Even though this is for the Professors, and most of us are not, still makes for a great read.
"If it is still true that a university job is about teaching and writing, then in this age of market fundamentalism, those two faculty roles have attained a distinct nature. Successful researchers are what Christopher Hitchens once called "micro-megalomaniacs." They have carved out a small and distinct place for themselves, over which they rule uninhibitedly. Their writing is unreadable as well as unread, neither of which is a disadvantage, because, as Russell Jacoby reminds us, "if your work is readable and is read and therefore considered journalistic — then that’s a curse." And, he added: "If no one reads it, it’s certainly not held against you."
The same goes for teaching. At least where we teach — in Britain and Sweden — being a disengaged teacher is nothing to be ashamed of at a research university. In that institutional sector, a yardstick for academic success is the distance you can maintain between yourself and the students. We’ve both received advice over the years to spend our time and effort on research, not teaching.
Meanwhile, teaching or service aspirations — say, teaching something that actually engages students, or writing something that is actually read — are not rewarded."
Read the rest at: http://www.chronicle.com/article/How-to-Live-Less-Anxiously-in/237920?cid=cp79
"If it is still true that a university job is about teaching and writing, then in this age of market fundamentalism, those two faculty roles have attained a distinct nature. Successful researchers are what Christopher Hitchens once called "micro-megalomaniacs." They have carved out a small and distinct place for themselves, over which they rule uninhibitedly. Their writing is unreadable as well as unread, neither of which is a disadvantage, because, as Russell Jacoby reminds us, "if your work is readable and is read and therefore considered journalistic — then that’s a curse." And, he added: "If no one reads it, it’s certainly not held against you."
The same goes for teaching. At least where we teach — in Britain and Sweden — being a disengaged teacher is nothing to be ashamed of at a research university. In that institutional sector, a yardstick for academic success is the distance you can maintain between yourself and the students. We’ve both received advice over the years to spend our time and effort on research, not teaching.
Meanwhile, teaching or service aspirations — say, teaching something that actually engages students, or writing something that is actually read — are not rewarded."
Read the rest at: http://www.chronicle.com/article/How-to-Live-Less-Anxiously-in/237920?cid=cp79
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