This is a pretty annoying article by David Levy. Levy gives a brief account of the American professoriate in the 20th century, explaining that college professors used to do the job out of a sense of duty as a sort of “calling” (unlike the apparently mercenary motivations of those of us in the academy today), that they accepted very low wages in exchange for perks like tenure and a light teaching load with summers off. He then argues that eventually salaries for professors increased to the point that they were competitive with people in other sectors (I assume by this he means the managerial ranks of the fast-food industry), and yet professors have outrageously continued to maintain all of their previous perks. He says that while teaching loads are appropriate for research-heavy schools (like KU) where summers are the time for conducting research, this model is extremely inefficient at places like community colleges. He runs a lot of numbers (can you say consultant?) that makes it look like professors are wasting huge amounts of time and Mr. Enlightenment has a way for schools to get a lot more bang for their buck from these sloths. Oh, and he’s not like those nasty people on the right who attack the academy; he’s one of us.
Seriously. The difference in teaching loads between a high school teacher and a community college teacher is negligible, while the difference between the latter and an average teaching load at a research-heavy school is considerable. Teaching a 4-4 (and at some places a 5-5) load requires more active teaching than what high school teachers do, and the training required for such a position is, well, a hell of a lot more challenging. Sorry, but nowadays, you’re not going to get a tenure-track position at a community college without a PhD. And the salary? He quotes salary averages from research-intensive schools, conveniently leaving out community college salaries; sorry, Mr. Levy, but your average community college salary is much more modest. Meanwhile, community college enrollments have skyrocketed in recent years and classes are packed and overflowing. Are you seriously going to argue that a community college professor is only going to be spending one hour out of class for each hour in class? This guy seems delusional. I also suspect that a lot of community college professors, despite their supposedly massive salaries, teach summer school.
My father was a community college teacher. Funnily enough, it always seemed to me like he had a full-time job, but he must have been hiding out at the golf course or something. Yes, Mr. Levy, let’s get people teaching 8-8 course loads! I’d say we should make them teach at midnight, except that this is already happening at some community colleges, those bastions of leisure and idleness. (Is he aware, for example, that to help students who take classes while maintaining one or more jobs, many community colleges now offer classes late at night and on weekends?) Yes, Mr. Levy, let’s go after the very people who deal with and try to help those students who struggle the most, and where, in the realm of higher ed, education can actually have the biggest impact. Sorry, but I find his proposition dubious, to say the least.
Seriously. The difference in teaching loads between a high school teacher and a community college teacher is negligible, while the difference between the latter and an average teaching load at a research-heavy school is considerable. Teaching a 4-4 (and at some places a 5-5) load requires more active teaching than what high school teachers do, and the training required for such a position is, well, a hell of a lot more challenging. Sorry, but nowadays, you’re not going to get a tenure-track position at a community college without a PhD. And the salary? He quotes salary averages from research-intensive schools, conveniently leaving out community college salaries; sorry, Mr. Levy, but your average community college salary is much more modest. Meanwhile, community college enrollments have skyrocketed in recent years and classes are packed and overflowing. Are you seriously going to argue that a community college professor is only going to be spending one hour out of class for each hour in class? This guy seems delusional. I also suspect that a lot of community college professors, despite their supposedly massive salaries, teach summer school.
My father was a community college teacher. Funnily enough, it always seemed to me like he had a full-time job, but he must have been hiding out at the golf course or something. Yes, Mr. Levy, let’s get people teaching 8-8 course loads! I’d say we should make them teach at midnight, except that this is already happening at some community colleges, those bastions of leisure and idleness. (Is he aware, for example, that to help students who take classes while maintaining one or more jobs, many community colleges now offer classes late at night and on weekends?) Yes, Mr. Levy, let’s go after the very people who deal with and try to help those students who struggle the most, and where, in the realm of higher ed, education can actually have the biggest impact. Sorry, but I find his proposition dubious, to say the least.