I've done a study. It
shows that most higher ed faculty jobs are stressful because 1) most of them
are adjunct or contingent and therefore low-paid, low benefit, and insecure,
and 2) because most of what is ever written about adcons is stupid or, if not
stupid, just sort of “too bad and tough luck.”
 |
I got this cool picture of Roy here: http://www.7digital.com/artist/roy-orbison/release/only-the-lonely-sun-rca-monument-singles-1956-1960. I think if we all started wearing shades like that, all the time, like even at night, when we're teaching at off-campus sites, they'd really notice us, don't you?So, that's stressful. |
And now, I've done the
study for you and you may now put my study up against what Huffington Post calls "A controversial new survey from CareerCast.com" that "insists college professors
have the least stressful job in America."
You know, perhaps it's
because of more pressing problems—that pesky time-in-seat aspect of the credit
hour, for example—but, whatever the cause, it's clear that some of our pals in
"journalism," or whatever it's called, are having problems with
higher education reality.
You are familiar, I imagine,
with the brouhaha around a very silly article in Forbes, which is the thing
that inspired the Huffpo bit just referenced?
This was a
"report" on a "study" showing that "professors"
live stress-free work lives, blah, blah, blah, and before the Huffpo thing, the Forbes piece had
triggered a strong reaction from full-time tenure stream faculty, and from
adcons, and a bit of not-very-convincing back-tracking by Susan Adams, who
wrote it, and then, also, some amused commentary by Scott Jaschik at Inside
Higher Ed, and some nice though brief correctives at Washington Monthly and elsewhere.
Oh well, maybe our big break is just around the corner.
Look, here's an MSNBC story about a serous topic, "Colleges roll back faculty hours in response to Obamacare,” by Ned Resnikoff.
Exciting, no?
An article about majority
faculty in higher education facing new exclusions, heaped on top of those already
condemning them to a grim, low wage, no-benefit future of thankless toil?
While, at one and the same
time they bravely struggle to raise up the nation's aspiring masses, through
the miracle of higher education, so that they—the students, I mean—can at least
imagine, sort of, in an informed and critical kind of way, enjoying the fruits
of the secure middle class lifestyle that is guaranteed by, you know, higher education?
Yes, I hear you answer,
with pluck and enthusiasm, that’s what we want!
Ok, then, read on: "Only
contingent faculty—as opposed to full-time, tenure-track faculty—would be
affected by the change in policy."
Well, I mean, sure, but, only? What can this mean?
The article refers to four
colleges, and here, from the ever trusty Modern Language Association academic work site, they are, with "only" indicated as a percent of total faculty:
Palm Beach State College is
only 81% part-time non-tenure.
Community College of
Allegheny County is only 83%
part-time non-tenure.
Youngstown State
University is only 52% part-time
non-tenure.
Kean University is only 73% part-time non-tenure.
I gather, by the way, that
at least one of the voices speaking our for faculty, in this piece, did point
out that adcon faculty are the majority faculty nationwide: this info didn't
make the final cut.
So, now the public knows:
it's "only" some faculty who may be facing future problems with job
caps, healthcare, etc. Only some. "Staff," probably.