They were intellectually exciting, many of them, and I Iearned a lot, as I hope my students do from me. And yes, I, too, require my students to come to my office to go over their papers...I regret that I have to teach them basic matters I learned in fourth grade, such as punctuation and paragraphing, but they must learn these things and I must teach them. And of course, I often talk with them about matters other than the semi-colon. -- their other courses, their jobs, their plans in so far as they know or want to discuss them. But I do not attempt to impart a "philosophy of life," god forbid, nor do I set myself up as a "moral authority."
178
I remember the faces of teachers at elementary school and junior high school. They taught me not only subjects but also morals which would be important for our society. But I don’t remember the names of professors in university. They taught me economics and history. But they didn’t have so much time to talk with students. And I have learned the economy and history of the world much more in our company and society. Without acquiring those knowledge I would not success in our company so I learned desperately after graduation of university. So my seniors of my company have been the mentors or instructors for me. Professors have not been concerned with my life so much.
Could someone take a good look at the illustration and explain it to me? Are the people in gray supposed to be professors? Why are some people on their knees and others standing on other people's heads?
This essay is a gloomy mix, but not my experience. I teach a class that students perceive as pointless when they start.I love my subject and I love my course. The best complement is at the end when they tell me that they thought they would hate it or they thought they would be no good at it but now they changed their minds. While we are nostalgic for the old days, the only sentence I understood at my college welcome speech was the one about the people on either side not finishing -- I found that idea terrifying, especially because I couldn't follow the rest of the speech. What terrible thing was going to happen? I remember exactly the moment 6 weeks in when I decided I was a failure. Back then, my school cared not at all what happened to anyone. So much for the rosy days.
My students are not living through a rosy period either. This semester, at least a third have children One student was attacked and missed two classes for court appearances. One student's husband lost his job and then left her and the kids. How many try to work all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday? One expecting a baby. A boyfriend who has stage four lymphoma. They are terrified of failing the hard courses which is a real possibility. Sickness, snowstorms, car trouble. Yet they did good work.
This essay is a gloomy mix, but not my experience. I teach a class that students perceive as pointless when they start.I love my subject and I love my course. The best complement is at the end when they tell me that they thought they would hate it or they thought they would be no good at it but now they changed their minds. While we are nostalgic for the old days, the only sentence I understood at my college welcome speech was the one about the people on either side not finishing -- I found that idea terrifying, especially because I couldn't follow the rest of the speech. What terrible thing was going to happen? I remember exactly the moment 6 weeks in when I decided I was a failure. Back then, my school cared not at all what happened to anyone. So much for the rosy days.
My students are not living through a rosy period either. This semester, at least a third have children One student was attacked and missed two classes for court appearances. One student's husband lost his job and then left her and the kids. How many try to work all day Friday, Saturday, and Sunday? One expecting a baby. A boyfriend who has stage four lymphoma. They are terrified of failing the hard courses which is a real possibility. Sickness, snowstorms, car trouble. Yet they did good work.
1
First, full professors in the class room are as scarce as hen's teeth. Most tenured professors don't teach they have teaching assistants and adjuncts to do that that those two classes of employees have no protection and get very little salary so keeping the class happy is key to their keeping their job.
Second, Full professors are for writing, speaking and bringing in grants. Those who wish to be full professors can dream on as the tune track is very narrow and the constant wrote publish get the grant races leaves very little time for actual teaching.
As to students, from personal experience, I can tell you many don't want to work and when their test performances says D they still want an "A" after all all their other professors gave them one! As a result, fair grading means bad reviews and that means that the Dean isn't happy. Students are customers. Of course that means they learn little but who cares there is money to be made.
Second, Full professors are for writing, speaking and bringing in grants. Those who wish to be full professors can dream on as the tune track is very narrow and the constant wrote publish get the grant races leaves very little time for actual teaching.
As to students, from personal experience, I can tell you many don't want to work and when their test performances says D they still want an "A" after all all their other professors gave them one! As a result, fair grading means bad reviews and that means that the Dean isn't happy. Students are customers. Of course that means they learn little but who cares there is money to be made.
1
Students are paying for a degree. Many do not care if you are a moral authority or not. They are thinking about how they can pay their debt, getting a job, pay their bills. That is our culture. That is how the system works and it is not gonig to change. If you are a professor in America and you think your students should come to your office to talk about verbs or sentences and talk about the meaning of education and philosophy, you should move to Germany or Sweden where education stiil is what you are talking about.
2
Part of this, in addition to the problems of students as consumers rather than products and student evaluation of faculty (the blind leading the sighted), is the use of adjunct faculty. Poorly paid adjuncts, usually without offices and without long-term commitments, have little opportunity or incentives for out-of-classroom student contact. And colleges and universities have been turned into cash machines for increasing numbers of superfluous administrators, and selection tools for corporate bureaucracies.
1
You have students, backed up by parents, at all levels in education who simply look at the grade and not the work done. So much of society is only concerned with the label. So educators in general find shoveling the curriculum towards the students and have them successfully regurgitate it on a test is the least stressful method of dealing an emotional minefield. Politicians have slandered educators for their own purposes, so that any moral authority they might have had evaporates under a daily onslaught of criticism from their appropriately named "bully" pulpits. Educators are constantly demeaned as glorified babysitters at all levels. So naturally, educators can afford to be emotionally invested in their students learning because it only brings trouble and condemnation from administrators, students, parents and elected officials. Better to give them the grade and pass them on.
"When college is more about career than ideas, when paycheck matters more than wisdom, the role of professors changes " seem so sad to me. As a Cornell student of physics and English in the late 60s my education did produce admiration for the faculty. Even my graduate educational in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Arizona, where I felt closer and more a peer of the faculty produced admiration of the faculties intellectual achievements. I fear universities have been too influenced by the corporations their students will go to if they're lucky. The subordination of the pursuit of ideas to the pursuit of money seems tragic to me. At my age, having had a good career in computer design, the meaning of life seems more about social justice and personal integrity to those you deal with that anything else.
2
My wife, an artist newly arrived in New York in the mid-70's, became an adjunct professor at Pratt Institute. In grading her class, she used the full range of grades based on performance, the system that she had been subject to in her own experience. The department chairman called her in and demanded that the grades be changed to eliminate C's and D's. Nobody had mentioned that the acceptable range had become A's and B's. She refused, and so concluded a brief academic career.
4
I. too, require that my students come to my office; I challenge them to improve their writing and critical thinking; I write detailed comments; I give B's and C's (and, yes, A's)... And I find these students coming back, even when they are no longer my students, to discuss their ideas, their plans, &c...
I am regularly rewarded by student evaluations and student votes for favored and caring faculty; the administration praises me...
And because I may be one article short of the work required for tenure—not that it has not been written, but that it might be published a few months late—I will probably not get tenure.
Silly me. I should have been like so many of my colleagues: writing but a sentence or two on every paper, with no comments in the margins and no attention to the writing; keeping my office door closed for all but the three hours required per week for office hours; refusing to mentor honours thesis...
Spending, that is, as little time as possible on teaching, as much as possible on publishing, publishing, publishing...
Not that I do not love writing: I much enjoyed writing the necessary book, the articles, have already begun a second book—
But clearly I forgot what the university has become: publishing is all, and excellent teaching, while it might be praised, is ultimately punished come tenure time...
I am regularly rewarded by student evaluations and student votes for favored and caring faculty; the administration praises me...
And because I may be one article short of the work required for tenure—not that it has not been written, but that it might be published a few months late—I will probably not get tenure.
Silly me. I should have been like so many of my colleagues: writing but a sentence or two on every paper, with no comments in the margins and no attention to the writing; keeping my office door closed for all but the three hours required per week for office hours; refusing to mentor honours thesis...
Spending, that is, as little time as possible on teaching, as much as possible on publishing, publishing, publishing...
Not that I do not love writing: I much enjoyed writing the necessary book, the articles, have already begun a second book—
But clearly I forgot what the university has become: publishing is all, and excellent teaching, while it might be praised, is ultimately punished come tenure time...
2
I sense a huge culture difference between US and many other countries. There, the teacher-student relationship is perceived to be like that of gardener-flower, which implies that a professor's primary duty is to nurture young minds. Here in US, students are customers, which means that you need to do your best to maximize their satisfaction. Giving out a lot of As is certainly the most efficient way to achieve this end.
Things are only getting worse. With severe cuts of public funding for teaching and research, universities are increasingly counting on tuitions for revenue generation, which means that students are not just customers, they're major paying customers who are entitled to a comfortable and effortless college life.
Things are only getting worse. With severe cuts of public funding for teaching and research, universities are increasingly counting on tuitions for revenue generation, which means that students are not just customers, they're major paying customers who are entitled to a comfortable and effortless college life.
2
When I grew up. students used to cheat whenever faced with an insurmountable obstacle or test.
Now, Teachers do! What has the world turn out to be!
Now, Teachers do! What has the world turn out to be!
3
And when, even at many if not most ostensibly reputable universities and colleges, half of one's professors are part-time adjuncts who are gone "when the bell rings" and typically don't even have a real campus office, and have often left campus to teach elsewhere right after class (or for their real non-academic job required to pay the bills and have benefits), and as is common, have moved away after the semester or year without their department even knowing a forwarding address, where/how exactly do students have those mentoring and inspirational after-class conversations, or a way to ask these profs for a letter of recommendation for a job or grad school if needed/desired?
1
As a professor, what I've noticed is that students come to our classes knowing how to pass tests. After all, their high school years were dominated by high-stakes testing, rather than by critical thinking. I've also noticed that many college deans expect professors to do the impossible: keep students intellectually challenged while keeping them entertained. In fact, at some schools, our ability to get promoted or get a raise is tied to student evaluations. So, if we are not perceived as entertaining, our students evaluate us negatively. If we grade them too harshly (even if they deserve a low grade), that too affects our evaluations.
Students claim they want courses that are academically rigorous, but most want courses they know they can pass. They look for information online, but then, few take the time to go beyond a superficial exploration of the topic. In fairness, many students are wonderful kids, but they are exhausted; they work several jobs to pay the outrageous cost of textbooks or help their parents pay the equally outrageous cost of tuition. Sadly, we are not living in a time that values education for its own sake; these days, parents want their kids prepared for jobs, students want to get A's because they tried hard, and administrators want professors to mentor, encourage, motivate and sometimes tutor. Don't get me wrong: I love teaching. But I often feel that we professors are blamed for problems we did not cause and situations we did not create.
Students claim they want courses that are academically rigorous, but most want courses they know they can pass. They look for information online, but then, few take the time to go beyond a superficial exploration of the topic. In fairness, many students are wonderful kids, but they are exhausted; they work several jobs to pay the outrageous cost of textbooks or help their parents pay the equally outrageous cost of tuition. Sadly, we are not living in a time that values education for its own sake; these days, parents want their kids prepared for jobs, students want to get A's because they tried hard, and administrators want professors to mentor, encourage, motivate and sometimes tutor. Don't get me wrong: I love teaching. But I often feel that we professors are blamed for problems we did not cause and situations we did not create.
277
This is ridiculous. The author is comparing the 1960s to now, ignoring any external changes that might have caused the differences in attitude he perceives in his students (all purely anecdotal). Tuition was MUCH MUCH cheaper in the 60s--allowing more people to pursue degrees for learning purposes and not financial (if you went to UCLA in the 60s, you paid no tuition; today's students are each paying 14,000 a year). Yet in today's job market, even Bachelors' degrees are hardly enough. Anyone who claims that all students should attend college for the sole sake of learning is ignorant of his/her own privilege.
UC Berkeley is filled with students who have started non-profits, are working part-time at start-ups, are designing apps, and are participating in numerous activities. Many of us have other interests and responsibilities besides being students. I myself work part-time at a resettlement agency and am president of an organization. Forgive me for not stopping by office hours every week. Are you so narrow-minded in thinking that the only avenue for pursuing intellect is through academics?
Also, private schools such as Harvard are hardly indicative of all higher education. The UCs are notorious for grade deflation, with the average grade in the Economics department a B-. It's hardly fair to compare disciplines and universities, all of which differ greatly in size, organization, racial/socioeconomic composition, etc.
UC Berkeley is filled with students who have started non-profits, are working part-time at start-ups, are designing apps, and are participating in numerous activities. Many of us have other interests and responsibilities besides being students. I myself work part-time at a resettlement agency and am president of an organization. Forgive me for not stopping by office hours every week. Are you so narrow-minded in thinking that the only avenue for pursuing intellect is through academics?
Also, private schools such as Harvard are hardly indicative of all higher education. The UCs are notorious for grade deflation, with the average grade in the Economics department a B-. It's hardly fair to compare disciplines and universities, all of which differ greatly in size, organization, racial/socioeconomic composition, etc.
1
A is the most common grade? You couldn't prove it by me! I retired in 2010 after a 38 year career as a college professor at a moderately sized (8000+ students) in the upper Midwest. I never gave a class 42% A's in my career and I daresay few of my colleagues did, either. Maybe as high as 20% in my most advanced classes. If you click on the link to the the summary of the article that number was based on you will find that the percentage of A's varies with geography and whether the college is public or private. If its really a 42% national average, Harvard must be handing out 95% A's.
BTW, if you are looking for a quality undergraduate education where you take classes from the actual professors rather than teaching assistants, try checking out the satellite campuses in the public U. system of your state. If you go to the main campus you might very well go two years without taking a class taught by someone with a PhD.
BTW, if you are looking for a quality undergraduate education where you take classes from the actual professors rather than teaching assistants, try checking out the satellite campuses in the public U. system of your state. If you go to the main campus you might very well go two years without taking a class taught by someone with a PhD.
1
Colleges today offer students so much more than just their courses. And the students are much more skilled and accomplished than in the past. Give them a break and some credit. Teach and offer your time and let them take away what they will and can. I am a professor and I have observed that every student takes away something from a class that they combine with their other learning and causes them to think and act. Pay attention to them a little and do not just look for flaws. As for student as customer, it is time to accept that and mov on.
I too remember my college years (1957-1961) as a time of intellectual challenge, the lectures introduced new ways of thinking, and various conversations with the teachers I liked helped me see how one could love ideas. We undergrads often talked about our classes in the student union over a cup of coffee.
Most of my time between classes that was not spent doing homework was spent riding the bus, or walking back to my neighborhood, during which time I could continue to reflect. There was no social media then to addict young minds to a lifetime of endless distraction, trivia and time-wasting.
Most of my time between classes that was not spent doing homework was spent riding the bus, or walking back to my neighborhood, during which time I could continue to reflect. There was no social media then to addict young minds to a lifetime of endless distraction, trivia and time-wasting.
1
I earned a Ph.D. in library studies with the intent of obtaining a position on a teaching faculty, but decided to become a practitioner instead, i.e. an academic librarian.
As a result, I get to revel in the honor of being a scholar at a university without worrying about chasing grants from the NSF. It might not be as prestigious or as lucrative as a teaching position, but my parents are aging, and I refuse to sacrifice time with them just to coddle the ivory tower's ego.
Of course, the real problem are stagnant wages and the lack of a tax base it produces, which could solve a lot of the problems universities currently face, including their corporatization (students referred to as "customers"), but I suppose that's a different conversation.
As a result, I get to revel in the honor of being a scholar at a university without worrying about chasing grants from the NSF. It might not be as prestigious or as lucrative as a teaching position, but my parents are aging, and I refuse to sacrifice time with them just to coddle the ivory tower's ego.
Of course, the real problem are stagnant wages and the lack of a tax base it produces, which could solve a lot of the problems universities currently face, including their corporatization (students referred to as "customers"), but I suppose that's a different conversation.
Of course a lot of that money now does to deans, assistant deans, various deanlets, and climbing walls.
Nowhere does the article mention the difference between the student/professor ratio of the 1960s and the one we have today. I envy the author for having the time to tutor each of his students on their writing skills. If I tried that, I'd never leave my office.
1
At least you have an office. Adjuncts generally do not. I did meet once with each of my students this semester--usually in the on-campus Starbucks. Weekly visits would be entirely impossible.
As a faculty member at a range of colleges and universities over the past thirty years, I have seen the reorientation of students and their reluctance to engage with professors firsthand. I have also found that re-engagement is not all that difficult. In an era on online everything and virtual everything else, students hunger for personal contact with their teachers. The problem is that as an off-the-tenure-track professor my teaching load is too high to permit individual contact with most students. We now teach the majority of classes in the humanities nationwide, and for us, the teachers and students at most public universities and colleges, the classic model of teaching and mentorship which Prof. Bauerlein calls for has become unattainable. Sadly, it is now a luxury reserved for the most privileged.
1
Since my students weren't coming to office hours, I decided to bring my office hours to them. No class follows ours, so I just hang around in the classroom after our class is formally dismissed. Surprise! They hang around too, continuing discussion, brainstorming projects. It is really fun. In my experience, our students, as we did in the sixties, are still looking for engagement and purpose. It is superbly gratifying to help them in that search.
4
The tendency to give out all As fits the needs of the administrators. The customers must be served and part of that is keeping them enrolled, paying tuition year after year. Colleges are businesses that must be fed and the fuel is money, from whatever source. Just because they are non-profit, doesn't mean they are above the profit motive.
One source of profit is grants, for both colleges and, for that matter, places like PBS or NPR, that include "overhead". What this means is that a certain portion of the grant goes to support the actual work, the research, and another large portion goes to support the costs of supporting the work, the buildings, electricity, heating, etc. that goes into operating a university. The institution gets paid for being an institution that supports researchers. Call it whatever you want, but it means that a lot of money flows upward, making the jobs of administrators easier.
It is not difficult to despair of the course our nation is on. We are becoming all business, all the time. Money corrupts and a few billion dollars will corrupt absolutely.
In the same manner of PBS, colleges and universities are in a special category where change is almost impossible, because criticism is not welcomed. These institutions are thought to be in a special class, above and beyond the ordinary concerns. They are surrounded by a moat of haughty superiority.
Doug Terry
One source of profit is grants, for both colleges and, for that matter, places like PBS or NPR, that include "overhead". What this means is that a certain portion of the grant goes to support the actual work, the research, and another large portion goes to support the costs of supporting the work, the buildings, electricity, heating, etc. that goes into operating a university. The institution gets paid for being an institution that supports researchers. Call it whatever you want, but it means that a lot of money flows upward, making the jobs of administrators easier.
It is not difficult to despair of the course our nation is on. We are becoming all business, all the time. Money corrupts and a few billion dollars will corrupt absolutely.
In the same manner of PBS, colleges and universities are in a special category where change is almost impossible, because criticism is not welcomed. These institutions are thought to be in a special class, above and beyond the ordinary concerns. They are surrounded by a moat of haughty superiority.
Doug Terry
2
Indeed, during my undergraduate work (admittedly, over 30 years ago), the most valuable interactions with faculty often took place during scheduled office hours or informally during daily beverage service in the lounge.
However, my undergraduate courses were almost always taught by full-time faculty. The increased use of part-time adjuncts, who are only compensated for class time and minimal office hours has made this level of interaction far more difficult. A part-time instructor, who of necessity other obligations, is not going to be in their campus office (if one is even allotted) beyond scheduled hours.
This is the true tragedy of the reduced use of regular faculty.
However, my undergraduate courses were almost always taught by full-time faculty. The increased use of part-time adjuncts, who are only compensated for class time and minimal office hours has made this level of interaction far more difficult. A part-time instructor, who of necessity other obligations, is not going to be in their campus office (if one is even allotted) beyond scheduled hours.
This is the true tragedy of the reduced use of regular faculty.
1
I don't recall the 1960s as the golden age described here -- and I'm talking UC Berkeley, at that time somehow rated the best school in the country. "The Big U" we called it, cold and industrial. We had professors – yes, English professors -- who all but held their nose to teach undergraduates. We had professors who read to us from their dog-eared notes. And we had a very few professors who made us think for ourselves. Is it any different today? Of course not. I’ve shared with my sons what I learned in those days: If you can find one professor whose voice you will always hear, then your time at university is very well spent.
1
I have to agree with this point. I went to the University of Michigan in the 1980s and I really believe the degree of professor-student interaction at that time was entirely student driven (as I am willing to bet it is today). If you are industrious and inquisitive you will pester and force interaction from even the coldest and most distracted faculty member but the majority of students have preferred to minimize that interaction or at least as the commentator mentions succeed with one or two professors.
Bauerlein's portrait of UCLA in the 1980s is completely bogus. I was an English major when he was a grad student at UCLA--he was even a TA for one of my classes. The corridors of Rolfe Hall were devoid of students, except when we were required to meet with our composition instructors. I had only one class as an English major with fewer than 80 students, and I had maybe two professors from whom I had more than one class. The idea that English majors got to know professors or regularly chatted with them is total fantasy. Furthermore, the idea that someone trained to do research in a specialized field should be a moral guide to young people is one that should comfortably remain in the past. I say this as a professor in a liberal arts discipline at a large public school like UCLA.
3
Well bully for Mark Bauerlein, who presents himself to be the heroic Dutch boy with his thumb in the dike holding back the flood of ignorance. For many of us who teach college students his dismal assessment of education is far from reality. My students are lively and engaged. Bauerlein must be jaded indeed to think so poorly of his charges--and at Emory no less, where the students are among the brightest and most talented in the nation.
Nor are the opportunities for engagement lacking at every quality institution I know. I hold regular office hours (as all faculty I know are required to do) and though not all students avail themselves of this one-on-one opportunity,. those that do derive a lot of benefit. Their thinking and writing noticeably improves during the semester. I have seen their intellectual growth and excitement as they proceed through the semester. If the students make progress and turn in high-quality work, of course they should get A's--they earned them!
Bauerlein seems to resent both his students and his work. For most of my colleagues, teaching is deeply rewarding. We won't be friends with all our students, but many of them will indeed be our colleagues. We take them on research trips, work with them on internships, sit on colloquium committees and reading groups with them. Does this never happen at Emory?
My view of higher education is far more optimistic that that of Bauerlein. I guess I can chalk his malaise to the end-of-the semester blues.
Nor are the opportunities for engagement lacking at every quality institution I know. I hold regular office hours (as all faculty I know are required to do) and though not all students avail themselves of this one-on-one opportunity,. those that do derive a lot of benefit. Their thinking and writing noticeably improves during the semester. I have seen their intellectual growth and excitement as they proceed through the semester. If the students make progress and turn in high-quality work, of course they should get A's--they earned them!
Bauerlein seems to resent both his students and his work. For most of my colleagues, teaching is deeply rewarding. We won't be friends with all our students, but many of them will indeed be our colleagues. We take them on research trips, work with them on internships, sit on colloquium committees and reading groups with them. Does this never happen at Emory?
My view of higher education is far more optimistic that that of Bauerlein. I guess I can chalk his malaise to the end-of-the semester blues.
1
This has been my experience even though I am in the physical sciences - I was a language/science double major at a liberal arts college in the U.S. and knew all my professors very well. Now most students don't come to see me and complain that I do not post everything online. I do patiently answer every e-mail. I am a stubborn hold out as far as grade inflation, only 10 to 15% As in my classes as it is difficult material. I get a lot of flack for this but the fact is, the students are not getting smarter.
1
"Students email teachers all the time ...too curt for genuine mentoring. We need face time."
Do the math. 15 minutes each out of class time adds up fast.
1500 minutes (25 hours) for 100 students.
Weekly: 325hours/13 week course. Bi weekly 162 hours.
Impossible.
Email from my students was re-sent to the entire class with replies.
Privacy could be requested, but discouraged--too time consuming--too expensive. And rarely are questions or confusions unique. Many--non speakers--were better writers; everyone enjoyed their input and they got to enjoy a little notoriety. The emails often made up an appendix coursebook.
The standard model--lectures + readings + exam + term paper--merely assesses student's previously acquired lecture/reading comprehension and writing ability (at best---assuming fair, well designed exams.)
Often they need more help, requiring detailed critiquing of written work--essays and exams. This averages an hour or more for each in addition to time preparing and grading exams and essays.
Few students cared enough; the best ones did. In 45 years--many went on to illustrious careers. Teachers, professors, lawyers, a few judges, only one Rhodes Scholar, University VP. She was a glutton for work--seven individual courses--a research paper per week--with a viva voce critique. OUP published her Ph.D. thesis; she acknowledged "scathing criticism and warm friendship."
Outsiders (politicians) are clueless about job requirements and the difference it makes.
Do the math. 15 minutes each out of class time adds up fast.
1500 minutes (25 hours) for 100 students.
Weekly: 325hours/13 week course. Bi weekly 162 hours.
Impossible.
Email from my students was re-sent to the entire class with replies.
Privacy could be requested, but discouraged--too time consuming--too expensive. And rarely are questions or confusions unique. Many--non speakers--were better writers; everyone enjoyed their input and they got to enjoy a little notoriety. The emails often made up an appendix coursebook.
The standard model--lectures + readings + exam + term paper--merely assesses student's previously acquired lecture/reading comprehension and writing ability (at best---assuming fair, well designed exams.)
Often they need more help, requiring detailed critiquing of written work--essays and exams. This averages an hour or more for each in addition to time preparing and grading exams and essays.
Few students cared enough; the best ones did. In 45 years--many went on to illustrious careers. Teachers, professors, lawyers, a few judges, only one Rhodes Scholar, University VP. She was a glutton for work--seven individual courses--a research paper per week--with a viva voce critique. OUP published her Ph.D. thesis; she acknowledged "scathing criticism and warm friendship."
Outsiders (politicians) are clueless about job requirements and the difference it makes.
We have turned one of the most important phases of life into an assembly line operation. Suck the kids in. Take their money and push them out the door. Keep them happy. Give half of them A'a and the rest B's. That's not an education. It's processing.
When I was in college in the mid 70's, we all had a great deal of personal contact with our professors. Most of my classes were very small during the last two years and there was lots of direct contact with them. I remember talking to them about projects I was working on at home. They were always accessible.
This type of interaction is fundamental to higher education. The student not only needs to interact, but also has to learn how to interact. That learning cannot take place from behind a smart phone. We are becoming slaves to technology and strangers to each other, even our teachers.
When I was in college in the mid 70's, we all had a great deal of personal contact with our professors. Most of my classes were very small during the last two years and there was lots of direct contact with them. I remember talking to them about projects I was working on at home. They were always accessible.
This type of interaction is fundamental to higher education. The student not only needs to interact, but also has to learn how to interact. That learning cannot take place from behind a smart phone. We are becoming slaves to technology and strangers to each other, even our teachers.
1
It would seem that most college professors have engineered their schedules in order to maximize their time away from the class room and students. This includes meeting fewer times a week, (albeit for longer class durations) using TA's as much as possible, disappearing from view as much as possible, and teaching the fewest number of courses.
They appear to have an enviable workload. It is a surprise and delight to hear one lament that he sees little of his students.
They appear to have an enviable workload. It is a surprise and delight to hear one lament that he sees little of his students.
1
Perhaps a higher proportion of students in the 1960's were concerned with "developing a philosophy of life" than economic concerns because they were mostly from the upper classes and privileged, so they didn't have to worry about money like today's more egalitarian student body.
Does the author really think today's youth are less capable of being concerned with meaning than his generation? Their reluctance to worship his and his colleagues' authority as he clearly seems to crave might have more to do with sophistication than cynicism. Perhaps more would seek him out after lecture were he to cultivate a less curmudgeonly attitude.
Does the author really think today's youth are less capable of being concerned with meaning than his generation? Their reluctance to worship his and his colleagues' authority as he clearly seems to crave might have more to do with sophistication than cynicism. Perhaps more would seek him out after lecture were he to cultivate a less curmudgeonly attitude.
Sadly the "student as customer" approach to education is also firmly entrenched in K-12 education, where "student-centered" (as in let each student dictate the content and method of their education) is one of the most pervasive current buzzwords. Teachers are no longer supposed to be experts and mentors leading students into productive encounters with the important ideas and achievements of civilizations past and present, but rather life coaches meant to offer encouragement to students as they attempt to build on the inherent narcissism of youth and convert their selves into (hopefully) marketable brands. Full disclosure: I am no longer a public high school teacher.
you need to mention the adjuncts. They dont get and office for lines to form outside. For the pay of a restaurant worker they write the material, teach and do most of the student contact after hours, much for free.
If this keeps up the professors will do themselves out of a job. At Stanford they dont slack off after tenure but they almost completely disengage from teaching. Its a careerist attitude.
The remedy in my opinion is to once again insist that tenured professors teach, and teach a lot, and that they have office hours, often.
If this keeps up the professors will do themselves out of a job. At Stanford they dont slack off after tenure but they almost completely disengage from teaching. Its a careerist attitude.
The remedy in my opinion is to once again insist that tenured professors teach, and teach a lot, and that they have office hours, often.
1
The adjuncts also depend on good student evaluations to get more classes to teach. When you give students high grades and treat them to a lot of praise, as many departments require of the adjunct, only the very best students will see through you. The others will complacently continue to believe that they are bright, shining, and brilliant. One evaluation in a hundred will comment that I treat the most inane classroom comments as a brilliant insight; the rest of the 99 think I encourage independent thinking. Adjuncts need a reasonably private place to meet students and a teaching load that permits them the time to do so (among many other things that this editorial assumes are in place).
My physics lecturers (in the UK only the head of the department is usually a 'professor') were all leaders in their fields, constantly attending very important international conferences at which they delivered very important papers.
Career driven, intensely ambitious and competitive, they had little time or sympathy for undergrads. At any rate, not for those like me: questioning, unsure, full of doubt. If you had a problem, you went to a lowly post-doc researcher, who would take the time to try to explain patiently what you were missing.
I loathed the three years I read physics and philosophy. I went from being the blue-eyed scholar to being a dunce. I learned next to nothing and didn't bother to attend the degree ceremony or collect my piece of paper.
In the many decades since, I've taught myself slowly and painfully everything that myriad expensive schools and formal university training were unable to impart.
In my view, the university system is an anachronism, a throwback to the time of Abelard. The truly dedicated who seek after knowledge will teach themselves. From reading the original papers of Copernicus, Newton, Faraday, Maxwell, Einstein, Fermi and others, I have learned that the reason that physics is as difficult as it seems because it is difficult. Nothing is quite as straightforward as it might appear. The greatest thinkers understood this. The also-rans? Not so much.
Stick to reading the best of the best. It's hard but will open up a completely new world.
Career driven, intensely ambitious and competitive, they had little time or sympathy for undergrads. At any rate, not for those like me: questioning, unsure, full of doubt. If you had a problem, you went to a lowly post-doc researcher, who would take the time to try to explain patiently what you were missing.
I loathed the three years I read physics and philosophy. I went from being the blue-eyed scholar to being a dunce. I learned next to nothing and didn't bother to attend the degree ceremony or collect my piece of paper.
In the many decades since, I've taught myself slowly and painfully everything that myriad expensive schools and formal university training were unable to impart.
In my view, the university system is an anachronism, a throwback to the time of Abelard. The truly dedicated who seek after knowledge will teach themselves. From reading the original papers of Copernicus, Newton, Faraday, Maxwell, Einstein, Fermi and others, I have learned that the reason that physics is as difficult as it seems because it is difficult. Nothing is quite as straightforward as it might appear. The greatest thinkers understood this. The also-rans? Not so much.
Stick to reading the best of the best. It's hard but will open up a completely new world.
4
brilliant.
As an undergraduate reading primary sources in physics would be unhelpful. Much of Newton would be unintelligible. The relevant parts can be summed up in a standard textbook.
Reading Kepler may be interesting from a historical viewpoint but not as fruitful as reading a modern text on the planets.
Reading Kepler may be interesting from a historical viewpoint but not as fruitful as reading a modern text on the planets.
As a 2014 graduate I can confirm: this effect is real, pervasive, and unchallenged.
I originally attended what can only be described as an anti-intellectual "elite" university. Students had no regard for professors or for intellectual pursuits as a whole. You see, demanding an A is a symptom of the transformation from learning into education.
My generation tends not to seek out information for the sake of it, and we are disempowered because of it. Apathy reigns. It's hard to find like-minded folks among my peers; it seems the only ones who understand are 40-something prognosticators from the Northeast.
Once the current tech fad fades perhaps we'll wake up to what we've ignored.
I originally attended what can only be described as an anti-intellectual "elite" university. Students had no regard for professors or for intellectual pursuits as a whole. You see, demanding an A is a symptom of the transformation from learning into education.
My generation tends not to seek out information for the sake of it, and we are disempowered because of it. Apathy reigns. It's hard to find like-minded folks among my peers; it seems the only ones who understand are 40-something prognosticators from the Northeast.
Once the current tech fad fades perhaps we'll wake up to what we've ignored.
As far as grade inflation goes, the main culprit is end-of-course student evaluations. These types of evaluations have been utilized for decades in American universities and almost all of them now use such evaluations. However, there remains a high-level of controversy over their use, especially among many faculty members who believe the evaluations are used by university administrations to make retention and promotion decisions. As it turns out, they are generally correct in their assumption. Many universities use such surveys as a summative tool for retention and promotion in the university. There is an often unspoken qui pro quo, in which faculty members exchange easy grading for good evaluations. Considering the high stakes faculty members face of having career decisions based off of an unaccountable third party via student end-of-course evaluations, we should not be surprised if some faculty members might actually be “gaming” the system to improve their chances of retaining their job or potentially getting tenure.
12
I am happy that this professor spends so much time with his students. I wish I had more meaningful interactions like these with my professors during college. I remember being very intimidated by them, something that their aloof attitudes in office hours never truly dispelled.
3
Professors have almost total discretion over grades. Therefore, if the author feels he is handing out too many As, he is to blame. I suspect he feels pressure because his peers are similarly generous (and I fully agree that students arrive with unrealistic expectations). If so, then there are two methods to combat the grade inflation he decries. Either he and his colleagues can hold the line individually or have an administrator dictate his curve to solve the collective action problem. Personally (I too am a professor), I choose to hold the line myself rather than wring my hands and pretend it is out of my control. Yes, my students think my course is difficult. But I work hard to make it worth their while, to explain what distinguishes A from B from C, and to inspire them. It sounds like the author works hard to inspire, but has forgotten that the grades are under his control and that the collective expectations of the students are formed one professor at a time.
The deeper issues the author treats-- summarized in brief as lack of academic engagement-- are surely a widespread problem. But this one has a simple solution.
The deeper issues the author treats-- summarized in brief as lack of academic engagement-- are surely a widespread problem. But this one has a simple solution.
2
You equate difficulty with final grade assessment: It may be impossible for you to imagine, but a teacher can give out the A's and still conduct a difficult and inspiring course. It seems in the system you respect, grades are a punitive\reward tool. Apply your intellect to developing a system in which the final grade is meaningless but the course content is not only meaningful, but transformative.
I only wish grades were"under our control." Many faculty members get pressure from administrators in their department to change a grade. A low passing or a failing grade may mean lower enrollments in the future and, as such, lead to declines in revenue.
1
Besides giving out easy A's college professors also continue to rack up the accrual of benefits much to the chagrin of parents paying full freight when it comes to ever increasing college costs. Shame on these professors.
Um, the professors do not set the price. Look to the boards of trustees and for public institutions, the state legislature. The professors' job is to keep those tuition bucks flowing.
1
So what has to happen for situation to change? What is the motivation in a system where research is the driver and teaching is a secondary commitment?
That's an ancient and not true dichotomy. Major universities create as well as disseminate knowledge and during my long career doing both, most of my colleagues welcomed undergraduates to their research. Research is teaching. What has evolved over the past few years is ever increasing tuition, ever increasing administration, decreasing time for research and increasing hiring of fixed-term or adjunct faculty. Major universities are becoming vo-tech institutions. Years ago, I used to say, tongue-in-cheek, that the major anti-intellectual institutions are American state universities. The tongue is now out of the cheek.
1
I'm sorry Prof. Bauerlein is feeling so badly about his teaching. I teach at a large state university where my students are often working long hours to pay for their education or commuting long hours to save money by living with their parents. So I don't take it too personally if they don't have time to come and chat. Nevertheless my students continue to be engaged and engaging. Not to get too psychoanalytic about it but ... perhaps Prof. Bauerlein is suffering from a slight counter-transference in which he needs his students to affirm his own sense of self worth and is therefore suffering (or at least complaining) because he doesn't feel they do. My belief is that I am at my best at a teacher when I need nothing from my students because only then I can be there entirely for them. Maybe if Prof Bauerlein worked a little harder to need his students to need him a little less, they might be able to enjoy him more, and even stop by to say hello during his lonely office hours.
1
Well... when you were going to college, it was much less expensive, and the job market was much brighter. I think students these days are correct in wanting to be competitive in the job market. Most of them would like to be stimulated by their professors, too, but their priorities in wanting to be able to make a way for themselves in the world are completely reasonable.
I'm also uncomfortable with someone who is comfortable setting himself up as a moral authority. Perhaps this was just an unfortunate choice of words. At any rate, students today do not resist probing moral or ethical issues.
Other readers have pointed out that university administrations have de facto been willing to sacrifice teaching in their mad scramble for external funding, which is certainly a major issue.
I'm also uncomfortable with someone who is comfortable setting himself up as a moral authority. Perhaps this was just an unfortunate choice of words. At any rate, students today do not resist probing moral or ethical issues.
Other readers have pointed out that university administrations have de facto been willing to sacrifice teaching in their mad scramble for external funding, which is certainly a major issue.
3
If almost every student is pursuing a college degree with the express goal of ensuring they possess marketable skills upon graduation, it stands to reason that the "marketable skills" classes will attract the most students and the net result will be a glut of students with the same or similar marketable skills upon graduation.
Employers, on the other hand will be able to choose from a plethora of prospective employees, with the same or similar skills, and their marketability may be as meaningless as their over-inflated grade point averages.
Employers, on the other hand will be able to choose from a plethora of prospective employees, with the same or similar skills, and their marketability may be as meaningless as their over-inflated grade point averages.
Happily, the author's experience does not reflect my own in teaching for 15 years at a rather small music college within a larger university.
I have noticed that most professors tend to teach in the manner in which they were taught. Often this does not involve designing courses to be exploratory or collaborative with the students, but instead generate modules following what Barr & Tagg (1995) refer to as the instructional paradigm.
I find that students who are engaged using the learning paradigm are far more responsive and participatory than those who are not. This kind of course design requires devising assessment models that are not always traditional. So I think the problem is that many institutions and faculty have not caught up with current educational theory. Not surprising, when in many of those same institutions the mere possession of an advanced degree somehow qualifies the degree holder as being able to teach...
I have noticed that most professors tend to teach in the manner in which they were taught. Often this does not involve designing courses to be exploratory or collaborative with the students, but instead generate modules following what Barr & Tagg (1995) refer to as the instructional paradigm.
I find that students who are engaged using the learning paradigm are far more responsive and participatory than those who are not. This kind of course design requires devising assessment models that are not always traditional. So I think the problem is that many institutions and faculty have not caught up with current educational theory. Not surprising, when in many of those same institutions the mere possession of an advanced degree somehow qualifies the degree holder as being able to teach...
1
Teaching online courses, I require all students to have Skype or Google+ video chat meetings with me and to have team meetings with other students in online courses for team projects. I get to see their cats and the posters on the wall of their room. It can be much more personal than on-campus meetings at the end of class or in an office. A current emphasis of mine is to collaborate with others outside the course with course projects. For example, I require students to work with reference librarians on research strategies. This can be done online. Also, I see bringing students together with expert practitioners to discuss projects and ideas through social media as important. Going beyond just the professor. As a business management professor, I do my best to give feedback to learners on their writing. I entered college in 1965 and began university teaching in 1976. Back then words such as "environment" were consistently misspelled. With automatic grammar and spelling checks the level of writing has improved immensely. Still having students come to understand that professional level communication involves doing spelling checking, not using lower case for the pronoun "I", providing clear citations not just URLs, etc. is part of my job. One point I disagree with Bauerlein on is his viewing the gym as a distraction for students. I see regularly physical exercise as very important for students (and everyone else too).
1
Under our present system of fundamental capitalism, what else would the student be but a consumer? The corollary of corporation as person is person as economic unit. This is a shallow, unsatisfying view of humanity. But it does explain a college education as simply a check list of accreditation. It also explains the sorry state of our national political life. We are ensnared by the web we weave.
And I would respectfully ask, who are the sources of moral authority today that most people would recognize as such?
.....Yeah, exactly my point. KA
And I would respectfully ask, who are the sources of moral authority today that most people would recognize as such?
.....Yeah, exactly my point. KA
3
This op-ed piece can be summed up as follows: "We have so much wisdom and guidance to offer. Why don't the students pay us proper homage like in the old days?" In my opinion, universities and the professors who perpetuate the status quo---including their six figure salaries which are practically guaranteed for as long as they live---have only themselves to blame for the "student as customer" culture. When students are asked to pay $40,000+ for annual tuition (as they would at a school like Emory) and are forced to buy $150 textbooks written by the professor or their buddies, they are entirely justified in considering themselves customers and treating their professors as service providers. No doubt there are many professors who genuinely care and have much wisdom to offer, but when the students correctly perceive that their six-figure debt is funding the professors' life of the mind (including decades of travel!), it is difficult for them not to feel entitled to good grades for mediocre work products and extensions whenever they want one.
You make it seem like Professor's salaries are why tuition is high. If you did some research, simple research, you'd see most of the money goes toward administrative salaries and keeping the doors open.
I'd also like to know what schools are loaded with all of these 6 figure salaries for professors. There are some but it is not the norm at all.
I'd also like to know what schools are loaded with all of these 6 figure salaries for professors. There are some but it is not the norm at all.
2
My first semester I had a professor tell us that there are "too many A's" given out. By my 3rd semester I understood.
Prof. Bauerlein:
Why should your students talk to you when colleges are gearing themselves more to talking to parents?
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/08/how-to-talk-to-your-childs...®ion=Body
You are correct though that university faculty are often treated or related to by students as "service givers". The high tuition rates strengthens this as students feels that they are entitled to a good mark as value for their payment. Talk or communication or "education" or anything that does not have a good grade attached to it is treated as a waste of time.
Moreover, as faculty are often dependent on student evaluations in one form or another, best to take the easy way. Why risk anything in contact beyond the classroom and handing over a grade?
I had a professor who once stated that college education should be a battlefield, i.e. a battlefield of the mind, of the intellect. Today this very concept would result in "trigger warnings" for the coddled student.
A professor who teaches that way now will probably find himself or herself in a lot of trouble or in some instances unemployed.
Too bad.
Why should your students talk to you when colleges are gearing themselves more to talking to parents?
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/05/08/how-to-talk-to-your-childs...®ion=Body
You are correct though that university faculty are often treated or related to by students as "service givers". The high tuition rates strengthens this as students feels that they are entitled to a good mark as value for their payment. Talk or communication or "education" or anything that does not have a good grade attached to it is treated as a waste of time.
Moreover, as faculty are often dependent on student evaluations in one form or another, best to take the easy way. Why risk anything in contact beyond the classroom and handing over a grade?
I had a professor who once stated that college education should be a battlefield, i.e. a battlefield of the mind, of the intellect. Today this very concept would result in "trigger warnings" for the coddled student.
A professor who teaches that way now will probably find himself or herself in a lot of trouble or in some instances unemployed.
Too bad.
5
'Moral authority'? In this era of Bods, Bucks and Brainlessness, any professor who dared get his students thinking in those terms would soon be history - out in the street without tenure, relegated to writing endless grant proposals for a while with it (and probably out on some pretext soon, anyway). What else would you expect, at a time when college presidents tread softly in matters of the worst 'Greek system' abuses because the 'Greek' alumni tend to hold the corporate donation purse strings? I wonder how long Dartmouth's new president - who showed admirable courage in kicking Alpha Delta, the real 'Animal House', to the curb after finding out that they were literally branding their pledges - will keep HIS job? I doubt the bookmakers are giving him great odds.
Even the great Reinhold Niebuhr, of 'The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness' fame (required reading in pre-PC times) would be lucky to avoid the unemployment line. That's because the Children of Darkness won the cultural and financial wars. And still all too many of us keep drinking the Kool-Ade and living our lives as if the Kardashians matter. Pathetic.
Even the great Reinhold Niebuhr, of 'The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness' fame (required reading in pre-PC times) would be lucky to avoid the unemployment line. That's because the Children of Darkness won the cultural and financial wars. And still all too many of us keep drinking the Kool-Ade and living our lives as if the Kardashians matter. Pathetic.
1
Another contributor to low student-faculty involvement is the increasing reliance on adjunct faculty to lower personnel costs. Often over half of course sections, especially for freshmen and sophomores, are taught by part-time faculty with very limited presence on campus. Add to that the need to work outside of school among poorer students at urban public universities, and the kind of faculty-student mentoring Prof. Bauerlein describes occurs only with the most dedicated and perhaps the most privileged students.
3
Let us clarify what a university is: it is a profit-driven business. Into one funnel goes, say, $150,000 in tuition (if only that!) and out the other end a degree is delivered to the student provided they jumped through the assigned hoops. Our idealism of what a university should be seldom matches up with daily reality.
The professors I observed in three universities were, for the most part, essentially contracted help to fill temporary 'teaching' slots to orate purviews of overpriced text books. Increasingly, teaching positions were assigned to 'assistant' professorships to keep down salary expenses. Whether they had the slightest talent for teaching was obviously not a priority.
In the future, more courses will be taught over websites, not in person, and online colleges are increasing in number. As for the personal wisdom imparted by professors that Mr. Bauerlein extols, I saw precious little of that. The frantic assembly-line that academic courses actually are was moving too fast to allow for such ruminations.
The professors I observed in three universities were, for the most part, essentially contracted help to fill temporary 'teaching' slots to orate purviews of overpriced text books. Increasingly, teaching positions were assigned to 'assistant' professorships to keep down salary expenses. Whether they had the slightest talent for teaching was obviously not a priority.
In the future, more courses will be taught over websites, not in person, and online colleges are increasing in number. As for the personal wisdom imparted by professors that Mr. Bauerlein extols, I saw precious little of that. The frantic assembly-line that academic courses actually are was moving too fast to allow for such ruminations.
The author writes, "Naturally, students looked to professors for moral and worldly understanding" - are you kidding me. That's a mistake from the start. Why would or should a student look to a professor for either vs. competence in their field? I'm certain some professors may have some valuable or special insights on morals or world understanding, but assuming this is the case is laughable.
4
It was long academia's dirty little secret that its full-time professorial staff has been shrinking dramatically relative to the massive growth of tuition and expansion of administration. Most teaching is increasingly done by part-time adjuncts with no job security, no benefits, and levels of pay per course at a fraction of what full-time professors receive. Fortunately, newspapers like the Times have recently started giving this scandalous situation some coverage.
But it is stunning to see that Professor Bauerlein can publish a Sunday Review essay lamenting the decline of individual student/professor interaction over the past four decades without so much as mentioning the obviously related fact that 3/4 of the instructional staff of colleges are now part-time adjuncts. The latter are paid by the hour, based on actual time in the classroom, and for the most part do not have their own offices; this situation makes it difficult or impossible for them to engage in the kind of extensive one-on-one mentoring Bauerlein exhorts upon them. And for that matter, even most full-time tenure-track and tenured instructors outside the elite Research 1 circuit of Bauerlein's own employer (Emory) and alma mater (UCLA), simply have too many students and too few resources to lavish the kind of attention on them that he asks for. Bauerlein and other nostalgists might consider paying some attention to the economic conditions that have given rise to the situation he describes.
But it is stunning to see that Professor Bauerlein can publish a Sunday Review essay lamenting the decline of individual student/professor interaction over the past four decades without so much as mentioning the obviously related fact that 3/4 of the instructional staff of colleges are now part-time adjuncts. The latter are paid by the hour, based on actual time in the classroom, and for the most part do not have their own offices; this situation makes it difficult or impossible for them to engage in the kind of extensive one-on-one mentoring Bauerlein exhorts upon them. And for that matter, even most full-time tenure-track and tenured instructors outside the elite Research 1 circuit of Bauerlein's own employer (Emory) and alma mater (UCLA), simply have too many students and too few resources to lavish the kind of attention on them that he asks for. Bauerlein and other nostalgists might consider paying some attention to the economic conditions that have given rise to the situation he describes.
641
Exactly.
1
When I taught at an elite institution, my "boss" would mutter from time to time about "deadwood on the faculty." And rightly so. Tenure is an anomaly, particularly in an era when free speech is defended only by those who agree with what you say. I hated the students and left after being promoted.
As an undergraduate at such an institution, I took courses enrolling hundreds of students. And the guy with the largest class in each department always considers this a great distinction--but his class is inevitably intellectually unrespectable. That didn't bother me. What bothered me was having to go to "discussion sections" that were "taught" by time-serving grad students.
As an undergraduate at such an institution, I took courses enrolling hundreds of students. And the guy with the largest class in each department always considers this a great distinction--but his class is inevitably intellectually unrespectable. That didn't bother me. What bothered me was having to go to "discussion sections" that were "taught" by time-serving grad students.
1
A massive over generalization. Whether or not a college makes extensive use of adjuncts depends on the sector (public, private, R-1, community college, small liberal arts, state university), available resoiurces, the labor climate to name a few conditions. At public coleges and universities, tenure, with the guarantee of life time employment whether merited or not over time, created bloated discplines with no room for new faculty. Adjuncts do the work tenured profs won't do and don't permanently cripple the budget.
The faculty's unwillingness to police its own ranks led to the swell of administrators. Accreditors demanded accountability, real results, and somone had to do the work. As state legislatues across the country dismantle public unions and unproductive faculty exit, the market for terrific adjuncts to become full time might improve.
The faculty's unwillingness to police its own ranks led to the swell of administrators. Accreditors demanded accountability, real results, and somone had to do the work. As state legislatues across the country dismantle public unions and unproductive faculty exit, the market for terrific adjuncts to become full time might improve.
This is a huge oversimplification from a sour academic. Education has become democratized, and no longer is it assumed that professors have all the answers.
1
Universities need to adapt. Professors may not be keeping up with their students, nor the latest research on how to ensure students learn what professors are teaching. In the short-term, students will probably continue to seek 'wisdom' from their peers, the internet, and other sources. As for career being students' main focus, it should be universities who adapt to students' new apparent priorities -- how can professors and administrators design courses and programs to help direct career focus to more enriching academic experiences?
If interest seems to be fading, in what new ways can professors engage students? I highly appreciate the time the writer of this column takes in compelling students to work outside of class. In my experience, many professors let students' lack of engagement deter them from intervening, and then the quality of education may slide. Still, some professors adopt innovative pedagogical methods to keep pace with students'. Others, though, keep with traditional lecture style, which study after study affirms is an ineffective learning environment. It's time for universities to overhaul the ivory tower 'wise professor' model and rethink students' involvement in their academic pursuits.
If interest seems to be fading, in what new ways can professors engage students? I highly appreciate the time the writer of this column takes in compelling students to work outside of class. In my experience, many professors let students' lack of engagement deter them from intervening, and then the quality of education may slide. Still, some professors adopt innovative pedagogical methods to keep pace with students'. Others, though, keep with traditional lecture style, which study after study affirms is an ineffective learning environment. It's time for universities to overhaul the ivory tower 'wise professor' model and rethink students' involvement in their academic pursuits.
33
Universities have transmogrified from places where the best and the brightest learned about their own intellectual potential into glorified degree mills. The degrees are nothing but leveraged financial assets, their recipients collectively indentured by over a trillion dollars in loans, their future assured, i.e., work and pay or else.
2
For the non tenured, the majority, student evaluations can and do modify whether one will be able to eat. This leads to the students getting what they want......an A. Similiarly patient evaluations upon which doctor's careers are determined if they work for a large company or the government.....result in the patients getting whatever unnecessary care, narcotics, or whatever that they want. Nobody wants to hear the truth.
3
Professors in the ‘60s or ‘80s had far more time to spend with students outside of class. The “publish or perish” mentality is so corrosive now that it inculcates the view that free time should be spent publishing articles. Professors are hired and fired based on their productivity much like factory workers.
One consequence of postmodernism’s traction amongst scholars is that traditional modes of authority have been “problematized,” which helps to explain why the majority of students view professors as colleagues or peers. Is it any surprise that English majors aren’t lining up to chat away the afternoon with their “colleagues?”
Grade inflation is linked inextricably with the “students as customers” model. Professors also depend on positive student evaluations, which can be ensured by inflating grades through various mechanisms. Students are paying for a product (degree+good GPA=high salary) and professors must acquiesce, or face negative performance evaluations from their “peers,” which carry serious implications for their career.
Why should professors be viewed as role models when they conform to exploitative labor conditions, import theories that undermine their own authority, and reduce education to a market transaction.
As a professor you can't be a moral authority if you overlook the awful fact that most of your colleagues are adjuncts without benefits.
Perhaps more students would visit professors if more professors actually had offices to visit.
One consequence of postmodernism’s traction amongst scholars is that traditional modes of authority have been “problematized,” which helps to explain why the majority of students view professors as colleagues or peers. Is it any surprise that English majors aren’t lining up to chat away the afternoon with their “colleagues?”
Grade inflation is linked inextricably with the “students as customers” model. Professors also depend on positive student evaluations, which can be ensured by inflating grades through various mechanisms. Students are paying for a product (degree+good GPA=high salary) and professors must acquiesce, or face negative performance evaluations from their “peers,” which carry serious implications for their career.
Why should professors be viewed as role models when they conform to exploitative labor conditions, import theories that undermine their own authority, and reduce education to a market transaction.
As a professor you can't be a moral authority if you overlook the awful fact that most of your colleagues are adjuncts without benefits.
Perhaps more students would visit professors if more professors actually had offices to visit.
7
The point of a professor is merely to make money for the university. As an adjunct, my only job is to get the students to enroll next semester. It doesn't matter whether they re-take the class or go to the next, as long as they continue to pay.
2
Amherst College should retroactively improve my grades from the 1960's. It is a little late, but would still improve my self esteem.
Most everyone I know has kids who are getting straight "A's"in high school out here in the land of "Minnesota Nice," and all the parents are proud, but almost none of their kids get into a selective college and few are ready for the challenges of life.
Most everyone I know has kids who are getting straight "A's"in high school out here in the land of "Minnesota Nice," and all the parents are proud, but almost none of their kids get into a selective college and few are ready for the challenges of life.
Professor Bauerlein, it's a natural result of consumerism. Once the consumer has major influence on what the product is to be, professors become providers to provide that product. Providers are then rated by consumers, as professors now are by students. Learning how to think is not translated so easily into a product as is getting an A.
3
Giving out A's like candy and dumbing down the curriculum comes down to one thing: economics. Major universities have shifted the 'burden' of teaching to graduate students and adjuncts. In order to keep their teaching fellowships and be invited back for another semester of slave wages, grad students and especially adjuncts do what they must to earn positive reviews from students. It is these reviews, from the students (consumers) that the administration looks at when determining hires for subsequent semesters. If you couldn't get a tenure track position and your livelihood depended on overweening approval of students, what would you do?!
The universities have set up a non-virtuous cycle, wherein instructors have tenuous holds on positions, students have tenuous background knowledge and study habits, and top researchers and professors bring in the grant and research dollars, as well as their imprimatur on the institution.
Colleges continue to battle it out for the poshest dorms and ridiculous amenities, the nadir being the surge in campus 'lazy rivers.' When universities use their non-profit status as a means to generate tremendous profits, education becomes secondary, or even tertiary. I fear there is no going back to higher learning as we knew it.
The universities have set up a non-virtuous cycle, wherein instructors have tenuous holds on positions, students have tenuous background knowledge and study habits, and top researchers and professors bring in the grant and research dollars, as well as their imprimatur on the institution.
Colleges continue to battle it out for the poshest dorms and ridiculous amenities, the nadir being the surge in campus 'lazy rivers.' When universities use their non-profit status as a means to generate tremendous profits, education becomes secondary, or even tertiary. I fear there is no going back to higher learning as we knew it.
3
I have a friend who lost his job as a professor in a southern university because a few students didn't like him. Many did, of course, with one setting up a Facebook page to let others publicly grieve over his dismissal. But my point is this; neither should have mattered.
Today's college students, having been coddled since birth, simply assume that their opinion is the most important one. Having been told by their parents that they are special, having never been disciplined by any authority figure (remember when teachers partly played that role?) they enter college very glib and sure of themselves -- and it seems, they leave the same way, however empty their heads may be.
Today's college students, having been coddled since birth, simply assume that their opinion is the most important one. Having been told by their parents that they are special, having never been disciplined by any authority figure (remember when teachers partly played that role?) they enter college very glib and sure of themselves -- and it seems, they leave the same way, however empty their heads may be.
7
As Samuel Clemens used to say, never let Schooling interfere with your education.
2
Excuse me, those halcyon days of old weren't so halcyon. I graduated with a BS Chemistry in 1960. I had a Metallurgy Professor, "2.0 Jones", who said "A's are for God, B's are for faculty and students get C or less". My Organic Chemistry Professor, when I proposed a thesis topic, responded with "What's in it for me?".
Back then you got interview with good companies based on your GPA so you gamed your course selection, avoiding the courses that were most challenging. It seemed like the faculty was working for GE or Eastman or Corning Glass and not the students.
If 43% of the grades these days are A's then the professors aren't working for the corporations any more and the students can take hard courses without fear. That's a big improvement. I don't know about the mentoring thing but none of my professors were mentors either, except perhaps for a couple who were nearing retirement.
I graduated with a 2.9 GPA and got a fairly low paying job. Four years later I went back and got an MS. This time I was much better at gaming the system and got a 3.6 GPA and a job with IBM at 2.5 times my previous salary.
Back then you got interview with good companies based on your GPA so you gamed your course selection, avoiding the courses that were most challenging. It seemed like the faculty was working for GE or Eastman or Corning Glass and not the students.
If 43% of the grades these days are A's then the professors aren't working for the corporations any more and the students can take hard courses without fear. That's a big improvement. I don't know about the mentoring thing but none of my professors were mentors either, except perhaps for a couple who were nearing retirement.
I graduated with a 2.9 GPA and got a fairly low paying job. Four years later I went back and got an MS. This time I was much better at gaming the system and got a 3.6 GPA and a job with IBM at 2.5 times my previous salary.
1
Moral authority must be earned in relationship.
It is not conferred by position such as professor, pastor, or physician. These are only platforms from which the person is in a position to reach out and form the relationship that matters.
It is not conferred by position such as professor, pastor, or physician. These are only platforms from which the person is in a position to reach out and form the relationship that matters.
1
My experience in teaching at six public universities confirms the author's opinions of the changes since the sixties. Students are preoccupied with social activities, discretionary jobs, and campus distractions. As a result, freshmen and sophomores use faculty resources very little and younger faculty return the favor and focus on grants and publications rather than students.
I now require office visits of even second year graduate courses as graded exercises--and students uniformly respond in a positive manner, many saying that they find better feedback in my courses than most of the others that they take. Virtually none complain and in fact most indicate surprise that I am willing to spend so much time with them.
Years ago in one department it was customary for us to eat lunch in the conference room together once a week--and once a week to talk through the majors and voice any concerns or compliments. Departments now seem often more like Starbucks, where busy professionals come to use the wifi, check their mail, say hellos, and do a little business before heading to a classroom and then home again.
I now require office visits of even second year graduate courses as graded exercises--and students uniformly respond in a positive manner, many saying that they find better feedback in my courses than most of the others that they take. Virtually none complain and in fact most indicate surprise that I am willing to spend so much time with them.
Years ago in one department it was customary for us to eat lunch in the conference room together once a week--and once a week to talk through the majors and voice any concerns or compliments. Departments now seem often more like Starbucks, where busy professionals come to use the wifi, check their mail, say hellos, and do a little business before heading to a classroom and then home again.
1
Perhaps this reflects society's view in general. After I left academia and worked for the private sector (then "Big 5" accounting firm) I was incessantly asked why I "wasted" time pursuing a PhD or was referred to as an "egghead". This was coming from "educated" accountants and attorneys.
1
I teach at a big state university, and I never cease to be amazed at the fact the so many students few their university years as just another experience rather than a potential life-changing experience. It seems like one vast video game to them. For example, when I was in college, it never occurred to me to be late for class (it did happen, but rarely) or leave class early. Now, they stroll into and out of class when they feel like it (much to my occasional protests) as if it's a movie theater, and I can do little to stop them from texting on their iPhones during the class. They beg me to make up tests if they've "accidentally" slept through it (not usually granted) or request early final exams so they can catch an early plane home for the holidays. And of course there are the non-stop challenges to my grading. Yes, I could fight this, and usually I do, but frankly my goal is to teach to the best ones (and, thank god, there are some very good ones) and reward them. The "student as customer" is indeed a terrible and popular mantra that the politicians --with little wisdom and only the almighty dollar as their guiding light--have hung around our necks. My hope in all of this is that I can at least make a difference for the best ones, while at least trying to plant an idea or two in the heads of the others.
131
The middle class has come to college in droves. The private school mentality, where professors are automatically held in high esteem, is a thing of the past. Public school kids are now in the great majority. Esteem has to be earned. Whiny professors need to adjust to the real world.
Charlie, or is it Instructor Charlie, or Dr. Charlie? Gain-Es-Ville (Gainesville) gives away too much information for anyone who bleeds Orange/Blue. So How are things at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium?
I'm not sure we're contemporaries, but we might be. I am graduated by the S.I. Newhouse School of Religious Studies at a small school in Western New York that is fond of Oranges. Special privileges, late for class, late with assignments, wandering in/out, skipping classes, make-up tests/assignments ... No way on God's Green Earth.
With the exception of the large-attendance lectures, profs always had time to talk with all his/her serious students, and I had a couple of beauts that helped me with Thomas Aquinas (Hope I didn't misspell) and St. Augustine. "A's"? Yeah I got a few, but not many.
Thanks for the heart-to-heart, Charlie. Hope we have a better football season. Maybe I'll see ya' at my once-a-year visit to "The Swamp".
I'm not sure we're contemporaries, but we might be. I am graduated by the S.I. Newhouse School of Religious Studies at a small school in Western New York that is fond of Oranges. Special privileges, late for class, late with assignments, wandering in/out, skipping classes, make-up tests/assignments ... No way on God's Green Earth.
With the exception of the large-attendance lectures, profs always had time to talk with all his/her serious students, and I had a couple of beauts that helped me with Thomas Aquinas (Hope I didn't misspell) and St. Augustine. "A's"? Yeah I got a few, but not many.
Thanks for the heart-to-heart, Charlie. Hope we have a better football season. Maybe I'll see ya' at my once-a-year visit to "The Swamp".
As professors, I find that we can forget that we are responsible for the learning environment that we construct in the classroom. Yes, students do not know how to properly behave, but it is the professor's job to instruct the students how to behave and to enforce our rules. Yes, 20 years ago professors received better trained and behaving students from high school, but that does not absolve us of the responsibility to set rules for good classroom behavior. Rather than be shocked and offended by students, lets do something about it. The good students will thank you and the bad students will get in line.
What Baurlein is describing is the result of many contributing factors that are interwoven in a Gordian Knot. Yes, more kids are going to school, including millions who, in earlier generations would not be considered "college material".
In addition, because there are so many schools to choose from, the role of professor has been trivialized, as has the value and quality of education at American colleges and universities thanks to a diffused talent pool of educators.
The schools themselves have further exacerbated the problem with their emphasis in turning themselves into playgrounds for young adults rather than looking for ways to improve themselves as centers of learning.
Students don't need more lattes and indoor pools. Expanded amenities are driving skyrocketing tuition costs as much as bloated bureaucracies without improving young minds.
My alma mater is 250% more expensive now than it was when I graduated twenty-two years without providing a 250% better education. With tuition to a four year school costing the same as a house, how could students not look at their education as a consumer investment?
Schools should also deprecate the whole "publish or perish" philosophy, since it has little to do with a professor's ability to teach Freshman English Lit. I'd rather my daughter have an adjunct who was a great teacher than a tenured full professor who was more interested in promoting an article in an obscure publication unrelated to my daughter's class work.
In addition, because there are so many schools to choose from, the role of professor has been trivialized, as has the value and quality of education at American colleges and universities thanks to a diffused talent pool of educators.
The schools themselves have further exacerbated the problem with their emphasis in turning themselves into playgrounds for young adults rather than looking for ways to improve themselves as centers of learning.
Students don't need more lattes and indoor pools. Expanded amenities are driving skyrocketing tuition costs as much as bloated bureaucracies without improving young minds.
My alma mater is 250% more expensive now than it was when I graduated twenty-two years without providing a 250% better education. With tuition to a four year school costing the same as a house, how could students not look at their education as a consumer investment?
Schools should also deprecate the whole "publish or perish" philosophy, since it has little to do with a professor's ability to teach Freshman English Lit. I'd rather my daughter have an adjunct who was a great teacher than a tenured full professor who was more interested in promoting an article in an obscure publication unrelated to my daughter's class work.
15
Eerily enough, this publish-or-perish thing could be lending itself to a perverse reading of the Marxist point on quantity allegedly mapping to quality. Surely a plethora of dunces do not add up to a genius. On second thought, the said maxim could apply to student apprenticeship: The harder you write, the better your odds of ever writing a good term paper--or for that matter, of throwing an idea or two towards your TA's would-be tenure.
I taught in STEM for a long time at the research university level. By the 1990's it was clear that the students' collective attitude had changed from enthusiasm for the subject matter to an expectation that the professor would unscrew the cap on their heads, pour in the content knowledge, and then hand them A grades. There were a minority who still thrived in the process of learning, of course, and I'm happy to have helped them. It's not the only reason that I left academe for more lucrative pastures, but it was discouraging. It seems things have only worsened since then.
10
Actually, in my experience many of them would be happy enough if you skipped pouring in the content knowledge and just gave them the A-- or at least a pass so they could get the college degree ( a college education was not what they came there for).
Fortunately, there were always a few extraordinary students in each class, who came to learn, and asked questions not about " is that on the exam?." but rather to explore an idea that fired their imagination.
Fortunately, there were always a few extraordinary students in each class, who came to learn, and asked questions not about " is that on the exam?." but rather to explore an idea that fired their imagination.
2
We shouldn't be surprised. The university is corporatized, classrooms are overcrowded at public institutions, students are now the customers, a college's "success" is measured by how many degrees they churn out, and professors, especially young faculty, are increasingly loathe to pass critical judgement on students (or their peers), lest it interfere their own advancement, or just simply take time away from their own CV building. Genuine critical evaluation of others means being labeled "unsupportive," but underneath this is really self-interest. Administrators, faculty and students all acting in concert in their own self-interest. It's not the students who expect the A's that we should blame, but an institution that rewards popularity over integrity, dollars over learning, and faculty all too willing to go along with the charade, terrified of RateMYProf. customer complaints. And how about the straight A's faculty give other faculty in the Peer review process? Depressing indeed.
23
same page
Germany system offers an interesting alternative. College should not be a necessary condition for a promising career.
9
I guess, Akerlof and Spence, alongside another Nobel winning host, have long argued top schooling is just that--neither necessary, nor sufficient, yet rather a matter of signaling for the labor market amidst bounded rationality or high deliberation cost, when it comes to the would-be employee's fundamental ability being less than observable directly. I don't think the authors actually believe that's all they wanted their own schooling for, though. Up Maslow, once you've had your coffee and network recognition, it's self-actualization that matters in the end.
Granted, I teach English at a small community college in northern Wyoming, not at UCLA or Emory, but I couldn't disagree more with Dr. Bauerlein. (I also disagreed with _The Dumbest Generation_.)
To paint all academics so broadly does a disservice to those of us who take our teaching and research seriously--and it is equally disrespectful to our students who do the hard work of getting an education. Are there unengaged faculty and lazy students? Absolutely. Are there problems in higher ed? Yes. But I have colleagues whose dedication and innovation leave me in awe, and every semester, I have students who take on the challenges I give them and surprise themselves. If I am engaged and interested in who they are and their writing, my students (most of them from ranches and small towns in Wyoming and Montana) do the work. I have the reputation of being a demanding teacher.
A central way in which I engage students is through technology, both in my classes and outside it. I encourage students to use their cell phones in class. (These are amazing computers, and students are remarkably unaware of their power.) If I keep students busy and engaged, they're working, not texting friends. Twitter has revolutionized my teaching--they'll tweet things they won't say in class, and those tweets lead to important conversations. Technology is a powerful tool. I have little patience with those who see it as the cause of all our ills.
David Foster Wallace was right: "This is water."
To paint all academics so broadly does a disservice to those of us who take our teaching and research seriously--and it is equally disrespectful to our students who do the hard work of getting an education. Are there unengaged faculty and lazy students? Absolutely. Are there problems in higher ed? Yes. But I have colleagues whose dedication and innovation leave me in awe, and every semester, I have students who take on the challenges I give them and surprise themselves. If I am engaged and interested in who they are and their writing, my students (most of them from ranches and small towns in Wyoming and Montana) do the work. I have the reputation of being a demanding teacher.
A central way in which I engage students is through technology, both in my classes and outside it. I encourage students to use their cell phones in class. (These are amazing computers, and students are remarkably unaware of their power.) If I keep students busy and engaged, they're working, not texting friends. Twitter has revolutionized my teaching--they'll tweet things they won't say in class, and those tweets lead to important conversations. Technology is a powerful tool. I have little patience with those who see it as the cause of all our ills.
David Foster Wallace was right: "This is water."
107
Humankind has generated insights over millennia. Although our smart phones haven't been around for centuries, I'm not sure in what ways did they render us smarter, or upend the way our synapses work. Them's only just toys, by and large.
1
Many things were different when we had students rather than clients.
13
Being a professor in today's corporatized universities is a miserable job. What is the point of stroking student customers? To get tenure?, Full professorship? What happened to sincere pursuit of truth? And passing on those skills to the next generation?
My (unpopular) approach to grading will not get me any great reviews:
A= above grade level (excellent)
B= at grade level (good to average)
C= below grade level (not at grade level)
So an undergrad doing grad level work gets an A
An undergrad doing undergrad level work gets a B
An undergrad doing high school level work gets C or lower
A grad student doing professional/publishable work gets an A, and so forth.
This approach to grading engenders relatively concrete conversations with students about what specifically they can do to better their performance/grade, and provides a model for how to get there.
My (unpopular) approach to grading will not get me any great reviews:
A= above grade level (excellent)
B= at grade level (good to average)
C= below grade level (not at grade level)
So an undergrad doing grad level work gets an A
An undergrad doing undergrad level work gets a B
An undergrad doing high school level work gets C or lower
A grad student doing professional/publishable work gets an A, and so forth.
This approach to grading engenders relatively concrete conversations with students about what specifically they can do to better their performance/grade, and provides a model for how to get there.
93
I'm nore than 50 years out of college, and the notion that your grading system is a tough one amazes me. In my day, by definition, a C was for average undergraduate work. I got some of those, but a few of my hard working, very bright friends got A in almost everything. But they were the rare exceptions. Now it seems that A doesn't mean much.
I like your recommended grading approach. However, I believe the current grading system has become antiquated. Many students purposely avoid great professors that grade harshly and flock to the "easy A classes" to ensure their GPA will get them into a good grad school. There should be 2 grades for each class on a transcript. First, the traditional score which is what the student received. Then the second score would be the class average. A student that earns a B when the class average was a C demonstrates that student's prowess. While a student that earns an A when the class average was an A, demonstrates that students inability to challenge himself.
How do you judge what is above grade level? Do you ask questions on items not covered by you in class? Would that be fair? Or is it that you cover above grade level material in your class as well? I would think that mastery of grade level should be sufficient for an A grade. Undergrad doing grad work, etc. is a bit too general a description.
Most of this article doesn't apply to small, liberal arts schools that are built on professorial relationships that are as strong out of class than in. This week, 33 years after my own graduation from Hobart College, I am having lunch on Monday with an economics professor I have never lost touch with and dinner on Wednesday with a history professor whom, in retirement, is about to publish a new text book on the history of history. Both have contributed regularly to my professional and personal decisions in life. I tell all high school students to avoid the undergraduate diploma mills and choose the small schools. Modest football but a better life.
237
WHO is about to publish.
Not a great advertisement for Hobart...!
Not a great advertisement for Hobart...!
I wouldn't mind dining out with someone writing an history of history, either. While at it, we might need a professor for professors, as rarely ever do PhDs knuckle down to doing any in-depth quest until after their post-doc. That said, highschool teaching is quite an art in its own right, way different from undergrad counseling 'skills.'
1
Strong professorial relationship between students and professors ,or the lack thereof, are not a function of the size of the university one attends. . I graduated from a Queens College of the City University of New York (CUNY) in 1984. Student Population : 20,000
Tuition : $250 a semester for unlimited # of courses
Professor Home #s : Not at liberty to disclose
Queens College is hardly a “diploma mill”,nor is it easy to be admitted to
Q.C., due to the low admissions cost.
In my experience,strong student-professor relationships are a function
making oneself known to the professor by asking questions or making comments about the lectures during or after class,taking advantage of Professors’
“Office Hours”,personality,and willingness of professors to extend themselves
to students.
I was invited to parties at the homes of several professors while still an undergraduate. I had lunch with one of my professors while still an undergraduate.
I had one Professor of Industrial Psychology,the late Dr. Arthur Witkin,who offered
career counseling,worth thousands, to ALL at ,”Personnel Sciences Center”,his business in Manhattan. I took advantage of Arthur’s generous offer,which included career testing and career counseling on ,more than one occasion.
One need not attend a small,private college,and emerge $160,000 in debt,to
forge lifelong relationships with one’s professors.
Tuition : $250 a semester for unlimited # of courses
Professor Home #s : Not at liberty to disclose
Queens College is hardly a “diploma mill”,nor is it easy to be admitted to
Q.C., due to the low admissions cost.
In my experience,strong student-professor relationships are a function
making oneself known to the professor by asking questions or making comments about the lectures during or after class,taking advantage of Professors’
“Office Hours”,personality,and willingness of professors to extend themselves
to students.
I was invited to parties at the homes of several professors while still an undergraduate. I had lunch with one of my professors while still an undergraduate.
I had one Professor of Industrial Psychology,the late Dr. Arthur Witkin,who offered
career counseling,worth thousands, to ALL at ,”Personnel Sciences Center”,his business in Manhattan. I took advantage of Arthur’s generous offer,which included career testing and career counseling on ,more than one occasion.
One need not attend a small,private college,and emerge $160,000 in debt,to
forge lifelong relationships with one’s professors.
Universities are the repositories of the past and originators of the new. Or that is what we think that they should be. While we all have visions of the university that we attended our memories may not be accurate and they are static. The world that today's students enter when they leave the hallowed halls of universities is far different from the world that I entered when I graduated more that 55 years ago.
Universities have been the portal through which students passed to a good paying job which means a job with high status, a white collar job. When most people did not have a college degree it was straight forward for college graduates to find the job that they wanted.
Today, when perhaps half the high school graduates enter college, and we are trying to increase that percentage, a college degree is no guarantee of a good job. First many of the white collar jobs have disappeared and second the competition for the remaining jobs is fierce. The promise of a college education is now often a hollow one.
Faculty have to adjust to the changing means of communication. Emails are not a bad way of communicating, for one thing it leaves a permanent record of the interaction which both sides can use as a reference as to what was said. (My experience is that students do not always hear what a faculty has said.)
To pine for the old days is not the way of improving what happens now. We need to be creative in our universities if we want to educate our students.
Universities have been the portal through which students passed to a good paying job which means a job with high status, a white collar job. When most people did not have a college degree it was straight forward for college graduates to find the job that they wanted.
Today, when perhaps half the high school graduates enter college, and we are trying to increase that percentage, a college degree is no guarantee of a good job. First many of the white collar jobs have disappeared and second the competition for the remaining jobs is fierce. The promise of a college education is now often a hollow one.
Faculty have to adjust to the changing means of communication. Emails are not a bad way of communicating, for one thing it leaves a permanent record of the interaction which both sides can use as a reference as to what was said. (My experience is that students do not always hear what a faculty has said.)
To pine for the old days is not the way of improving what happens now. We need to be creative in our universities if we want to educate our students.
4
In all fairness I have to pay 20 times what my parents paid for my college back in the day. It is kinda like our winter sports club where all children ribbon for a particular event. The tough part is when these geniuses hit the road after school only to find that their magnificent letters and report cards fail to land them a job at Starbucks.
At CU Boulder, the professors will tell a student anything that they want to hear-as long as their parents pay the bills.
At CU Boulder, the professors will tell a student anything that they want to hear-as long as their parents pay the bills.
3
"When college is more about career than ideas, when paycheck matters more than wisdom, the role of professors changes."
the role of the university also changes. and students are not the only people interested in a career and money. look in the mirror.
"They have no urge to become disciples." disciples? since when are professors religious sages or moral authorities? students are not stupid, nor should they be lackeys. they deserve more credit than the As that are handed out.
the role of the university also changes. and students are not the only people interested in a career and money. look in the mirror.
"They have no urge to become disciples." disciples? since when are professors religious sages or moral authorities? students are not stupid, nor should they be lackeys. they deserve more credit than the As that are handed out.
5
Well, don't we have those MBA 'gurus,' econ policy 'pundits,' and corporate 'visionaries'? For some reason, they believe their tenuous contributions, like those nice little diagrams or taxonomy matrices, are worthy of being revered--as well as paid just handsomely. Add those dotcom 'geniuses', and you get to see why the notion of creativity has been about as badly overhyped as it is underrated. Facebook alone valued at just under the Netherlands GDP--that's all we need right up our value alley.
But it's not much different than ratings on Amazon. Almost everything is 5 stars! Weird, I mean not everything is Excellent. What happened to "Good"?
3
At least on Amazon, it is totally phony -- a company can hire people to post positive reviews. An author can have his/her friends post glowing reviews of their book. There is also "log rolling" -- you post a review saying my book is fantastic, and I will return the favor.
Everything is also hyperbole. As you note, it is no longer enough for a book to be good. It has to be "the best thing I have read in years!" or "a bestseller!"
It makes it very hard to really get a sense of whether something IS good OR bad -- I actually read negative reviews first. They appear more honest.
Everything is also hyperbole. As you note, it is no longer enough for a book to be good. It has to be "the best thing I have read in years!" or "a bestseller!"
It makes it very hard to really get a sense of whether something IS good OR bad -- I actually read negative reviews first. They appear more honest.
'excellent' point.
amid those 4.99 prices, no one wants to accede to their quality counting just 4.99 stars nor their GPA at 2.99. "fabulabulous" and awesome is what we keep hearing time and time again. worse yet--"uber", suggestive of either infantile hubris or concentration camp style cage of priors that are irrefutable
amid those 4.99 prices, no one wants to accede to their quality counting just 4.99 stars nor their GPA at 2.99. "fabulabulous" and awesome is what we keep hearing time and time again. worse yet--"uber", suggestive of either infantile hubris or concentration camp style cage of priors that are irrefutable
For a number of years I greatly enjoyed teaching college students. However, I too felt that there was little opportunity for interaction and input. There was much I would have liked to convey beyond just course content. I tried unsuccessfully to establish a deeper level of engagement. After a while I began to feel like a vending machine. Put in a token and out comes a syllabus and some course content (hopefully interesting in some measure) and a grade. After more time went by I began to feel increasingly frustrated with the limitations of the student-teacher relationship. I felt that something important was lost in the shuffle. What could I do? Continue to feel frustrated? Lower my expectations? I chose to depart.
It seems to me that we live in odd times. Perhaps it's the endgame of one cultural phase and the beginning of the next. And perhaps the degeneration of the old is more visible than the emergence of the new at this phase. So while the current stage is less than comfortable, I prefer to withhold judgment pending a better glimpse of where it is that we're headed.
It seems to me that we live in odd times. Perhaps it's the endgame of one cultural phase and the beginning of the next. And perhaps the degeneration of the old is more visible than the emergence of the new at this phase. So while the current stage is less than comfortable, I prefer to withhold judgment pending a better glimpse of where it is that we're headed.
10
rather than a wishful fork (scenario bifurcation), that might be a phase-changing material, as they put it in civil engineering--as opposed to thermal mass we no longer need in light of the lukewarm attitudes looming large
More students than we might expect welcome a challenge, after they get over the initial surprise, and respond well to it. It's easy to blame students and faculty, but we should really question parents who in effect say "teach my kid to get a job", bureaucrats and trustees obsessed with "outcomes assessment" rather than with real learning (most trustees know little about the latter in the first place), and university administrators who cannot begin to think of their roles as anything other than marketing positions.
I've gotten immense gratification out of teaching; after thirty-nine years of it I taught my final classes last week, and am now going un-gently into that good night of retirement. What makes it all difficult is not the students themselves -- after all, they're at the start of the journey -- but rather a broader environment that persists in defining what we do as somehow not being part of the so-called "real world".
Ultimately, a society that places little value upon genuine intellectual excellence should not be surprised when it doesn't get it.
I've gotten immense gratification out of teaching; after thirty-nine years of it I taught my final classes last week, and am now going un-gently into that good night of retirement. What makes it all difficult is not the students themselves -- after all, they're at the start of the journey -- but rather a broader environment that persists in defining what we do as somehow not being part of the so-called "real world".
Ultimately, a society that places little value upon genuine intellectual excellence should not be surprised when it doesn't get it.
40
As a current college student, I WISH my professors would just hand out A's. Many of my professors are retaliating against "grade inflation" by obsessively hoarding them. Of course, I also have professors too invested in their research or next book to even bother grading most assignments, let alone meet one on one with students. I would love to talk at length with some of my professors, but most do not want to see some sophomore girl, especially one who's not majoring in their field. Some of my professors also only want to talk about their ideas, not actually have a conversation with me. They're dismissiveness of my experiences and my theories, even though I don't have the same qualifications as them, has always struck me as rude.
19
I remember a professor informing the class that he would not unilaterally change the trend of grade inflation but that some of the As and Bs would not be deserved.
He read the description of the criteria for these grades: A=Excellent/B=Good.
He asked rhetorically, "How many students are actually excellent?" "Few".
It was funny because he was right!
Really, How many students are actually excellent?
He read the description of the criteria for these grades: A=Excellent/B=Good.
He asked rhetorically, "How many students are actually excellent?" "Few".
It was funny because he was right!
Really, How many students are actually excellent?
3
Prof. Bauerlein is lamenting what has happened to the college experience and he is taking stand. Public school teachers have been doing this for decades, we call it teaching. You take the time to work with your students. In all my years in college, only my neo-classical English professor took the time and had the time for such mentoring and that was 1975. Of course public school teachers only have to deal with between 100 and 200 hundred students a year at the secondary level when a college professor teaching an intro-writing class at a public university might have that many in one section. As to grade inflation, that is a function of college PR. My cousin is an English Professor, and he is worried about student evaluations, so he is easy on the grades. The idea that professors are supposed to give easy grades is perverse.
4
I did my undergraduate studies in India and I admired/loved my English and Chemistry teachers. They fired my curiosity and challenged my ideas. I am a Chemistry PhD now and working towards teaching and research in a University. I also taught students here in States and I found that most kids need calculator to do simple mathematics though a few of them challenged me to teach better. Additionally, distractions induced by social media and text messages in classrooms are not only annoying but also disrespectful towards both teachers and other students.
Mausam
www.mausamkalita.blogspot.com
Mausam
www.mausamkalita.blogspot.com
9
My son graduated from Emory 3 years ago. He had 1600 SATs, graduated in the top 5% of his high school class, worked hard at Emory and perhaps a quarter of his grades at Emory were A's. Some of his friends had better GPA's some had worse. You don't even know what's going on at your own school.
1
My guess is that he is describing what happens in the English department, while your son is in a challenging field demanding measurable knowledge of math and/ or science.
Western civ is at an interesting juncture, with students producing less and less, and robots doing more and more.
1
heres a suggestion. Instead of marching your students in front of you with your chores, edits and busy work, you could schedule time to just chat with them about the content you teach— about the concerns that make it important to you— and why you think it might be important enough to pass on to them.
You might reach out to them and connect with them as people— not as slots on your roll chart— and not as opportunities for rating with a grade. You might ask them what they are thinking and feed them with the passion you have remaining as a teacher for your subject and where it might fit in the worlds they are moving towards.
You might reach out to them and connect with them as people— not as slots on your roll chart— and not as opportunities for rating with a grade. You might ask them what they are thinking and feed them with the passion you have remaining as a teacher for your subject and where it might fit in the worlds they are moving towards.
4
"In 1960 only 15% of grades were in the A range..."
What is the "A range"? Grades are somewhat discrete. Does the A range means A+, A and A-? And even if it does, at many colleges all three count the same, as 4 gpa points per credit hour.
Neither math nor statistics seem to be the author's strong suits. Today the author tells us that 43% of grades are "A". Where does this average come from? The average of all the transcripts of all colleges and universities? A random sample of grades from a random sample of colleges and universities representing all majors? A non-random sample, which would have no real inferential value?
I teach at a community colleges, and community colleges are notorious for giving away good grades. But I don't know anyone who gives 43% of their students an "A" (No doubt some of my colleagues do more A's than I do. But since my "A" rate is 15%, an average of 43% means one of my colleagues is giving 71% of her/his students an "A").
What is the "A range"? Grades are somewhat discrete. Does the A range means A+, A and A-? And even if it does, at many colleges all three count the same, as 4 gpa points per credit hour.
Neither math nor statistics seem to be the author's strong suits. Today the author tells us that 43% of grades are "A". Where does this average come from? The average of all the transcripts of all colleges and universities? A random sample of grades from a random sample of colleges and universities representing all majors? A non-random sample, which would have no real inferential value?
I teach at a community colleges, and community colleges are notorious for giving away good grades. But I don't know anyone who gives 43% of their students an "A" (No doubt some of my colleagues do more A's than I do. But since my "A" rate is 15%, an average of 43% means one of my colleagues is giving 71% of her/his students an "A").
1
a range is still a range, or a spectrum which need not be a continuum.
a random sample might secure inferential validity ex ante without boasting robustness out-of-sample ex post. conversely, a non-random one might not be at odds with posterior validity, while pointing to nontrivial patterns. Finally, regardless of the cross-sectional validity, the outlook appears robust: The grade deflator is significantly correlated with the graders employment status--somewhat akin to the Philips curve in economics
a random sample might secure inferential validity ex ante without boasting robustness out-of-sample ex post. conversely, a non-random one might not be at odds with posterior validity, while pointing to nontrivial patterns. Finally, regardless of the cross-sectional validity, the outlook appears robust: The grade deflator is significantly correlated with the graders employment status--somewhat akin to the Philips curve in economics
"[O]ften campus culture treats them as customers, not pupils." With three children in college next year, we have visited many colleges and this statement is spot on. The focus is on state-of-the-art dorms, fitness facilities, and dining halls. It definitely seems to be more about a four-year (very expensive) "experience" as opposed to an education.
5
This problem may be endemic in liberal arts degrees, but I can assure you that nobody in scientific or engineering disciplines is in any classes where 40% of the students receive an A because most classes are graded on a curve.
Unlike rhetorical papers, whose merit (beyond such obvious things like grammar and spelling) is somewhat in the eye of the beholder, physics and math problems really have a correct answer. As such, grading can be quantitative rather than qualitative.
Unlike rhetorical papers, whose merit (beyond such obvious things like grammar and spelling) is somewhat in the eye of the beholder, physics and math problems really have a correct answer. As such, grading can be quantitative rather than qualitative.
3
yup, we all know that you guys are quantifiably better than everyone else
Ah! consider the prverbial herr Einstein's case. His highschool and college performance along regular lines or with respect to standardized hurdles was deemed so lousy as to deny any career-laden self-actualization. The silver lining was, he couldn't have fallen short. More recently, Garrett Lisi has reported his reluctance to stay within the academia was due to him having second thoughts on its mainstream cage--string theory in particular. So finite scoences still should allow for discretion--perhaps even more so than elsewhere.
This bit of hubris sticks in my craw: “Naturally, students looked to professors for moral and worldly understanding.” Ah yes – the tired old notion that students are raw clay, to be shaped into something special and made ready for the world by the improving words of profs. What nonsense. Each student’s potential is his or her own, to be realized (or not) through hard work and self-discovery.
4
That being correct, say that again to Mr Market that would have loved for you bending over backwards anyway he pleases.
I myself think students properly know where their focus should be: the complexity of the wider world. Many professors have lived their lives in a narrow domain. When I was an undergraduate at Harvard College in the 1980s the Department of Philosophy's professors on the whole were a set of brilliant minds concerned with technical and arcane issues (because the domain of philosophy had shrunk due to its focus on questions that could be tackled through pure thinking, such as logic). If you took a Harvard philosophy professor and dropped him on a tropical island and asked him to survive by his knowledge of the natural world, he would perish quickly. Similarly if you took a philosophy faculty member and asked him to thrive in the world of connections, self-promotion, posing, alliances, rhetoric, backstabbing, etc. that characterizes life in DC, he would flounder. To me, the most interesting professors are those that venture out in the broader world and also purse their understanding of their efforts in the academy. Thus individuals such as Richard Sennett, the Yale/Univ. London sociologist, or John Stilgoe, the visual observer and thinker at Harvard. Those are professors worth not only talking to in their offices but also following as they step out the door and off-campus ...
1
I don't know, in the sciences it is common to have undergrads work with you and do research - ~40 undergrads have gone through my lab (out of a total of 110 or so). They've won numerous honours, published papers, etc. and are treated like any other member of my group (which goes from middle school all the way to very senior postdocs). http://compbio.org/group.html Excuse the lack of humility but I'm really proud to say that the best honour I've ever received is my Best Undergrad Research Mentor in 2010 and I've received numerous others (http://compbio.org/cv.html but I'd give them all up for what this award represents (quality mentorship of undergrads).
Grades and test taking aren't what learning is about. If you want students to want to love to learn, then you need to educate them in a way that will engage them. I think standard class room teaching has never been the best way and as you say, it's other interactions that matter. Research is a big burden, but why not get the undergrads involved in research? It can be frustrating and difficult but that's the point, right?
---Ram
Grades and test taking aren't what learning is about. If you want students to want to love to learn, then you need to educate them in a way that will engage them. I think standard class room teaching has never been the best way and as you say, it's other interactions that matter. Research is a big burden, but why not get the undergrads involved in research? It can be frustrating and difficult but that's the point, right?
---Ram
1
I believe that students should choose their college by the professors who teach there, rather than by rankings.
30 plus years after graduation, I am still in touch with the professor who became my mentor, and I read and reread the books written by several of my other professors. Learning to talk with them carried over into my professional life, where I felt comfortable finding new mentors.
I think that this is still happening today, in some universities, in some departments, for example at Cornell. Perhaps the small town context makes interaction easier? And it is encouraging to read such a well done op-ed piece. I see optimism in it, even if it is just below the surface.
30 plus years after graduation, I am still in touch with the professor who became my mentor, and I read and reread the books written by several of my other professors. Learning to talk with them carried over into my professional life, where I felt comfortable finding new mentors.
I think that this is still happening today, in some universities, in some departments, for example at Cornell. Perhaps the small town context makes interaction easier? And it is encouraging to read such a well done op-ed piece. I see optimism in it, even if it is just below the surface.
Prof. Bauerlein and some of the professors who wrote comments to this op-ed do seem to have their heads in an academic cloud, or perhaps have rosy memories of how things used to be. I graduated in the '60s. I never regarded my professors as mentors and moral authorities, just as people with expertise in particular fields. We were in the middle of the Vietnam War, and the people I respected as role models--inside or out of academia--were those who protested, refused to serve, had fought or were fighting for civil rights and social justice, etc.
That said, I too am distressed by the lowering of academic standards. Students at the working class college I attended were there to improve our job prospects (among other things), but we didn't expect easy As, nor did we get them. Many of us were the first in our families to attend college. We were hungry for learning, for an introduction to the wider world of knowledge than had been available to our parents. And maybe the reason we didn't see ourselves as "customers" was that we weren't paying the grossly inflated tuition youngsters must pony up these days. We had earned our entry through good grades in high school.
That said, I too am distressed by the lowering of academic standards. Students at the working class college I attended were there to improve our job prospects (among other things), but we didn't expect easy As, nor did we get them. Many of us were the first in our families to attend college. We were hungry for learning, for an introduction to the wider world of knowledge than had been available to our parents. And maybe the reason we didn't see ourselves as "customers" was that we weren't paying the grossly inflated tuition youngsters must pony up these days. We had earned our entry through good grades in high school.
5
Professor Bauerlein is to be saluted for his one-on-one tutoring but there are many ways for students to be engaged with the different kinds of work in the various disciplines. My students are heavily involved in service learning projects. They work with real clients in the field (authentic instruction). Online I give them in depth feedback on their writing. They work in teams on local problems after researching "best practices." The local school superintendent watched their presentations on reducing tobacco use, venereal disease, bullying, etc. You can have a "live" collaboration with them online. Academic experience today is much more than conversations in the hall or after class. Despite concerns about the varying quality of online instruction I find that "blended" learning is great. If an instructor is "caged" in old academic practices he or she should wake up to the multimodal world of modern instruction and greet the "world as the new classroom." The engine for learning is found where the expanded teaching skills of instructors meet the expanded learning skills of students. If colleges have not added value to the skill and knowledge profiles of their graduates compared to their profiles as freshmen there are no good excuses.
I took a critical-theory course from Professor Bauerlein almost 20 years ago. He taught then as his bills now--with intellectual verve around the seminar table and with concern for my diction on paper. Better yet, he knew me as an individual. I remember that he loved fried mash with maple syrup and that he abhorred the verb "utilize." To this day, I hear his editing voice as I write. That's mentorship. And it's proven far, far more valuable than what I paid for it in 1996.
2
Ideas? Who has time for that? And time is of course money. Perhaps the professor ought to revisit some of those ideas of the 1960s and take them to their logical conclusion.
This is a complicated issue, and sometimes I feel like the victims get blamed. Students encounter test-driven and justified curricula, pressure from parents, the realization that only the top 10% of performers will get rewarded with beneficial employment, relentless and seductive advertising for the amazing things you can buy if you make enough money, and idealization of the super-rich despite corrupt values (Goldman just pays the fines and moves on). A coherent life philosophy gets no traction, so they become instrumental learners (and often cheaters) who work the system, but I don't think we can blame them for playing the game we set up.
6
The dynamics of a higher education has changed dramatically. When the price for a higher education is as outrageous as it has unfortunately become, students want to see something tangible. Grades are the only tangible measure students can measure.
Getting an "A" is therefore the only cost effective result acceptable to these students. The entrance to graduate school or professional schools also demand "A"s. It has become a vicious cycle. When 43% get "A"s; the end result is watered down and meaningless.
I had the good fortune to have part of my education in Europe. Only one or two people achieved the equivalent of an "A". The grade was respected, as were those fortunate enough to earn that grade. It was like the Olympics. We do not hand over 43% of the contestants with Gold metals?!
Getting an "A" is therefore the only cost effective result acceptable to these students. The entrance to graduate school or professional schools also demand "A"s. It has become a vicious cycle. When 43% get "A"s; the end result is watered down and meaningless.
I had the good fortune to have part of my education in Europe. Only one or two people achieved the equivalent of an "A". The grade was respected, as were those fortunate enough to earn that grade. It was like the Olympics. We do not hand over 43% of the contestants with Gold metals?!
10
part of it is changing nature of the economy and society: Corporations do not want to spend any money on training and expect universities to shoulder the cost of educating students with ever increasing knowledge and requirements of skills sets. Is it any wonder students are stressed about grades and having to fulfill a million requirements now just to have their resume looked at?
I graduated from university about 10 years ago, and most professors did not have time outside their two hour per week office hours to meet their students, let alone engage. Got question on HW? ok go head and ask or please get lost! The few that cared about teaching were the only ones who were engaged and thought deeply about relaying concepts and ideas. Sorry but I know people like to beat on this generation of students' lack of work ethic and how pampered they are and distracted but I do not think that's the true. Most of the universities have become money making for-profit institutions that pressure profs to bring in revenue, not teaching.
I graduated from university about 10 years ago, and most professors did not have time outside their two hour per week office hours to meet their students, let alone engage. Got question on HW? ok go head and ask or please get lost! The few that cared about teaching were the only ones who were engaged and thought deeply about relaying concepts and ideas. Sorry but I know people like to beat on this generation of students' lack of work ethic and how pampered they are and distracted but I do not think that's the true. Most of the universities have become money making for-profit institutions that pressure profs to bring in revenue, not teaching.
2
I taught in an large urban university for 40 years and during that time gave ONE "A+" grade--on a term paper that was subsequently published. And, yes, I was reviled by students who wanted easy grades--but those who earned the infrequent "A-" for the course knew that that learned something AND that they could demonstrate what they learned to anybody savvy enough to ask. What finally appalled me when I retired--two years ago--was the student who felt entitled to success without effort. They are so, so sad.
1
I am an adjunct assistant professor at a large public university. I spend as much time as I can with my students. Most have told me that they enjoy my courses. Yet I am not meeting with them as often as I'd like to do so. Nor are they interacting with other faculty as frequently as I did when I was a college student.
Why not? One reason, not mentioned by Mark Bauerlein, is that the majority of liberal arts courses at most large universities are taught by underpaid, overworked graduate students and adjunct faculty. One friend -- an Art History Ph.D. - teaches 5 courses per semester, with 30 students in a course. She has no benefits, and earns a salary lower than your average entry-level typist. With 150 students, when can she find time to be more than a "service provider"?
Another adjunct, an English teacher who is also teaching 5 courses, told me that she no longer answers e-mails from students, because she doesn't have time. When I mentioned that I was learning my students' names -- I teach two courses, not five -- she responded, "You know their names?" She's a good teacher: the problem is that she has over 100 students, is commuting between two schools and grades 100 papers a week.
The new economy of higher education erodes the quality of attention that most students receive. When universities stop treating adjuncts as mere commodities, including by paying them a living wage, teachers will once again be able to form meaningful relationships with students.
Why not? One reason, not mentioned by Mark Bauerlein, is that the majority of liberal arts courses at most large universities are taught by underpaid, overworked graduate students and adjunct faculty. One friend -- an Art History Ph.D. - teaches 5 courses per semester, with 30 students in a course. She has no benefits, and earns a salary lower than your average entry-level typist. With 150 students, when can she find time to be more than a "service provider"?
Another adjunct, an English teacher who is also teaching 5 courses, told me that she no longer answers e-mails from students, because she doesn't have time. When I mentioned that I was learning my students' names -- I teach two courses, not five -- she responded, "You know their names?" She's a good teacher: the problem is that she has over 100 students, is commuting between two schools and grades 100 papers a week.
The new economy of higher education erodes the quality of attention that most students receive. When universities stop treating adjuncts as mere commodities, including by paying them a living wage, teachers will once again be able to form meaningful relationships with students.
36
Yes, the circumstances are insane. How can we write essays and publish if 80% of our time goes to teaching and the rest to limbic regulation? The system is structured such that only pre-established, published professors have time, while those who need time most so they can publish get the least time and lowest pay. Serious administrative restructuring needs to take place that favors not only improved teaching conditions but more opportunities for scholarly development. The problem that seems repeated in your response and throughout forum responses seems socioeconomic--it's a problem originating outside the academy (in the market economy, etc.). Thanks for sharing.
1
There would not be as great a need for face time outside of class if class size permitted genuine interaction. I enjoyed a class size of 20 or less in perhaps half of my classes in one major and 2-3 lasses in my other major. While there was still some lecturing, substantial time was spent in discussion and interaction with the professor, not with graduate student teaching assistants. While many TAs are very good and helpful, interaction with them is not a substitute for interaction with the professor. Having said that, in the larger lecture classes of 80-100 students, Its hard to imagine how any professor could have enough time to spend meaningful one on one time with more than a few students. Just a half hour a week would give the professor 40 -50 hours of office time leaving nothing for his/her other classes or for preparation. Moreover, most of that time would have to be in the evenings so as to be available when the students were not in their other classes.
No school is going to be able to make one on one office time available for large classes. The most we can ask for (and hope for) is that each student will have enough small classes with professors who engage in discussion in the classroom so that the students get the benefit of that interaction with their professors and some indirect mentoring, if nothing else. It is also no great surprise that the professors in those small classes knew the students who regularly attended by name.
No school is going to be able to make one on one office time available for large classes. The most we can ask for (and hope for) is that each student will have enough small classes with professors who engage in discussion in the classroom so that the students get the benefit of that interaction with their professors and some indirect mentoring, if nothing else. It is also no great surprise that the professors in those small classes knew the students who regularly attended by name.
1
I was always under the impression that grade inflation started in the 1960s in order to guarantee students the ability to go to grad school and avoid the draft (and with that, historically, your service academies--West Point, Annapolis, and Air Force--never inflated, students got hammered).
Now it is some other social phenomenon keeping grades inflated--tradition, the desperation found in an increasingly cutthroat job market, or just a continuation of "every one" wins mentality of recent generations.
I think that once you go to inflating grades, you can never go back based on a multitude of reasons. Society has somehow come to expect this and it is like turning a moving ship to go back to a more logical grading curve.
Now it is some other social phenomenon keeping grades inflated--tradition, the desperation found in an increasingly cutthroat job market, or just a continuation of "every one" wins mentality of recent generations.
I think that once you go to inflating grades, you can never go back based on a multitude of reasons. Society has somehow come to expect this and it is like turning a moving ship to go back to a more logical grading curve.
1
How many faculty are now adjuncts these days? They have no office from which to conduct office hours, only a shared space with many other part-time instructors and grad students. It's hard to get to know students in those circumstances.
8
As human beings we all need each others compassion, but these professors across the world need it more than anyone else, especially the Pakistanis and Americans.
The Universities started the trend by becoming Malls of 'Education'. In these Mega Malls, what is the status of a professor? Just some easily replaceable service providing cog. Students are devalued to being just 'consumers'. Entire culture and society is judged just with one yardstick.... Money and the Stock Market. What else one can expect? I have been teaching for last 10 years and just one or two student in one or two years is found genuinely interested in the subject he/she is studying. This one student keeps me alive in the mall.
3
"You can’t become a moral authority if you rarely challenge students in class and engage them beyond it."
Kudos for making this point abundantly clear. Society in general is allowing us all to slide by.... and slide into despair... for lack of REAL challenge to solving our problems. Politicians are so busy pointing fingers, raising straw men (and raising money), they have no time to spare for considering positive solutions to the challenges facing the next generation - including the need for education that has real meaning, and creates a thirst for even broader, greater learning.
'a man's grasp should exceed his reach, or what's a heaven for?' - Browning
Kudos for making this point abundantly clear. Society in general is allowing us all to slide by.... and slide into despair... for lack of REAL challenge to solving our problems. Politicians are so busy pointing fingers, raising straw men (and raising money), they have no time to spare for considering positive solutions to the challenges facing the next generation - including the need for education that has real meaning, and creates a thirst for even broader, greater learning.
'a man's grasp should exceed his reach, or what's a heaven for?' - Browning
2
This year I got reprimanded by the chair of my department, with copies to two deans, for giving advice to students. I was told to stick to the content. I was also advised that what happens outside the classroom is none of my concern. And yet, I know of some colleges that still expect professors to invite students to lunch or dinner. I chose this profession because of my interest in academic discourse and the interaction with students and other academics, inside and out of the classroom. This is why universities used to be communities. But this is not what is all about anymore. They are now businesses run by administrators who only want to keep the customer happy. And the only way to keep them happy and paying their tuition by any means is to give them the A. And if you don't, they will complain about you and will say anything to get their way. Students even disrespect you in front of the class and will look down on you if you are demanding as regards classroom etiquette and completion of assignments. And one must be very careful not to hurt their feelings which can be easily done by challenging them. But then, how else are they going to learn if a different perspective is not offered?
89
Amen. My experience, too.
2
Mark's memory is probably playing tricks on him. I was at UCLA in the 80's and students were just as disengaged then as they were now. I recall one Econ prof in an introductory class announcing his office hours and then stating that students were NOT welcome to show their face at his door any other time. Then, as now, the business of large colleges is research and instructing grad students, the undergrads are an unwelcome presence that many profs would just as soon have go away.
Pace the effect his current beliefs (eg. he is the author of a book "Dumbest Generation") may have had in coloring his memories of events from 35 years ago, scholarly research at that time presents ample evidence of student disengagement. Pascarella in 1980, smack dab in Bauerlein's golden age of learning, finds that communication outside the classroom was infrequent. Nadler found the same thing in 2000, well before the digital devices and social networks at whose feet Bauerlein lays so much blame even existed. But Bauerlein teaches English, and if there is one thing you learn in a creative writing class, its that the facts never need to get in the way of a good story.
Pace the effect his current beliefs (eg. he is the author of a book "Dumbest Generation") may have had in coloring his memories of events from 35 years ago, scholarly research at that time presents ample evidence of student disengagement. Pascarella in 1980, smack dab in Bauerlein's golden age of learning, finds that communication outside the classroom was infrequent. Nadler found the same thing in 2000, well before the digital devices and social networks at whose feet Bauerlein lays so much blame even existed. But Bauerlein teaches English, and if there is one thing you learn in a creative writing class, its that the facts never need to get in the way of a good story.
10
As an English professor of 25 years, I share his concerns about institutional distancing of faculty from students, and grade inflation remains a problem, but I'm disturbed by the anxious narcissism in evidence here. Professors should introduce students to the world's complexities, but we should never presume to academic priesthood.
30
I was going to make a point like this in my comment but ran out of space. I felt galled by the target post's presumption that professors should be "revered." Challenging students and flipping their money = value equation into value = lasting non-monetary rewards (even if, paradoxically, 'real' money--class level sustainable money--can make space for non-monetary rewards) can be achieved without being revered. Teaching critical thinking means displaying it, too, and that means rejecting glib moral stances on every problem that arises inside and outside the classroom. But I don't think it's necessarily narcissistic to have strong moral principles and model those principles in the classroom, when occasions naturally call them out (if you're talking about Plato or Kant or Shakespeare, often the content of instruction spills over into what we ourselves ought to think and do). Can it not be a concealed kind of narcissism to perceive narcissism in anyone who wants to stand out and make a difference? A careful line needs to be drawn with occasional openings between respect and challenge.
Ugh, is there a worse way to think of an educator than as a service provider? That makes my skin crawl. Consumerism is regressing us. Outputs and costs. And today's micro-managed, hyper-measured kids don't know any other way. Not a good sign for the future.
5
Meeting with each student every other week to read a rough draft is not feasible when you're teaching 150 students every semester without any teaching assistant, as is my case. I don't feel that Professor Baurelein is sensitive to the reality of the majority of today's humanities professors working as lecturers and adjuncts with low pay, little job security, and tremendous pressure to "service" large numbers of students at low cost to the university. How I wish that more of my time went to meeting with students rather than to hours and hours of grading!
23
All teachers know this: You want to be left alone? Give everyone a good grade. You want parents and administrators breathing down your neck? Give them what they deserve. And while you are giving out what they deserve, you also know you better update that resume because you are going to need it.
This is the result of judging a teacher's competence based on their students' achievement. And now with Cuomo tying teachers' evaluations with student exam scores, the result will be a population of well trained test takers.
Yay future!
This is the result of judging a teacher's competence based on their students' achievement. And now with Cuomo tying teachers' evaluations with student exam scores, the result will be a population of well trained test takers.
Yay future!
12
I am not a pessimist here. One professor taught me the need to view scientific discovery in historical context. One taught multiple schools of Constitutional analysis. One communicated his love of literature. One taught Russian history as a product of all things negative. Each, in his own way, communicated the need for context and point of view to give meaning to knowledge. I was a pretty pedestrian student. But I have never forgotten these lessons. Education does not require face to face individual discussions. Great teaching does the trick. Always has, always will.
3
Your comment does not represent that of 'pedestrian' student... even if your grades or other typical metrics were average.
1
I think three things are at work here: The explosion of people going to college has made it impossible for professors to interact with most students. The first two years are mostly taught by teaching assistants any way; its not until the numbers get down to a manageable level that interaction is possible in the third and fourth years. Secondly most universities are research driven, that's where the money is, and teaching is viewed as a necessary evil. Lastly, the attention span of student age people is roughly equivalent to that of a gnat. TV, YouTube, twitter, etc., have all contributed to the shortening of the American attention span. Try to have an in depth conversation with a young person and you will be lucky of you get 5 minutes of attention before they stick their nose into their smart phone. Unfortunately life does not come at you in 140 unit chunks and it is not wrapped up in 20 minutes with 10 minutes of commercials.
3
It's not like this everywhere. I teach, like the author, in a liberal arts discipline. The number of As earned in my classes varies, but I think the highest ever was probably 20-25%, but that's rare. Usually it's one or two students (out of 20 or so). Sometimes there are none at all. My colleagues and I still spend a LOT of time with students outside of class and are actively encouraging internships, reading unrelated to class, etc. But I'm at a public, teaching-oriented school. So we make less than our colleagues at other campuses and flagship state schools with more research responsibilities because the public values research more than what we do. And then they start ragging on professors because we supposedly only work a few hours a week (ha!) because all this student mentoring, not to mention the ENDLESS grading and feedback on drafts and things, apparently isn't work.
3
The main thing that one learns from reading the comments of my learned colleagues in forums (or is that fora?) such as this one is that most of my learned colleagues cite their own selective and limited memories and anecdotes...as if these recollections were evidence that revealed great truths, which have been validated by wise analysis of data collected using an appropriate experimental methodology.
1
"Fora"? Try flora, and then you'll really be wrong. LOL
Remember that many classes are now taught by adjunct faculty who are minimally compensated and must either teach at a series of schools or work a second job to make a living; the luxury of afternoons in the office receiving (or hoping to receive) students might well return if all faculty were paid a living wage.
34
Excellent essay. Make no mistake, though, the Millennials are not solely to blame for our devaluation as faculty. The lion's share falls squarely on the shoulders of the bloated administrative classes at our universities. These bean counters have turned teaching and research into mere commodities, no more important than any other commodity that comprises their "product" (e.g. the university experience). This is why we see deans investing obscene amounts of money in student gyms, meeting centers, athletic programs, all the while poorly paid adjunct faculty with no stake in the greater university mission comprise an ever increasing role on the front lines of teaching. Add to all of these factors the vociferous anti-intellectualism preached by some of our politicians and Silicon Valley executives and it's no wonder that our students look at us as a bunch of suckers to be tolerated for a semester and hardly respected, much less emulated.
5
I had a student who performed slightly below average on every single exam and on the homework assignments complain that he expected a B instead of the C he received (and earned). Grade inflation has worked its way all the way from kindergarten, where everyone gets an A, to graduate school, where almost everyone gets an A. Many students celebrate if I ever have to cancel a class and reluctantly agree to make it up. Even as "customers", they often want less for their money. However, there still is a sizable group that takes advantage of office hours looking for a deeper understanding, filling gaps in their knowledge, and really getting their money's worth. The rest just want know what they need to do to get an A.
3
Dear Mr Bauerlein:
I like this article of yours and mostly agree with you; education is indeed diminished when students treat their teachers merely as grading machines and do not have rich conversations with them. But many teachers are to blame for this. There are innumerable teachers like Vladimir Nabokov, who tried his best to curtail interactions between himself and his students.
By the way, in 2012 you announced your conversion to Roman Catholicism. I wonder whether you have read the works of the 20th-century Catholic priest Ronald Knox, who C.S. Lewis called 'the wittiest man in Europe.' He was one of Evelyn Waugh's favorite writers. If you have not read anything by him, then please buy a copy of his book 'Pastoral and Occasional Sermons' (Ignatius Press, 2002); you will find in them a remarkable writer and a genuinely good human being. I am not a Catholic myself. Nor do I imagine myself becoming one. But for the rest of my life, I will be returning to his writings.
Sincerely,
Mike
I like this article of yours and mostly agree with you; education is indeed diminished when students treat their teachers merely as grading machines and do not have rich conversations with them. But many teachers are to blame for this. There are innumerable teachers like Vladimir Nabokov, who tried his best to curtail interactions between himself and his students.
By the way, in 2012 you announced your conversion to Roman Catholicism. I wonder whether you have read the works of the 20th-century Catholic priest Ronald Knox, who C.S. Lewis called 'the wittiest man in Europe.' He was one of Evelyn Waugh's favorite writers. If you have not read anything by him, then please buy a copy of his book 'Pastoral and Occasional Sermons' (Ignatius Press, 2002); you will find in them a remarkable writer and a genuinely good human being. I am not a Catholic myself. Nor do I imagine myself becoming one. But for the rest of my life, I will be returning to his writings.
Sincerely,
Mike
2
As a community college student, I worked extremely hard to gain a thorough understanding of a subject. I did outside reading and studied higher level textbooks and aced all the assignments. It was slightly frustrating to see poor students get the same A as I did, but in the end, I did the work for myself, and the A's seemed meaningless.
If students have changed over time, I suppose instructors have too. At community college I had many professor who were adjuncts, often high school teachers teaching one or two community college courses on the side.
In quite a few of my classes, it turned out that the teacher was not well versed in the subject. In one class in particular, the teacher was only one chapter ahead of the students and frequently googled answers to student questions during class. In most classes teachers merely read from error filled power points provided by the textbook publishing company (you can guess which one!) with no elaboration. I even had NUMEROUS classes where the teacher sat at a desk in front of the class and read the textbook out loud while students followed along. In one class, a teacher dismissed difficult ethical questions with an impatient, "just cover yourself". In most classes, the teachers left early and cancelled classes often. So,perhaps the inspiration is lacking from both the teacher's and student's perspective.
If students have changed over time, I suppose instructors have too. At community college I had many professor who were adjuncts, often high school teachers teaching one or two community college courses on the side.
In quite a few of my classes, it turned out that the teacher was not well versed in the subject. In one class in particular, the teacher was only one chapter ahead of the students and frequently googled answers to student questions during class. In most classes teachers merely read from error filled power points provided by the textbook publishing company (you can guess which one!) with no elaboration. I even had NUMEROUS classes where the teacher sat at a desk in front of the class and read the textbook out loud while students followed along. In one class, a teacher dismissed difficult ethical questions with an impatient, "just cover yourself". In most classes, the teachers left early and cancelled classes often. So,perhaps the inspiration is lacking from both the teacher's and student's perspective.
4
Remember that most professors in most colleges today are adjuncts, part-timers paid only for the hours they spend in classrooms and in administrative meetings. As such, MOST PROFS TODAY DO NOT HAVE PRIVATE OFFICES. I enjoyed speaking with my creative writing profs in privacy about my work, but I would never want to sit on a public place and reveal my inner self. The changes in how profs are paid, treated, and thought of by their own administrations (who, let's face it, have gobbled up the salary money and office space at most colleges at a spectacular rate since the 80'-s, research shows) send a clear message to students and the rest off the world that education and educators are not prized or even really respected in these institutions. It's the politicians (administratots) and money spinners (Student Life-recruiters, coaches, PR spokespeople, fundraisers) who have the cool, spacious, wood-paneled offices with the quiet, reverential ambiance, not the English profs, as in my day. (And I know this because I've been back to visit.)
31
I am 27 and in graduate school (master's). I have remained in contact with three of my professors from college and consider them friends. I had lunch or beers with them periodically after taking their classes and continued to do so after I graduated. At least in my life, the professor-as-mentor is not dead. I value my relationships with them immensely.
3
All about getting that high paying job, all about keeping the education industry thriving--bigger homes for chancellors, provosts and the all important football coach. A social game, not an intellectual one.
12
In 1960, perhaps 10% of men and 6% of women had a four-year college degree. In 2014, 30% of men and 30% of women had such a degree. To compare the behavior of a tiny elite in 1960, with fully a third of the population in 2015, is to compare apples and oranges. (Is it any surprise that a third of today's population do not exhibit the intellectual curiosity of the top eight percent of the population fifty years ago?)
We might also ask what the economic prospects and options of college students looked like fifty years ago, compared with today. It might be that "developing a meaningful philosophy of life" was a luxury easily afforded by the elite that went to college back then, as they took for granted that they would be able to put a roof over their own and their family's heads, no matter what they did in college.
We might also ask what the economic prospects and options of college students looked like fifty years ago, compared with today. It might be that "developing a meaningful philosophy of life" was a luxury easily afforded by the elite that went to college back then, as they took for granted that they would be able to put a roof over their own and their family's heads, no matter what they did in college.
7
I sympathize with many of Bauerlein's concerns, but it needs to be pointed out that students today prioritizing pay over finding "a philosophy of life" was bound to happen as college took more economically downscale students under its wings. This is not to say we should accept nothing BUT instrumental reasons for college, but let's be fair about what it means when college student bodies are less aristocratic. (Now, if we find that already well-heeled students report the same sort of obsession with financial gain, that is indeed depressing.)
1
I agree with much of this article, but it's bizarre that he leaves out adjunctification, implying that this shift is to do with the attitude of students and professors (selfishly hungry to do their own research!), rather than the working conditions of the majority of professors. A lot of people teaching in universities don't even have offices. We are either teaching multiple classes at multiple institutions for terrible pay on insecure terms, or we are the few tenure-stream people left, trying to hold departments, programs, and institutions together and do intensive graduate education on top of undergraduate teaching and publishing. Firing up young minds outside the classroom is an absolute joy, when we can find the time.
14
It sounds like we let all the blame on the students. Why not look in the mirror? Where is the "critical thinking" in professors when they go along with the administrators who turned universities into a big business where anyone with pulse and a checkbook can get in? I just got an email from the university I used to work saying that more students have signed up for summer classes online and the purpose of the email is to encourage those who teach face-to-face to convert their classes online or pretty much lose that extra summer pay. Students to blame?
2
Professors who use the socratic method at least get the comfort of knowing that their students INTERACTED with them. As for A's those are certificates of attendance (I believe in B- for that but then again I am immune to student evaluations). In sad truth the faculties of most schools have abdicated their roles as mentors and role models in favor of student favorites , impact factors, and grant monies. teaching is no longer considered an essential part of the job.
How I long for the days when my school's mission had meaning: 'The ideal education is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a student on the other."
How I long for the days when my school's mission had meaning: 'The ideal education is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a student on the other."
1
I am troubled by the "customer service" model of education. Recent studies show that higher teaching evaluation scores are correlated with higher grades:
http://blogs.berkeley.edu/2013/10/21/what-exactly-do-student-evaluations...
I know a professor who started giving much higher grades because students were complaining. Now, this professor says, life this semester has been much easier, and grading takes little time because students demand no explanation for "A" grades, whereas students receiving "B+" and lower call for copious explanation. I know two other professors who were denied promotion due in part to student complaints about grading (especially savvy students will not cite grades directly, but will instead speak of the instructor as lacking rapport or unable to engage the class; some will lie). There is little incentive to be rigorous. Sadly, students will miss out, as constructive criticism is important for learning--but faculty dispensing grades lower than "A" are punished.
http://blogs.berkeley.edu/2013/10/21/what-exactly-do-student-evaluations...
I know a professor who started giving much higher grades because students were complaining. Now, this professor says, life this semester has been much easier, and grading takes little time because students demand no explanation for "A" grades, whereas students receiving "B+" and lower call for copious explanation. I know two other professors who were denied promotion due in part to student complaints about grading (especially savvy students will not cite grades directly, but will instead speak of the instructor as lacking rapport or unable to engage the class; some will lie). There is little incentive to be rigorous. Sadly, students will miss out, as constructive criticism is important for learning--but faculty dispensing grades lower than "A" are punished.
5
In my experiences with professors in various stages of higher education over the last 10-15 years, I have to say that it is the rare professor indeed who is both able and willing to contribute something outside of class to foster a student's development of a "meaningful philosophy of life." No surprise, then, that students don't bother.
As someone who just finished their freshman year of college, this article hits a lot of what I've been thinking about. In high school, taking honors and AP classes, I got A's and B's, and through two semesters of college, I've received nothing lower than an A-. The classes are challenging, but one thing I've learned from college is that as long as you put effort in and know your stuff, you'll do just fine. Professors encourage us to come to office hours, but when getting an A is already easy, why would I spend time in the office when I could hang out with friends, explore downtown Washington D.C., (I go to school in the District) or simply binge a show on Netflix?
I'm playing devil's advocate, but the Professor here is right; so many distractions exist that make the limited time we have with our professors even more limited. I've gone to office hours, where I loved debating the fall of the Roman Republic with my history professor and received feedback on gigantic research papers from my writing professor, and I also learned that, like me, they're normal people! But after my first year, college seems less about getting a meaningful education, and more about enjoying the experience of rushing, freaking out over the massive debts we'll all inevitably face, and hoping that, when we graduate, we'll enter grad school or have a decent job waiting for us. I wish it was different, but sadly, it isn't. If college is to be about an education again, make it affordable as a start.
I'm playing devil's advocate, but the Professor here is right; so many distractions exist that make the limited time we have with our professors even more limited. I've gone to office hours, where I loved debating the fall of the Roman Republic with my history professor and received feedback on gigantic research papers from my writing professor, and I also learned that, like me, they're normal people! But after my first year, college seems less about getting a meaningful education, and more about enjoying the experience of rushing, freaking out over the massive debts we'll all inevitably face, and hoping that, when we graduate, we'll enter grad school or have a decent job waiting for us. I wish it was different, but sadly, it isn't. If college is to be about an education again, make it affordable as a start.
2
So much is wrong about this article. There is nothing wrong with 43% of undergraduate grades being in the "A" range. First, let us remind ourselves that by "A" we mean A+, A, and A- collectively. So "true" A's (i.e., A+ and A) encompass about 15-20% of the curve, which is not at all unreasonable or excessive given that 15% is more than 1 standard deviation above the mean. Second, it is a much more competitive world today than it was 40 or 50 years ago. Students "need" good grades in order to have a fighting chance at getting good jobs. Top employers like McKinsey and Goldman pick only those with great grades, not mediocre ones.
The author laments the decline in professor-student interaction. While I agree that such interaction is highly valuable, students these days get their information and can potentially be mentored by many different sources--social media, Internet websites, online discussion forums, online tutors, etc. They don't need or want constant interaction with professors.
Moreover, the author obviously thinks that prioritizing "money" over "philosophical thought about the meaning of life" is a bad choice, which obfuscates the fact that students have huge amounts of debt (from college loans) these days and the cost of living has gone up so much that they naturally need to prioritize future earnings over abstract philosophizing.
The author laments the decline in professor-student interaction. While I agree that such interaction is highly valuable, students these days get their information and can potentially be mentored by many different sources--social media, Internet websites, online discussion forums, online tutors, etc. They don't need or want constant interaction with professors.
Moreover, the author obviously thinks that prioritizing "money" over "philosophical thought about the meaning of life" is a bad choice, which obfuscates the fact that students have huge amounts of debt (from college loans) these days and the cost of living has gone up so much that they naturally need to prioritize future earnings over abstract philosophizing.
2
The fact is that too many professors (and others) equate giving a large number of C's and lower grades as being a good and effective teacher. The fact is that many professors who do give high grades in their course are also excellent teachers. Any professor could probably make their course so difficult that hardly anyone could successfully pass it. Does this mean they are a good teacher? Not really.
In fact, I would argue that in a typical introductory level course that if a 1/3rd or more of the class is doing C level work or less, then something is wrong with either the course, the professor or both. In fact in upper division and graduate level courses, it would be perfectly normal for student grades to be top heavy. In fact, there would be something wrong (particularly in graduate school where a C is the equivalent of practically failing a course). We need to get pass the dubious notion that giving mediocre grades to students equals good teaching. Such an antiquated and outdated mindset does a disservice to the academic profession.
In fact, I would argue that in a typical introductory level course that if a 1/3rd or more of the class is doing C level work or less, then something is wrong with either the course, the professor or both. In fact in upper division and graduate level courses, it would be perfectly normal for student grades to be top heavy. In fact, there would be something wrong (particularly in graduate school where a C is the equivalent of practically failing a course). We need to get pass the dubious notion that giving mediocre grades to students equals good teaching. Such an antiquated and outdated mindset does a disservice to the academic profession.
2
Students become overly focused on obtaining the A rather than the knowledge. Also, student evals make profs want to win the "popularity" contest. "C" is the new "F."
4
My undergrad class at Stony Brook requires that students complete 2 term papers on topics covered in the course. They can revise and improve their grade (by up to one letter grade) on the first paper, usually following a face-to-face one-on-one meeting, and they also mostly come to see me to discuss their plans for the second paper. The last time around, I gave only 11 A- or A grades, out of 30 students. These are all highly selected students, and I expect, and often get, outstanding work. However, I make no claim to wisdom beyond the narrow topic of the course.
At my R1 university, the average grade is an A. Why? Because more and more faculty promotions rest on student evaluations. And students give bad evaluations to professors who have heavy coursework (say, more than three hours a week homework/reading), make critical comments and don't hand out As easily.
There is little respect for professors - and female professors absolutely have it harder. Students expect you to answer their emails immediately and be available around THEIR schedule. If you give a student a bad grade, it's because you're a bad teacher, not because they were texting during the entire class. I just got an email "I'm angry about my grade. I should get credit for turning in something." That's not how that works. That's not how that works at all.
I had one student who was going to miss almost a third of the classes for track meets. I wrote to the athletic department and said that wasn't going to work, that she needed to be in class. They made her drop the class. Tell me again how schools put education first.
I'm sorry if I sound bitter. It's been a long year and I'm in the middle of finals hell.
Every semester there are a few students who make it worth it. And the joy comes a year or two after they graduate, when they write me and tell me how much they learned in class and how much they use it. If only I could ask them to rewrite those evaluations now..
There is little respect for professors - and female professors absolutely have it harder. Students expect you to answer their emails immediately and be available around THEIR schedule. If you give a student a bad grade, it's because you're a bad teacher, not because they were texting during the entire class. I just got an email "I'm angry about my grade. I should get credit for turning in something." That's not how that works. That's not how that works at all.
I had one student who was going to miss almost a third of the classes for track meets. I wrote to the athletic department and said that wasn't going to work, that she needed to be in class. They made her drop the class. Tell me again how schools put education first.
I'm sorry if I sound bitter. It's been a long year and I'm in the middle of finals hell.
Every semester there are a few students who make it worth it. And the joy comes a year or two after they graduate, when they write me and tell me how much they learned in class and how much they use it. If only I could ask them to rewrite those evaluations now..
44
When I was in college, I was guilty of the same thing. It wasn't until I became a junior that I started visiting my professors. I learned so much from the ones I got to know that I regret not talking to them sooner.
4
University administrators tend to see professors primarily as content providers, and judge programs by the "employability" of graduates. More and more of the teaching is done by adjuncts, who often have no office to meet students in and little time for discussion as they rush off to teach their many other classes at various institutions. Students get the message that professors do not matter from the universities themselves.
5
The lack of engagement is the professor's fault as much as it is the students. Granted many students choose not to come to office hours or whatever (indeed, why both often times). However, many professors have a dismissive attitude towards students and are not really interested in engaging with the students or with being their friends/mentors/whatever. There are ways to solve this problem. Professors can and should take students out for lunch/dinner/whatever (not saying that they should pay), and get to know their students and vice versa. Professors should also make office hour consultations mandatory in certain cases (indeed, some of my professors had done this). For many optional office hours, the professors are not really interested telling the student that much. Also granted is that humanities classes have become much too easy and this removes one of the main incentives of coming to speak to professors.
And yet, professor, what is the prescription for more full-scale engagement from students? Has consumerism and the distractions of vacuous social-media (and let's not kid ourselves about what massive time-killers and deep thought-squashers most of these really are, even if they produce a few redeeming movements) created an environment where a professor and student are irreversibly moved into a transactional relationship? Years ago, I adored and engaged with many of my professors, so much that I considered a career as an academic, but my English professor could see the shift already. You don't want this job, he told me. A sea change is coming.
1
2/3 of classes at many schools are taught by over-worked, under-paid adjuncts who don't have time to talk to students outside of class even if they wanted to. Tenure-track professors like the author of this piece are a dying breed.
10
Ditto here pretty much in Australia. I'm in linguistics and not many of our students come and see us. Indeed, not many come to class now that we need to record and distribute each of our lectures via the learning management system! Any other countries want to check in ... Japan? Germany? Russia? Chile? What do you guys do? How much do you interact with your students?
11
No department I've worked for (in English! and Cultural Studies!) would ever okay a 43% proportion of As, especially in first and second year classes--but grade inflation does exist, and is certainly getting worse. One reason I think grade inflation has taken hold is that administrations are indeed treating education like a business, and the students like consumers--so we live and die by the student evaluation, for re-hiring (most of us are now hired on short-term non-tenure contracts, don't forget) and for promotion to tenure, for those lucky few on the tenure track. Likewise, shifts in student attitudes are traceable to the fact that they've paid a lot of money, and gone into a lot of debt, for credentials that they are more often too stressed and anxious over receiving in this dog-eat-dog lightning-speed zero-sum-game culture to slow down and actually engage intellectually with what they are learning. (Lest I overgeneralize: there are certainly still students who want to shoot the philosophical breeze after class--that hasn't died out entirely.) Add to these problems the fact that many of us contract instructors don't even have an office to ourselves like the professors of yore, and are often commuting to multiple campuses just to make ends meet, and you have a recipe for lack of sustained engagement on both sides. Yet more side effects of neoliberal hiring practices--I hope all sectors, not just education, see the light soon. We're all burning right out.
2
My Bachelor's degree was earned over 40 years ago, but I still feel a deep sense of gratitude to university faculty mentors during that time when I was adopting important belief systems about myself and the world. Ironically, though I majored in psychology, my primary indebtedness is to teachers of other disciplines, including English, French, and Geology. Dr. Bauerlein's essay affirms the importance of mentoring, perhaps all the more so in our time when students need a "soul" that is not just driven by economic self-actualization.
101
Your comment appears to ignore the reality that without "economic self-actualization" after graduation, these students will be unable to support themselves.
I got my Ph.D. and have been quite successful economically, but if my motivation only focused on financial achievement I would have been less well rounded as a person, citizen, and psychologist. Mentoring helped me achieve in many ways.
Here's what I expect from a professor: an expert in a given field who can guide me through the thicket of literature in that subject. I expect a professor to point me toward the good literature and help me to avoid the chaff.
I'm a lifelong learner and over the years I've found it necessary to tackle new subjects on my own. So you go to the library and look for an introductory textbook on a subject and you find several shelves of books. Which one do you choose? A few are gems but most are uninspired dreck that was written by some assistant professor who is padding his CV to bolster his chances of getting tenure or some associate professor who is bucking for full professor.
The same goes for published research. Sure, you can search google or one of the academic databases, but that will likely result in hundreds of scholarly papers and conference proceedings. Which are the gems and which are worthless debris?
A good professor can tell you "these are the seminal papers you must know inside-out; here is a second group of papers you need to be familiar with; and here's a third group you should read if you have the time."
I'm a lifelong learner and over the years I've found it necessary to tackle new subjects on my own. So you go to the library and look for an introductory textbook on a subject and you find several shelves of books. Which one do you choose? A few are gems but most are uninspired dreck that was written by some assistant professor who is padding his CV to bolster his chances of getting tenure or some associate professor who is bucking for full professor.
The same goes for published research. Sure, you can search google or one of the academic databases, but that will likely result in hundreds of scholarly papers and conference proceedings. Which are the gems and which are worthless debris?
A good professor can tell you "these are the seminal papers you must know inside-out; here is a second group of papers you need to be familiar with; and here's a third group you should read if you have the time."
130
"Expect from a professor"?! I expect from my students. They have to earn the right to expect from me.
Some guidance, perhaps, but part of academic maturity is learning to wade through chaff and find the kernel and one professor's chaff is another's kernel. Many a profound thought or innovation is found in that chaff and laziness, or get straight to the point is not much of an intellectual; methodology.
Introductory textbooks
Anybody who wants tenure does not write textbooks, introductory or any other kind. Textbooks are written to make money. Many an assistant professor has written works of major scholarship and the same for those associates seeking to become full professors.
Worthless debris? By whose standards? By the lectors and colleagues who read and judged the article worthy of publication, with or without corrections.
Many things make a good professor. The criteria mentioned in the comment above are not my idea of a good professor, but what do I know, I've only been doing this for 36 years, spending my time churning out debris and chaff.
Some guidance, perhaps, but part of academic maturity is learning to wade through chaff and find the kernel and one professor's chaff is another's kernel. Many a profound thought or innovation is found in that chaff and laziness, or get straight to the point is not much of an intellectual; methodology.
Introductory textbooks
Anybody who wants tenure does not write textbooks, introductory or any other kind. Textbooks are written to make money. Many an assistant professor has written works of major scholarship and the same for those associates seeking to become full professors.
Worthless debris? By whose standards? By the lectors and colleagues who read and judged the article worthy of publication, with or without corrections.
Many things make a good professor. The criteria mentioned in the comment above are not my idea of a good professor, but what do I know, I've only been doing this for 36 years, spending my time churning out debris and chaff.
5
I agree, but go further. If you have access to the literature, you don't need to attend lectures. (Soon all needed lectures will available on television and given by the best authorities.) The time and money that a student wastes by moving to the university town, renting a room, feeding his face, running back and forth across campus, etc., all that can be better invested in actual learning. Even today, an impoverished but aggressive student can have the means to an excellent education.
Sorry, but you present a very one-dimensional view of education, one based on the idea that worthy knowledge is already written down, and learning requires only finding the "good stuff" in the literature.
While it is indeed important to learn what is "known", it is more important to learn how to perform the actions that will add to that knowledge. Budding scientists can read texts and seminal papers (and should!), but must also learn how to identify directions worthy of research (including faulty ideas in that vaunted literature), design and conduct valid studies, derive and defend conclusions, and effectively communicate ideas. Aspiring artists might begin reading about classical roots, and then more current themes and movements, but more importantly learn both the craft and the vision needed to express their intellectual and emotional visions.
I expect professors to do all this and more. And I expect them to do this largely through maintaining their own creative program of research or art, and to provide opportunities for students to participate and truly learn.
While it is indeed important to learn what is "known", it is more important to learn how to perform the actions that will add to that knowledge. Budding scientists can read texts and seminal papers (and should!), but must also learn how to identify directions worthy of research (including faulty ideas in that vaunted literature), design and conduct valid studies, derive and defend conclusions, and effectively communicate ideas. Aspiring artists might begin reading about classical roots, and then more current themes and movements, but more importantly learn both the craft and the vision needed to express their intellectual and emotional visions.
I expect professors to do all this and more. And I expect them to do this largely through maintaining their own creative program of research or art, and to provide opportunities for students to participate and truly learn.
2
"You can’t become a moral authority if you rarely challenge students in class and engage them beyond it." Wow--professors as moral authorities. What a concept. I was a religion major at Emory in the sixties and I cannot say that I looked to any professor to be a "moral authority." Intellectual authorities, certainly. Mentors on the path of scholarship, almost always. And my teachers who were truly moral authorities for me would certainly never have aspired to such a status. Would Socrates?
8
In the neoliberal university they are not students, they are customers purchasing a service. They frequently ask "What do I have to do to get an A". They do the assigned work and expect the contract to be fulfilled. Faculty are service providers -- often the customers do not even see the difference between tenured professors and instructors, contract workers, or adjuncts. One downside is that alongside the transcript of "As" there will be no one to write a letter of reference.
15
I have been a physics professor for 27 years, and occasionally I hear similar sentiments to those expressed in this essay at our university. I respectfully disagree that students are getting "dumber", an attitude that is reflected in the author's latest book title.
Several points to consider:
1) The world is changing, and our undergraduates reflect this change. Information is everywhere, easy to get, but perhaps harder to process. All kinds of input channels are competing for our students' attention.
2) Paradigms get overturned at an ever greater pace. Our curriculum and modes of instructions cannot remain static, but have to adapt as well.
3) Looking back everything looks better. And in particular this is so if people, who spent their life in academia, are doing the reminiscing. We were never the average student, and we never had the average work habits. So we serve as a really bad sample of how students used to be in the "good old times".
Happy graduation season!
Several points to consider:
1) The world is changing, and our undergraduates reflect this change. Information is everywhere, easy to get, but perhaps harder to process. All kinds of input channels are competing for our students' attention.
2) Paradigms get overturned at an ever greater pace. Our curriculum and modes of instructions cannot remain static, but have to adapt as well.
3) Looking back everything looks better. And in particular this is so if people, who spent their life in academia, are doing the reminiscing. We were never the average student, and we never had the average work habits. So we serve as a really bad sample of how students used to be in the "good old times".
Happy graduation season!
72
"Paradigms get overturned at an ever greater pace."
You really need to enroll in a Freshman Composition class.
You really need to enroll in a Freshman Composition class.
It's particularly bad at the lower levels -- the bottom 40% of colleges and universities, including community colleges. The amount of cheating done by students in pursuit of the great "A" shocks me. They have it down to a science and don't even mind, because they have grown up in a world of moral relativity where everything is a balancing test, there are no absolutes, and dammit they need that "A" to get ahead in life, so why not collude with their peers? Of course, take-home tests, paper-heavy classes, and online coursework doesn't do much to dissuade the end run of academic codes. But hey. It's only a problem if they get caught, and so few do.
8
If a professor encourages students to come to see her and does so by asking students to sign up for one-on-ones in plentiful office hours in the first couple of weeks of school, I would expect students would respond well.
Sometimes it works better to invite students in as a group. Otherwise one can end up with a long line of frustrated students waiting in the hall while one student takes an indefinite amount of the prof's time.
Sometimes it works better to invite students in as a group. Otherwise one can end up with a long line of frustrated students waiting in the hall while one student takes an indefinite amount of the prof's time.
1
As a professor's merit has come to be based almost completely upon research production, many students and faculty have arrived at an unspoken non-aggression pact, where each group leaves the other alone to pursue their own agenda. I've heard the ethos of the modern research university expressed as "They pretend we are teaching them, and we pretend they are learning."
42
"I revered many of my teachers..."
I never revered ANY of my teachers, especially in college. Some of my instructors were fine teachers; many were not.
But is reverence of teachers somehow relevant to this conversation?
I never revered ANY of my teachers, especially in college. Some of my instructors were fine teachers; many were not.
But is reverence of teachers somehow relevant to this conversation?
8
If not reverence, how about respect?
Since students are "consumers", many just want to consume the highest grades with the least effort. Many have no interest whatsoever in the professor, or what he/she is "teaching." Many are bored, looking more at "devices" than caring about lecture material. Its a fairly anti-intellectual climate in many colleges these days. So if one is anti-intellectual in college, is there any place one can respect the intellectual (and the professor who one hopes represents the "intellectual")?
Since students are "consumers", many just want to consume the highest grades with the least effort. Many have no interest whatsoever in the professor, or what he/she is "teaching." Many are bored, looking more at "devices" than caring about lecture material. Its a fairly anti-intellectual climate in many colleges these days. So if one is anti-intellectual in college, is there any place one can respect the intellectual (and the professor who one hopes represents the "intellectual")?
6
I guess that I don't totally get it...
You're the adult in the room...
You have tenure....
Nobody uses Ratemyprof anymore...
Ostensibly - you know more than most folks in the room...
Act like a grown-up...
...encourage when necessary
...kick the butt when required.
After all - we can't have children teaching the children.
~ Without cruelty there is no festival: thus the longest and most ancient part of human history teaches — and in punishment there is so much that is festive!
GofM Essay 2, Section 6.
You're the adult in the room...
You have tenure....
Nobody uses Ratemyprof anymore...
Ostensibly - you know more than most folks in the room...
Act like a grown-up...
...encourage when necessary
...kick the butt when required.
After all - we can't have children teaching the children.
~ Without cruelty there is no festival: thus the longest and most ancient part of human history teaches — and in punishment there is so much that is festive!
GofM Essay 2, Section 6.
6
Nothing personal, just business. When tuition rockets up way past the rate of inflation, don't upset the customers.
14
"In 1960, only 15 percent of grades were in the “A” range, but now the rate is 43 percent"
I wonder if there's any correlation between the vertiginous rise in the role of adjunct and contract teaching on American campuses. In the absence of tenure, contract teachers depend on contract renewals each semester. It's hand to mouth from one semester to the next. A critical part of this calculus is a problematic reliance on positive student evaluations. It wouldn't surprise me if we discovered that in 1960, students tended to curry favor with their instructors. Today, the tables have turned and grade inflation is one of the strategies that well meaning adjunct teachers deploy in "boosting" their profiles. The pact is implicit: An "A" for an "A".
I wonder if there's any correlation between the vertiginous rise in the role of adjunct and contract teaching on American campuses. In the absence of tenure, contract teachers depend on contract renewals each semester. It's hand to mouth from one semester to the next. A critical part of this calculus is a problematic reliance on positive student evaluations. It wouldn't surprise me if we discovered that in 1960, students tended to curry favor with their instructors. Today, the tables have turned and grade inflation is one of the strategies that well meaning adjunct teachers deploy in "boosting" their profiles. The pact is implicit: An "A" for an "A".
70
It would be great if we professors could include more mentoring into our duties. Unfortunately, so many of us our non-tenure track people who string together various jobs to make a living. Only those in prestigious universities have the luxury of time to sit around waxing philosophical with students. Higher education has also vastly changed in the past 20 years. Demands for quantification of results in classes, 5-year plans, results-driven syllabi, etc. also do not leave much time for informal student-professor interaction. I would love the type of connection with students the author discusses here. Unfortunately, the academic world I live in is apparently very different from the one which he enjoys.
3
I too am a college professor. We (my colleagues and I) are pushed into having students graduate as rapidly as possible, because it is all about the US News and World Report college rankings. We are not seen as mentors, but as service providers by the administration.
Everyone must meet one-on-one with me after the first assignment; in that way, I discover more about each individual student, their concerns, and their hopes. Thankfully, my class sizes are small (usually 48 or less), so this is doable. I leave my office door open and thankfully, my students quickly learn that I am there to help them succeed in school and with life.
Everyone must meet one-on-one with me after the first assignment; in that way, I discover more about each individual student, their concerns, and their hopes. Thankfully, my class sizes are small (usually 48 or less), so this is doable. I leave my office door open and thankfully, my students quickly learn that I am there to help them succeed in school and with life.
5
I remember the days when professors would hold court in their homes with students listening in rapt attention as the master held forth with academic musings whose gusto rivaled that of the frenetic doings of trained seals entertaining the crowd at SeaWorld.
Indeed, recall the days when professors lived on campus or immediately adjacent to those fields of knowledge. Their doors were always open to any student who wanted to learn.
And do campuses even hold open symposia anymore? It was fascinating to be able to sit in on the visiting lecturers and the brilliant minds found within different disciplines whose talks were widely publicized well in advance.
Nowadays? Professors live in places whose distance can only be termed as a drudging commute away from campus. They huddle amongst themselves at their lunch hangouts. Many of them treat their meager office hours as an intrusion into what they feel is their true purpose for being associated with a university -- whatever that may be beyond teaching.
So has the learning process of old ceased to be because students no longer value academic interaction and the thirst for knowledge for its own sake? Or are professors now just seeing students as necessary evils whose presence is akin to earthworms -- necessary to maintain fertility, but please just finish your task and slither on?
Indeed, recall the days when professors lived on campus or immediately adjacent to those fields of knowledge. Their doors were always open to any student who wanted to learn.
And do campuses even hold open symposia anymore? It was fascinating to be able to sit in on the visiting lecturers and the brilliant minds found within different disciplines whose talks were widely publicized well in advance.
Nowadays? Professors live in places whose distance can only be termed as a drudging commute away from campus. They huddle amongst themselves at their lunch hangouts. Many of them treat their meager office hours as an intrusion into what they feel is their true purpose for being associated with a university -- whatever that may be beyond teaching.
So has the learning process of old ceased to be because students no longer value academic interaction and the thirst for knowledge for its own sake? Or are professors now just seeing students as necessary evils whose presence is akin to earthworms -- necessary to maintain fertility, but please just finish your task and slither on?
1
I used to teach junior and senior level EE (retired in 2006). I almost always had a normal distribution of grades with the mean equal to a "C". I was proud that students said they learned a lot but that I was hard to get and "A" from. If I was to teach today I would do nothing different.
3
I don't think you are going to find any profession that is immune from that "service provider" mentality anymore. Look at Doctors, Lawyers, Engineers... every single one is bereft with a focus on customer service or how to sell more of whatever product they are peddling. True scientific advancement is chosen by what garners the most profit and even the most progressive ideas are held back by rampant naval speculation on what is best for "the average Joe." Shoot, don't you know we only pick Presidents based on which candidate we would rather have a beer with? There you go, the Presidency of the USA, the biggest service job around, must always be willing to stoop to any level to deliver praise, comfort or inane commentary as part of the job description. Little wonder our enemies have such of a lack of respect for us - we don't have any for ourselves either.
5
Why are career preparation and "moral and worldly understanding" in conflict? Fareed Zakaria was on Jon Steward pitching his book In "Defense of a Liberal Education" - making a claim that critical thinking was replaced with job skills training in STEM classes.
As an Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering and a Chief Engineer at a Fortune 500 company, I teach both skills and critical thinking. Sure I teach the tools and methods to solve technical problems, but projects and labs offer countless opportunities to teach problem solving. Engineering isn't about writing an equation or using a modeling software - it is about understanding the world, and creating new solutions to solve problems that make the world a better place.
I spend as much time teaching how engineers impact society as I do teaching equations. As a licensed professional engineer, I feel I have an obligation to teach engineering ethics in every class I work with - understand the social and moral consequences of our work.
I continue to experiment with teaching methods to reach a new generation of students - office hours at a coffee shop (I'll buy if you show up), to grading e-mail for communication clarity. The more I experiment and adjust to my students, the more fun I have and the more impact I achieve.
I grow weary of academics complaining about Gen Y, MOOCs, or STEM education. The world has changed for the better - in part because engineers made it that way.
As an Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineering and a Chief Engineer at a Fortune 500 company, I teach both skills and critical thinking. Sure I teach the tools and methods to solve technical problems, but projects and labs offer countless opportunities to teach problem solving. Engineering isn't about writing an equation or using a modeling software - it is about understanding the world, and creating new solutions to solve problems that make the world a better place.
I spend as much time teaching how engineers impact society as I do teaching equations. As a licensed professional engineer, I feel I have an obligation to teach engineering ethics in every class I work with - understand the social and moral consequences of our work.
I continue to experiment with teaching methods to reach a new generation of students - office hours at a coffee shop (I'll buy if you show up), to grading e-mail for communication clarity. The more I experiment and adjust to my students, the more fun I have and the more impact I achieve.
I grow weary of academics complaining about Gen Y, MOOCs, or STEM education. The world has changed for the better - in part because engineers made it that way.
14
Thank you for posting this!
Wish I could have had such a professor. Mostly, my experience was graduate students doing the grunt work and finally professors when I got into Jr and Sr years. I had teachers I could talk to in High School, not in college. I try to engage my students and to be available. I despise this new culture in which it is considered impolite to knock on someones door, or even to call them. It's all done electronically now.
4
Perhaps it is the attitude of the professors. My niece was a freshman at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga having problems with chemistry. When she asked her tenured professor for help and input he quickly told her he was not a tutor. She was a disadvantaged student and he couldn't have cared less that not doing well in the class would jeopardize her financial aid. She transferred to the local community college and received all the help she needed. Most of her professors there were adjunct employees.
4
I am a professor of physics: have taught upper level classes in our dept. I give office hours twice a week. I would say only maybe 10-30% of the class will ever show up. A much smaller percentage (5-10%) will show up repeatedly. This never ceases to amaze me, as it is really my time that the students are paying for and my office hours are never fully used. Now, I don't provide moral guidance, but I can help a student learn physics, cut through confusions, improve study skills and do better on exams! The best students tend to come; the ones who really need the help never show up. I think many students now hesitate to interact with adults.
10
Walter, its obvious that you care about your students. I think there is a way you can find out what they're thinking. Create a little questionaire with questions like "Describe students who go to office hours" "When I started at the University what was I told about office hours". Give 1 point for everyone who completes it, and make it anonymous; on one side are your questions starting about 1/4 the way down, on the other side at the top is a line to write their name. Tell them to cut almost all the way thru below their name, and collect the papers face-down at the start of class and in front of the students tear off the top of each.
Here's what I think you'll find. Unless they went to private HS or a very affluent public, being told "see me after class" was for kids who were in trouble. Nobody expected to get help from a teacher. There was no expectation of contact outside of class for most students. Once they start at university these expectations are not changed, nor are students told things can/should be different. The kids that go to see profs are generally those trying to weasel a few extra points on a midterm or homework. Since many intro classes are large, the prof is a person who doesn't know them by name and seems busy/important, with too much on their mind to bother helping a confused undergrad. Pace Mark's essay, it has long been this way at large U's.
Here's what I think you'll find. Unless they went to private HS or a very affluent public, being told "see me after class" was for kids who were in trouble. Nobody expected to get help from a teacher. There was no expectation of contact outside of class for most students. Once they start at university these expectations are not changed, nor are students told things can/should be different. The kids that go to see profs are generally those trying to weasel a few extra points on a midterm or homework. Since many intro classes are large, the prof is a person who doesn't know them by name and seems busy/important, with too much on their mind to bother helping a confused undergrad. Pace Mark's essay, it has long been this way at large U's.
1
Lucky you! You teach at an elite university. You have little idea how much more awful the reality is at the vast majority of colleges and universities. Students are not merely disinterested consumers. They are hostile judges and they are empowered by the administrations' misplaced respect for their evaluations of their professors.
121
Mark Bauerlein missed the point entirely. It is not students who demean professors, it's the culture as a whole. This is why salaries go down, administrators try to reduce the number of tenure track professors as student enrollments go up, and state funding disappears. It's the universities themselves who demean professors at both private and public institutions. Professors are on the front lines, taking the flack while administrations meet with corporate consultants who tell them how to run the place.
204
I think the author brings up a valid point in that students should spend more time discussing their classes with their professors, however I think the author misses the reason. To me, the cost of education seems to be why most students would not spend as much time with professors. The cost of education drives more students to work while they're in school. The cost of education increases the incentive to find a job after graduation because students at the author's alma mater are going to be leaving with potentially more than six figures of debt even if they are working a job during school. The cost of education makes the focus more about finding a job. The problem is not student culture or the students.
3
FIrst of all, this op-ed ignores the fact that 75% of all course instruction is taught by contingent faculty. Professors - with job security/tenure - are an endangered species.
Second, the point of a professor is to educate and mentor students. If tenure-track/tenured faculty are too immersed in their own work to do this, shame on them.
I am "contingent faculty" and I frequently have out-of-classroom discussions with students. They tell me about the issues they're dealing with; they talk about their careers aspirations; they ask me for advice on courses, careers.
What's the point of a professor? To care - about the information they teach - and the students in their classrooms. That the majority of higher ed instruction comes from contingent faculty is an intractable problem that universities refuse to address.
Second, the point of a professor is to educate and mentor students. If tenure-track/tenured faculty are too immersed in their own work to do this, shame on them.
I am "contingent faculty" and I frequently have out-of-classroom discussions with students. They tell me about the issues they're dealing with; they talk about their careers aspirations; they ask me for advice on courses, careers.
What's the point of a professor? To care - about the information they teach - and the students in their classrooms. That the majority of higher ed instruction comes from contingent faculty is an intractable problem that universities refuse to address.
17
"We used to be mentors and moral authorities. Now we just hand out A’s."
Speak for yourself...and then consider retiring.
*I* have never been, or sought to be, a "moral authority", nor do I "hand out" A's...or F's.
I create a scaffold for students to critically explore the world, including their own values, within the context of my subject area, but in the end the students establish the basis for what each believes is "moral authority."
Students who have good Lower-Order Cognitive Skills (Remembering, Understanding, Applying) within the context of my subject area can make a C
Students who demonstrate good Higher-Order Cognitive Skills (Analyzing, Evaluating, Creating and Synthesizing) can make it to B or A.
Speak for yourself...and then consider retiring.
*I* have never been, or sought to be, a "moral authority", nor do I "hand out" A's...or F's.
I create a scaffold for students to critically explore the world, including their own values, within the context of my subject area, but in the end the students establish the basis for what each believes is "moral authority."
Students who have good Lower-Order Cognitive Skills (Remembering, Understanding, Applying) within the context of my subject area can make a C
Students who demonstrate good Higher-Order Cognitive Skills (Analyzing, Evaluating, Creating and Synthesizing) can make it to B or A.
6
You do not SEEM interested in who your students really are and what you can learn from them. You SEEM mostly interested in how you can impress them, be their mentor. Maybe this is why there is now (and always has been) less respect than has been pretended.
Chaucer wrote of the Scholar: "And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche." Perhaps, this is what is really missing: mutual respect.
Chaucer wrote of the Scholar: "And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche." Perhaps, this is what is really missing: mutual respect.
1
I'd like to point out that most of these students' "professors" are adjunct faculty, who are paid so little that they frequently have to shuttle across multiple jobs and campuses. If college administrations actually valued student-faculty interactions, they wouldn't staff most of their departments with underpaid temps.
238
Schools and universities serve society; therefore, these institutions reflect the values of society. Thus, society's values ultimately become the values of our institutions.
5
As a tenured social science prof at a large public university, I find much truth here. Many students never come to office hours, where the best mentoring often takes place. Many do not leave college well prepared for a job or grad school. Many are so distracted by their "smartphones" that I ban such gadgets from class, and see withdrawal symptoms as the bell approaches.
On the other hand, these students are the same as young people who have come to university for centuries. They don't need someone twice their age treating them like a peer or colleague, because they're not. Whether they fully realize it at first or not, they thirst for "moral and worldly understanding," for mentorship from someone much older and wiser, who can ask the right questions and model good behavior without pretending to tell them what the answers should be. While no teacher is everyone's cup of tea, I've managed consistently to earn some of the best teaching evaluations at my university while being known as one of the most demanding faculty in my department. Indeed, I make class participation a big part of the course grade, and the percentage of A's in my classes is around 15%.
My secret? While publishing what I must, I prepare thoroughly for every class. I bring as much energy, intelligence, and humanity as I can to each class, and remember that even when it's not obvious, students want to be challenged. Boxes of thank you notes, cards, and e-mails over the years have confirmed this.
On the other hand, these students are the same as young people who have come to university for centuries. They don't need someone twice their age treating them like a peer or colleague, because they're not. Whether they fully realize it at first or not, they thirst for "moral and worldly understanding," for mentorship from someone much older and wiser, who can ask the right questions and model good behavior without pretending to tell them what the answers should be. While no teacher is everyone's cup of tea, I've managed consistently to earn some of the best teaching evaluations at my university while being known as one of the most demanding faculty in my department. Indeed, I make class participation a big part of the course grade, and the percentage of A's in my classes is around 15%.
My secret? While publishing what I must, I prepare thoroughly for every class. I bring as much energy, intelligence, and humanity as I can to each class, and remember that even when it's not obvious, students want to be challenged. Boxes of thank you notes, cards, and e-mails over the years have confirmed this.
79
John, good points. I wish to add a couple of additional facts to your post.
I teach at a public university in Canada (we have very very few private ones). The majority of undergrads in Canada today are working full or part-time, have families to support, and do not live at home. They are not the 18-25 year old students of the 1960s or 1970s. I was a student at that time, and while I lived on my own and paid tuition, the tuition of those years was low, rent was low, and I could manage by living off the money of a summer job and sometimes a part-time winter job.
I could afford to haunt the corridors of my university, because I had the time. I had no one else to support. My students today do not have that opportunity. They are usually coming to class after working all day, and often having too little rest because they are parents of young children.
Like Mark Bauerlein writes, today's profs don't have the opportunity to spend time with students. As many note, many teachers are adjunct. I am a full prof, but in my case at least, the major problem is that students are too maxed out by paying high tuition and high rents. As much as I'd like to whine about student attitudes, the deeper problem is socio-economic. Students are being royally screwed. imho.
I teach at a public university in Canada (we have very very few private ones). The majority of undergrads in Canada today are working full or part-time, have families to support, and do not live at home. They are not the 18-25 year old students of the 1960s or 1970s. I was a student at that time, and while I lived on my own and paid tuition, the tuition of those years was low, rent was low, and I could manage by living off the money of a summer job and sometimes a part-time winter job.
I could afford to haunt the corridors of my university, because I had the time. I had no one else to support. My students today do not have that opportunity. They are usually coming to class after working all day, and often having too little rest because they are parents of young children.
Like Mark Bauerlein writes, today's profs don't have the opportunity to spend time with students. As many note, many teachers are adjunct. I am a full prof, but in my case at least, the major problem is that students are too maxed out by paying high tuition and high rents. As much as I'd like to whine about student attitudes, the deeper problem is socio-economic. Students are being royally screwed. imho.
3
I am happy that I read this piece by the NYT. It gives me the blueprint of true success at College, and I shall make sure to engage my professors very much. In fact, that's all I really want to do. Very frequently I read about how students dislike the kid in class who asks too many questions, and even the professor becoming irritated. That saddens me.
It's very kind of Mr. Bauerlein to help his students so much with their papers like a primary school teacher would do. However, I have a request for the Times: please also focus on lower-tier schools or schools that are not Ivies or selective or popular. We would like to know what goes on there as well.
It's very kind of Mr. Bauerlein to help his students so much with their papers like a primary school teacher would do. However, I have a request for the Times: please also focus on lower-tier schools or schools that are not Ivies or selective or popular. We would like to know what goes on there as well.
4
Yes there are classes that are "feed lots". At best you get some time with a TA.
I never expected a Professor to "teach me". I expected to learn on my own, and I am forever thankful that I had tenured Professors at UC Berkeley that guided me, as an anonymous member in the crowd to the latest, best, thinking on a subject. Else i would have gone down many false trails.
A few, if asked interesting questions in class, would extend office time to you. There is nothing in the educational experience to rival taking a class from a Nobel Laureate, or the acknowledged top experts in the field; even if you have to share it with 100's of other students.
I never expected a Professor to "teach me". I expected to learn on my own, and I am forever thankful that I had tenured Professors at UC Berkeley that guided me, as an anonymous member in the crowd to the latest, best, thinking on a subject. Else i would have gone down many false trails.
A few, if asked interesting questions in class, would extend office time to you. There is nothing in the educational experience to rival taking a class from a Nobel Laureate, or the acknowledged top experts in the field; even if you have to share it with 100's of other students.
7
I'm a former professor, and I advise anyone who wants to understand colleges to read this essay. It is informative in an unexpected way.
Prof. Bauerlein writes,
"..You can’t become a moral authority if you rarely challenge students..and engage them..When it comes to students, we..have only one authority..grades.."
I agree with the statement, but making it has nothing to do with whether the author actually is a "moral authority". That is an important point about professors. Many make such statements, not because they are moral, but because they want to get ahead in an environment where such statements sell themselves and their institutions.
As Emerson once said, "The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons."
I don't know Prof. Bauerlein, but I read his defense of AP courses. He wrote this about an AP course revision committee that he chaired.
"..If enough colleges regarded something as important we incorporated it.."
Sounds like lowest common denominator to me.
I have personally seen AP calculus dumbed down dramatically. Caltech calls it "woefully inadequate". (That quote, Bauerlein's comments, and more, can be found on my blog, inside-higher-ed )
Does Prof. Bauerlein use the "authority" of "grades" to teach, as he advocates? If he doesn't (And, after reading a few student comments, I worry that he doesn't.), then the takeaway from this essay should be that he has done a good job of representing what is wrong with American education.
Prof. Bauerlein writes,
"..You can’t become a moral authority if you rarely challenge students..and engage them..When it comes to students, we..have only one authority..grades.."
I agree with the statement, but making it has nothing to do with whether the author actually is a "moral authority". That is an important point about professors. Many make such statements, not because they are moral, but because they want to get ahead in an environment where such statements sell themselves and their institutions.
As Emerson once said, "The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons."
I don't know Prof. Bauerlein, but I read his defense of AP courses. He wrote this about an AP course revision committee that he chaired.
"..If enough colleges regarded something as important we incorporated it.."
Sounds like lowest common denominator to me.
I have personally seen AP calculus dumbed down dramatically. Caltech calls it "woefully inadequate". (That quote, Bauerlein's comments, and more, can be found on my blog, inside-higher-ed )
Does Prof. Bauerlein use the "authority" of "grades" to teach, as he advocates? If he doesn't (And, after reading a few student comments, I worry that he doesn't.), then the takeaway from this essay should be that he has done a good job of representing what is wrong with American education.
9
Student evaluations of faculty seemed like a good idea when I was in college in the late 1960s. What were we thinking??
52
Right. Because most in most evaluations, "good" teaching means "easy" teaching. The less work you assign and the higher the grades, he better the rating.
I was recently told by a student that some students disliked my teaching methods. What that means, he explained, was that I expected them to participate in class discussion; he said all they wanted was to be shown power point slides that they could copy and memorize for the test.
I was recently told by a student that some students disliked my teaching methods. What that means, he explained, was that I expected them to participate in class discussion; he said all they wanted was to be shown power point slides that they could copy and memorize for the test.
8
Actually, had a student complain just a couple of weeks ago that I didn't use the blackboard/PP slides enough. He never brought a pen/pencil, as note-taking is completely passe, according to him. All he wanted to be able to do was to take a screen-shot with his phone of whatever was on the board. As he told me, THAT is the way HIS generation takes notes (in other words, I'm an old fogey...).
1
It's very difficult, for those of us who knew and cherished a substantially different experience at university, not to be saddened or distressed by these developments. There's no doubt that grade inflation has left millions of college students in the last few decades ill-suited for careers or even steady employment.
Worse, according to Professor Bauerlein, students are no longer being actively challenged by their teachers to produce better, more coherent work, as opposed to just completing the assignment/paper. Freshmen, in particular, need to be confronted with the likely reality that what they produced to earn As in primary school will lead to Cs and Ds here. Yet, at least anecdotally, it seems too few professors are doing this, perhaps (understandably) worried about their ratings or a backlash from a powerful family, especially if they still lack tenure. This very possibly sets up even a good student for future failure.
Students who fail to utilize the excellent resource of office hours are missing an enormous opportunity to better themselves as budding scholars and even the underrated aspect of directly interacting with a superior in a one-on-one environment. When possible, I always tried to read some of my professors' published work, to include books, and was happy to solicit and receive a newly published, inscribed book from a former professor, more than nine years after I last sat in one of her classes. I had discussed the book's idea with her eleven years earlier.
Worse, according to Professor Bauerlein, students are no longer being actively challenged by their teachers to produce better, more coherent work, as opposed to just completing the assignment/paper. Freshmen, in particular, need to be confronted with the likely reality that what they produced to earn As in primary school will lead to Cs and Ds here. Yet, at least anecdotally, it seems too few professors are doing this, perhaps (understandably) worried about their ratings or a backlash from a powerful family, especially if they still lack tenure. This very possibly sets up even a good student for future failure.
Students who fail to utilize the excellent resource of office hours are missing an enormous opportunity to better themselves as budding scholars and even the underrated aspect of directly interacting with a superior in a one-on-one environment. When possible, I always tried to read some of my professors' published work, to include books, and was happy to solicit and receive a newly published, inscribed book from a former professor, more than nine years after I last sat in one of her classes. I had discussed the book's idea with her eleven years earlier.
3
My Math professors at UC Berkeley all graded papers in the same way. If you got everything right, there was a simple check mark in the upper right hand corner of the first page.
If you made some error, there was no check mark, and no clue as to what was wrong. You could resubmit the work, but you had to revisit and rework every question. Tough love. You either invested insane amounts of effort in your classes, or you gave up.
When you go on to a career in Science or Math, that is exactly the kind of preparation you need.
If you made some error, there was no check mark, and no clue as to what was wrong. You could resubmit the work, but you had to revisit and rework every question. Tough love. You either invested insane amounts of effort in your classes, or you gave up.
When you go on to a career in Science or Math, that is exactly the kind of preparation you need.
1
I like and admire the philosophy behind those actions; I suppose professors could further tantalize their students by listing only the number of questions answered correctly, but not telling you which ones. In other words, if you got something right based on luck you didn't deserve to know it.
I think it is also important to add that students' perceptions of college has changed radically over the years. College used to be viewed by people as a place of knowledge, for creative thinking, for pushing one's boundaries. Now, most high school students and undergraduates view it as a necessity if they want to get a job. More than one student have made the remark that they pay so much to go to college, why shouldn't they get all A's just for paying that kind of money. I have also known professors who are happy to hand out passing grades so they don't get students and parents complaining to them after the semester is over. There are many problems facing higher education, and unfortunately, this is one more adding to the already growing pile.
22
I went back to school in my late 50's to complete my degree. I was amazed to hear from fellow students that they had paid so much for the class they should get an A. They felt that it was actually the professor's responsibility to make sure the student learned what was going to produce that A. If enough students complained about a professor being "too hard" or "unfair" the professor was dismissed. It seems as if "college" is the new "high school".
6
Re: "Now, most high school students and undergraduates view it [college] as a necessity if they want to get a job."
In other words, most high school students and undergraduates have an accurate view of college.
In other words, most high school students and undergraduates have an accurate view of college.
I know there are professors giving out good grades so they don't get complaints. But these complaints may take the form of students & their parents going to the Dept chair or Dean, a request by administrators to "reread" papers, justify in detail the grade given, or change the grade. Hours of work and anxiety for the professor. Sometimes this has resulted in an untenured professor not being renewed. So we may become sensitive to the possibility of complaints. And so we give out more As. But we are not happy handing them out. We're just beaten down.
3
I don't grasp what this author is trying to say. As a snapshot of an aspect of college life, this essay strikes me as limited to the English Department of large selective private university. It's absurd to lump the college and university experiences (for faculty or students) all together. The experiences of a music, chemistry, do-it-yourself, econ, marine biology, or American Studies major -- not to mention applied majors such as engineering, computer science, nutrition, nursing or physical therapy -- have little in common. My spouse is a career academic at a large state university. I see nothing of him in this essay.
41
That's because the author is venting, but doesn't really have a cogent argument.
2
"applied majors" do not a liberal education make. And, private vs. public is not really germane here: he did mention UCLA after all.
By the way, those statistics about A's are not the measure of English Departments but whole universities. Someone is not being totally forthcoming ...
By the way, those statistics about A's are not the measure of English Departments but whole universities. Someone is not being totally forthcoming ...
2
I don't understand your complaint. How do the experiences of music, chemistry, etc. majors differ? Is mentoring somehow the exclusive province of English departments? Is it the emphasis on writing? Clear writing is going to be an important component in any not-purely-quantitative field, but if that's your beef, substitute music compositions, problem sets, etc. The survey data he cites is certainly not specific to English departments.
As for the public/private distinction, I have many friends and colleagues who teach at large state universities (mostly in English departments, it's true). All of them are available to, and expect to see, students outside of class. For a student in a giant intro lecture class a relationship with the professor may be unrealistic, but by junior and senior year they ought to be able (& eager) to find a few profs to build closer ties with. If for no higher purpose, you're going to get a much stronger letter of recommendation from someone who knows you beyond your performance in the classroom.
As for the public/private distinction, I have many friends and colleagues who teach at large state universities (mostly in English departments, it's true). All of them are available to, and expect to see, students outside of class. For a student in a giant intro lecture class a relationship with the professor may be unrealistic, but by junior and senior year they ought to be able (& eager) to find a few profs to build closer ties with. If for no higher purpose, you're going to get a much stronger letter of recommendation from someone who knows you beyond your performance in the classroom.
3
I retired in 2012 after 32 years as a professor. I was frequently told over the last seven years of my academic career that I was "under-performing" because I did not bring in enough external research grants and the research grants that did bring in were from non-profit organizations or foundations, rather than Federally-funded research grants which paid full research overhead. The university did not want me to teach, but rather generate Federally-funded research with full overhead, despite the high level of evaluations from students.
I explain to those who are interested in pursuing an academic career that their job will be focused on grantsmanship and publication generation, and student contact will be a low priority. Better to pursue a career in a high-tech research organization.
I explain to those who are interested in pursuing an academic career that their job will be focused on grantsmanship and publication generation, and student contact will be a low priority. Better to pursue a career in a high-tech research organization.
267
Brad - good points, especially your last comments about 'better pursue a career in a high-tech research organization.' That, in effect, is what many universities are trying to become--better to joint a real research organization than a hybrid that does such a poor job in its supposed primary mission.
My wife has brought me more money from external sources than anyone in her college (Arts and Sciences) and the program in which she teaches has produced some outstanding graduates. Yet the university where she works won't give her a permanent job, and her sources of funding have dried up because the university where she works has never matched any of the external funding.
Almost no universities care anything about teaching (I hope there are exceptions, but I haven't heard of them). What most people don't know is most of the research is junk and has been for a long time, but the idea that quantity matters much more than quality fosters unethical behavior in publication and research which is rampant, people have to publish a lot or they will lose their job and be working at McDonalds, you can do quality research and not make any discovery and the work isn't publishable (it should be) so people are forced to find significance and they manipulate the data any way they can to keep their jobs. Some of this happens subconsciously. My views my seem jaded but they are true, few academics in private would disagree with me in large part.
1
One thing that has changed is that many students believe "If I did the work I deserve an A." To them, "A" is not a mark of the hghest quality, it is just a matter of doing the work. And they fight with you over it. The worst grade one can give is A-.
Some students do understand that a professor is more than an grade (i.e., A) generating machine. And some have actually emailed me a few years later to thank them for the courses!! This is the greatest reward an adjunct like me can receive. But, as the semester ends (not just for graduation, but for summer break) many students have forgotten whatever they learned in class. The finals are over, the A ( or B+ or worse, A-) received and fall semester already regiistered for. Just ticking the marks off.
Some students do understand that a professor is more than an grade (i.e., A) generating machine. And some have actually emailed me a few years later to thank them for the courses!! This is the greatest reward an adjunct like me can receive. But, as the semester ends (not just for graduation, but for summer break) many students have forgotten whatever they learned in class. The finals are over, the A ( or B+ or worse, A-) received and fall semester already regiistered for. Just ticking the marks off.
156
My students don't fight with me over anything.
The syllabus is a contract which states how an "A" is earned, and only the students who demonstrate the greatest competence in achieving the learning outcomes receive an "A".
But yes, some student do realize what education is all about...just as was the case when I was a student 40 years ago. That hasn't changed (but I have to admit that I didn't know what education was all about 40 years ago...and I was one of the "good" students)
The syllabus is a contract which states how an "A" is earned, and only the students who demonstrate the greatest competence in achieving the learning outcomes receive an "A".
But yes, some student do realize what education is all about...just as was the case when I was a student 40 years ago. That hasn't changed (but I have to admit that I didn't know what education was all about 40 years ago...and I was one of the "good" students)
B - There seem to be a few grammatical errors in this posting.
That is not exactly the student's point of view. It's a shame the NYT did not post my comment- from student's perspective.
1
I spend similar time with my students on drafts, service-learning, internships, and activities like Reacting to the Past, consistently making up the majority of my large department's quota of students presenting their research at conferences and engaging with museums. My university wants me to do these things, asks me to do these things but then rewards my colleagues with closed doors, fewer assignments, and longer personal bibliographies. Add to that the sexism and general whining that Rate My Professor brought us, I'm ready to throw in the towel.
190
I refuse to embrace "service learning." "Service learning" is essentially a way of exploiting students to do free work that we don't want to pay for in the name of "educating" them. Unless the student actually wants to donate her or his time, the learning is minimal. And if you actually pay attention to Rate My Professor, you should throw in the towel. Today.
1
I could have written this post by Ozark Homesteader: particularly the campus expanding service and the extended advising and cheerleading that are part of gendered expectations within my department. But this backfires: students prefer easy courses even if they can do higher quality work and the time spent in service limits the academic work that is the bottom line.
I have issues with the idealization of the professor in this editorial but I definitely see the pattern of passive aggressive accommodation on the college campus. This as a tragedy in my own region with low expectations and low community engagement as the continuing consequences. How do we teach ambition, drive, or support curiousity to students who just want multiple-choice tests?
I have issues with the idealization of the professor in this editorial but I definitely see the pattern of passive aggressive accommodation on the college campus. This as a tragedy in my own region with low expectations and low community engagement as the continuing consequences. How do we teach ambition, drive, or support curiousity to students who just want multiple-choice tests?
2
A global problem... and one that seems to be getting worse, not better. However, these interactions with students do lead to many #proudprofessor moments - but I think we are in a minority in thinking that is something of value.
2
We're a dumber society with artificial confidence. If one reads the simple minded posts in social media (one who has an educated mind) he or she can see that. Many, if not all, of those posters have college degrees, but cannot reason.
There was a lot of competition in the '60's... competition in the ability to make a convincing argument. It started young. If a kid said something stupid, his parents would advise him or her that it was stupid. Teachers would concur, but, not only that, older kids in the neighborhood would criticize as well. Teachers chided one to do well. There was no political correctness so one could chide. And parents supported the chiding teachers.
There was no political correctness, and there was no Adderall. But there was a draft. There was a notion that others were better than you were, and the way to succeed was to acquire those capabilities. Good grades weren't gifts.
I suspect that today, there are some smart kids in this society. But it's a different playing field. As a society, we may be dumb, and we can vote for any dumb fool we want to. And the Chinese are probably as dumb as we are, and also have some percentage of smart kids who compete in the world. But they *can't" vote for any dumb fool they want to.
It's as it always has been. There is a small percentage of intelligent kids who attend the schools that form centers of thought. For the rest, schools are degree mills. Professors have to deal with them.
There was a lot of competition in the '60's... competition in the ability to make a convincing argument. It started young. If a kid said something stupid, his parents would advise him or her that it was stupid. Teachers would concur, but, not only that, older kids in the neighborhood would criticize as well. Teachers chided one to do well. There was no political correctness so one could chide. And parents supported the chiding teachers.
There was no political correctness, and there was no Adderall. But there was a draft. There was a notion that others were better than you were, and the way to succeed was to acquire those capabilities. Good grades weren't gifts.
I suspect that today, there are some smart kids in this society. But it's a different playing field. As a society, we may be dumb, and we can vote for any dumb fool we want to. And the Chinese are probably as dumb as we are, and also have some percentage of smart kids who compete in the world. But they *can't" vote for any dumb fool they want to.
It's as it always has been. There is a small percentage of intelligent kids who attend the schools that form centers of thought. For the rest, schools are degree mills. Professors have to deal with them.
98
"We're a dumber society...It's as it always has been..."
Which is it? If "we're a dumber society", it's NOT "as it always have been."
In fact, we are neither dumber nor smarter, or even the same because the nature of society changes over time, and almost nothing is ever as it always has been.
Yes, not much has changed in terms of our basic primate behaviors. But what is needed to be "successful", as well as the definition of "successful", changes constantly.
Which is it? If "we're a dumber society", it's NOT "as it always have been."
In fact, we are neither dumber nor smarter, or even the same because the nature of society changes over time, and almost nothing is ever as it always has been.
Yes, not much has changed in terms of our basic primate behaviors. But what is needed to be "successful", as well as the definition of "successful", changes constantly.
2
My father told me when I was young to get a college degree but that it meant nothing. It was just something that society expected of you. And to learn everything on my own. Getting drafted was the education, not to mention the round trip, fortunately, to Vietnam, that has stood me all these years.
1
Charles, I agree with much of what you write but wonder if you are leaving out a larger context. Artificial confidence is a great term, because it resonates (for me, at least) with artificial intelligence which some countries are hellbent on raising to greater power and respect than they offer to much of human life on the planet. Simply, the west and especially the USA itself has drilled 'artificial confidence' into the mentality of its citizens. Yes, kids today reflect that culture. But in fact, American society is also guilty of that perspective and exhibits a similar self-indulgence and entitlement. And USA government and industry is hellbent on artificial intelligence. We need to look in the mirror.
1
Unfortunately, this is the end result of "student as customer." Lord, how I cringed every time a university administrator uttered that phrase.
Students do not earn a degree through contemplation, introspection and the pursuit of knowledge -- they shop around and buy one. All aspects of higher education suffer -- including student / professor relationships -- when the fundamental values of learning are corrupted by consumerism.
-- ex-prof
Students do not earn a degree through contemplation, introspection and the pursuit of knowledge -- they shop around and buy one. All aspects of higher education suffer -- including student / professor relationships -- when the fundamental values of learning are corrupted by consumerism.
-- ex-prof
389
Consumerism is what 21st century America is all about...which explains why the 21st century will belong to the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party...with the full support of Wall Street.
2
The old system is gone and now a degree is bought by the consumer? Very sad times for higher education.
3
thanks to the "business" majors and the business major students have been transformed into "customers" from "students". I blame Professors of Business at every opportunity. Society should do the same.
3
"In 1960, only 15 percent of grades were in the “A” range, but now the rate is 43 percent, making “A”....Ah, I remember it well. At freshman orientation we were told that 2/3 of the entering freshman would not be around to start their Junior year do to academic failure, and only one in four would graduate. Today the quality of a University is rated on the percentage of Freshman who graduate. I wonder, do you suppose they have that parameter backwards, or maybe students are really much smarter than they used to be.
306
Typically only 10-15% of my students make "A". But I teach prerequisite courses for allied health programs like nursing. And although our college leaders once pressured the instructors to dumb down our courses to make the students happy, most of us have refused to do so because we believe the students who enter allied health programs have to be the best students. Students are neither smarter nor less smart than they used to. But many students have been told by college leaders that they are entitled to high grades, and the message of many college leaders to students has been that any instructor who upholds a high standard is a bad instructor.
4
Rating an institution or program on the number of freshman who graduate from the same program is a bit dicey- 17 and 18 year olds should be able to change their minds early on without it being a reflection on anyone else. However, failing two thirds of an entering class (If that is indeed the case; hopefully it was just a lousy scare tactic) would be a failure of the institution, in terms of respect for the student population admitted, instructional competence, and in the willingness to waste the time and money of others. Maybe there is no change in students but a change in the idea of sharing responsibility for teaching and learning.
3
Excuse me, but you mean "due to" not "do to"!
2
Two and a half hours per week in class? 43% A's? That's a different universe from me and my department. Maybe it's because Prof. Bauerlein is an English professor and I'm a math professor. I meet each class 4 to 4 1/2 hours a week, four days a week. (I'll bet Prof. Bauerlein meets them only twice a week.) If I give 25% A's it's a good class. I try to be kind about feedback but I don't shy from criticizing inadequate work.
That said, few of my students come to see me outside class, even when their work is not up to standard. (I never went to see a professor voluntarily either, in those legendary '60's.) Prof. Bauerlein's method seems like a fine way to get students engaged and is worth emulating. I'm pleased to read about his effort to change student attitudes. (And I share his opinion of that dean.)
That said, few of my students come to see me outside class, even when their work is not up to standard. (I never went to see a professor voluntarily either, in those legendary '60's.) Prof. Bauerlein's method seems like a fine way to get students engaged and is worth emulating. I'm pleased to read about his effort to change student attitudes. (And I share his opinion of that dean.)
119
Did you not see how many hours he spends with them one on one outside class?
6
I apologize; my computer hid Mr. Zaslavsky's second paragraph until after I hit the post button. He and I agree.
19
If there is one major difference that I note between me and my fellow students 40 years ago and students today, it is that most of my students won't take advice from their instructor on how to make better grades (much less go see the instructor), even when they are failing the course. Many students seem to believe that fate, and not the relative competence of the student in the subject area as defined by the instructor, is what determines their grade.
4