The university presidents mostly have a cushy job except for the PR aspects. Most of them are picked because they’re the least offensive choice for a go between for the school and legislators, the media, and the general public. Bland and vanilla are the flavors of the day here…hard to get passion and drama from a dead fish because the wr…
The university presidents mostly have a cushy job except for the PR aspects. Most of them are picked because they’re the least offensive choice for a go between for the school and legislators, the media, and the general public. Bland and vanilla are the flavors of the day here…hard to get passion and drama from a dead fish because the wrong words or context will get them in hot water so fast, so they have to be that way to save their jobs.
fundraising is PRECISELY the reason they're "elected." fundraising and looking like they're "serious enough" (whatever THAT might have meant...obviously, in THIS case, there's some significant "falling short."
I figure THIS single aspect is especially important in this era of unaffordable college, although I'm unaware of ANY college presidents who have spoken up about this scandalous situation. in fact, I wonder how long a president would last who decided to attack obscene tuition charges. I know a kid who's on a mostly full scholarship at the University of Rochester. he wrote a paper that every person in his family thought was brilliant. I asked for a copy and thought that since the kid was a freshman who hadn't yet taken a real composition class, I might have been able to grant it a C (or even C plus) if it had been significantly revised so that it, at very least, fulfilled the assignment. but to keep the peace, I said that the situation didn't include me. it was a smart move...the teacher gave the paper a B+. I found a listing of national tuition rates, and The University of Rochester has one of the very highest in the country...$65,000/year. obscene at a quarter of the price. and that's not even mentioning all the famously scintillating Rochester nightlife.
now one thing has gotta be true: either the teacher is incompetent (and MANY college teachers are incompetent as TEACHERS because most of them have never had to demonstrate any kind of competence in the classroom) OR they're calculating that if they want to keep the peace (not to mention the job itself), they'd better give out good grades. that tenure shit don't grow on trees. and now, I'm wondering what percentage of the faculty is adjunct...
It's choice #2 - a C grade is hardly ever given and if it was, the kid would be contesting it in front of some committee, with his attorney, and the school would be persecuting the teacher. American higher education is so corrupt now it's unbelievable. 20 years ago, while I was in a "fallow" period screenwriting-wise, I was asked and accepted to teach screenwriting at the Pasadena arts high school - a "selective" school. The first day, I asked how many had read 10 books in the previous year they didn't have to for school. No response. I kept knocking it down one, and FINALLY got two kids to raise their hands for reading TWO BOOKS they didn't have to. I gave them a lecture on how you cannot write if you do not read, and then I asked them to write a five sentence paragraph about themselves. Most of them were unreadable, and when they were returned with "F" on them - and the three high grades were two Ds and a C, there was a revolt. "I've never gotten a grade below B, and only 3 of those!" from one kid. Two of them started crying. At the end of the class, I went to the office and told them I was quitting, that they were harming the kids by letting them thing bullshit work was good. I pointed out that Real World doesn't give fucking participation trophies.
you sound like me, Tom. but that's hardly accidental.
your story is very consistent with stories I keep hearing from friends who ended up teaching in college, which was my original plan. I'm glad I didn't go that route.
I was reading the student evaluations of my old friend's kid, the legal historian who was hired with tenure by his alma mater, the University of Michigan Law School. they were universally excellent, but there were comments about the course's demands that seemed to come from spoiled snowflakes.
I managed to pull a five-credit D in Elementary Calculus (with tutoring by one of the leading lights of the Math Dept....sometimes, it's good to have friends in high places) and I was fucking ecstatic. I was a star English student, but at the end of the semester for which I was drunk every day, I got Ds in pretty much everything.
and as much as I hate to admit this, if I'd been in a school with a $64,000.00/yr. pricetag, I would have done some official bitching and moaning.
there's gotta be a better way.
actually, there ARE, but they'd make too many rich people too upset.
The university presidents mostly have a cushy job except for the PR aspects. Most of them are picked because they’re the least offensive choice for a go between for the school and legislators, the media, and the general public. Bland and vanilla are the flavors of the day here…hard to get passion and drama from a dead fish because the wrong words or context will get them in hot water so fast, so they have to be that way to save their jobs.
Most are picked because they are good at fundraising. Few universities look for other attributes.
Yes!
fundraising is PRECISELY the reason they're "elected." fundraising and looking like they're "serious enough" (whatever THAT might have meant...obviously, in THIS case, there's some significant "falling short."
And they have to keep straight faces when they agree with tuition rates.
Yes again!
I figure THIS single aspect is especially important in this era of unaffordable college, although I'm unaware of ANY college presidents who have spoken up about this scandalous situation. in fact, I wonder how long a president would last who decided to attack obscene tuition charges. I know a kid who's on a mostly full scholarship at the University of Rochester. he wrote a paper that every person in his family thought was brilliant. I asked for a copy and thought that since the kid was a freshman who hadn't yet taken a real composition class, I might have been able to grant it a C (or even C plus) if it had been significantly revised so that it, at very least, fulfilled the assignment. but to keep the peace, I said that the situation didn't include me. it was a smart move...the teacher gave the paper a B+. I found a listing of national tuition rates, and The University of Rochester has one of the very highest in the country...$65,000/year. obscene at a quarter of the price. and that's not even mentioning all the famously scintillating Rochester nightlife.
now one thing has gotta be true: either the teacher is incompetent (and MANY college teachers are incompetent as TEACHERS because most of them have never had to demonstrate any kind of competence in the classroom) OR they're calculating that if they want to keep the peace (not to mention the job itself), they'd better give out good grades. that tenure shit don't grow on trees. and now, I'm wondering what percentage of the faculty is adjunct...
It's choice #2 - a C grade is hardly ever given and if it was, the kid would be contesting it in front of some committee, with his attorney, and the school would be persecuting the teacher. American higher education is so corrupt now it's unbelievable. 20 years ago, while I was in a "fallow" period screenwriting-wise, I was asked and accepted to teach screenwriting at the Pasadena arts high school - a "selective" school. The first day, I asked how many had read 10 books in the previous year they didn't have to for school. No response. I kept knocking it down one, and FINALLY got two kids to raise their hands for reading TWO BOOKS they didn't have to. I gave them a lecture on how you cannot write if you do not read, and then I asked them to write a five sentence paragraph about themselves. Most of them were unreadable, and when they were returned with "F" on them - and the three high grades were two Ds and a C, there was a revolt. "I've never gotten a grade below B, and only 3 of those!" from one kid. Two of them started crying. At the end of the class, I went to the office and told them I was quitting, that they were harming the kids by letting them thing bullshit work was good. I pointed out that Real World doesn't give fucking participation trophies.
you sound like me, Tom. but that's hardly accidental.
your story is very consistent with stories I keep hearing from friends who ended up teaching in college, which was my original plan. I'm glad I didn't go that route.
I was reading the student evaluations of my old friend's kid, the legal historian who was hired with tenure by his alma mater, the University of Michigan Law School. they were universally excellent, but there were comments about the course's demands that seemed to come from spoiled snowflakes.
I managed to pull a five-credit D in Elementary Calculus (with tutoring by one of the leading lights of the Math Dept....sometimes, it's good to have friends in high places) and I was fucking ecstatic. I was a star English student, but at the end of the semester for which I was drunk every day, I got Ds in pretty much everything.
and as much as I hate to admit this, if I'd been in a school with a $64,000.00/yr. pricetag, I would have done some official bitching and moaning.
there's gotta be a better way.
actually, there ARE, but they'd make too many rich people too upset.