" Beyond the detrimental effects these developments have on those seeking to earn a living wage as college teachers and on students weighed down by loans, this growing reliance on contingent faculty raises crucial questions about the nature of education. The traditional value of a liberal arts education rests not on a transactional arrangement dedicated to specific job training or the memorization of information, but on being taught methods for interpreting the meaning of that information to foster a community of critical thinkers. This requires a working and learning environment that supports engagement with the complexity and plurality of ideas and one that provides for spontaneous and sustained interactions between teachers and students. But this model of education is undermined when the majority of faculty occupy precarious and low-wage jobs, lack adequate time and resources to respond fully to student needs, and whose uncertain employment precludes the development of long-term relationships with students or colleagues. And it is additionally compromised by the expanded influence of administrators and a corporate-like preoccupation with revenue, enrollment numbers, facility construction, and suspect national rankings. "
Posted on: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 16:08:47 +0000
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