04th Nov 2007
Ms. Theologian consults academics
Dear Ms. Theologian,
My partner is an adjunct professor teaching at a big state school in a department that has a reputation for being really good in his field. His course evaluations were mixed, but some of them were not good at all. His theory is that this is because he is a hard(er) professor - he insists that students read, will not tell them exactly what will be on the tests (as in giving them a “study sheet” and saying “10 of these 30 questions will be on the test” which is very common), and in general tries to insist that students take an active role in learning rather than sit there like passive little zombies while he pours information into their heads. He teaches adjunct at another place and they are super-supportive of trying to keep grade inflation down and insisting to students that they must read and study to get good grades, so he knows that some schools are supportive of this approach even if the students get lower grades/are more indignant about having to work hard.
He works very hard at developing good pedagogies, interesting approaches, works hard to learn students names, and is very friendly and supportive to students - in short, he is clearly not a bad professor. The department chair believes that student evaluations are a direct reflection of how well a professor is teaching, rather than acknowledging that the easier and more fun a class is, often the better the evaluations. No one from the department has ever visited his class to see how he teaches. They have insisted that his evaluations need to be better or he cannot teach there anymore. There was also mention that students need to like the classes a lot so that the department can get more majors (= more funding). We have decided together that this is not a good place for him since it seems that the priority is good evaluations (= easier tests, less pressure to read) rather than keeping grade inflation in check and students actually learning something. My question is, how to submit a resignation letter? I say that he should gently explain his reasons for quitting, in part so that he can tell this to future employers in explaining why references probably won’t be stellar from this school. He says he should just say he has a schedule conflict and it is too far of a drive (it is a very long commute).
Thoughts?
Signed,
Academic Workplace Conundrum
Dear Academic Workplace Conundrum,
First, please observe the restraint with which Ms. Theologian is not launching into a full-fledged rant on The Academy. Because somewhere up there in the sky, she is accumulating brownie points for not pointing out how The Academy is now run like The Corporate Empire complete with customer surveys and profit margins.
Whoops.
When we leave a job, it is natural to want to tell the truth about why we’re leaving in a gentle or not-so-gentle fashion, what an asshole Grizelda is to her customers, how Stanley wastes his time and is paid twice as much as we are, that Philomena always cuts out early, and that we really could thrive in a place that properly appreciated us. It is natural to want to say all sorts of things, but usually we don’t. Why? Because we sense that often we just need to clear out. We sense that the system can’t be fixed by our parting truths. We know that our bodies instinctively understand self-protection even when our brains cry out for truth.
Ms. Theologian has consulted with the three academics from state universities, who have expressed sympathy for the all-too-common situation, understood the need to construct a scheduling conflict, and given encouragement to not take any more courses from this place. However, they all do not think that this information can be conveyed “gently” to those in charge and side with your partner’s scheduling conflict excuse (or no excuse at all). Just back slowly and quietly away.
Ms. Theologian does not think your partner is under any moral obligation as adjunct faculty to inform anyone of anything. In fact, she thinks that those in charge understand completely what they are doing, and that it is gross, and that they are doing it anyway. She is depressing herself as she types this, but she recognizes this more and more. People intentionally do the wrong thing all the time. It is easy to think that someone who appears to do something morally bankrupt just doesn’t have the information that you do. And maybe they don’t. But often they do, and they have just made different choices (e.g., to value student evaluations over all other types of assessments of performance).
Lastly, Ms. Theologian would like to point out that giving a study guide with possible exam questions on it is not the end of the world pedagogically. She points this out as a former high school teacher, as someone who has most of a master’s degree in education, as someone who has been employed in educational publishing for more than a decade. Student evaluations as primary indicators of professor performance? They will not go away. They will spread from the public to private institutions. So Ms. Theologian suggests that if a study guide, which identifies and links big and main ideas to one another, some of which will be tested, makes a difference in student learning, then perhaps it is not a bad idea to experiment with it to find a way that works for everyone.
-Ms. Theologian
P.S. If you’d like to write to Ms. Theologian, send an email with “ask Ms. Theologian” in the subject line to ms dot theologian at gmail dot com.
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