5 ms·

Most jobs don’t have tenure.

ucaetano 8y ago
Bingo!
Steuard 8y ago
Most college instructors in the US today don't, either, and aren't in positions that will ever be eligible for it. That's the point.
- opportune 8y ago
  Why do instructors deserve tenure?
  - rosser 8y ago
    The theory, as I understand it, is that without tenure or a mechanism like it people might not feel empowered to research controversial subjects, or draw conclusions which challenge conventions, for example.
    - opportune 8y ago
      What I was implying was that instructors =/= professor. Don't really think adjuncts need tenure any more than public school teachers (though I know some public school teachers in certain districts can get "tenure")
  - Steuard 8y ago
    The point of the article, as I read it, is that 50 years ago there basically weren't instructors: very few college/university classes were taught by anyone other than (tenured or tenure-track) professors. That model has been increasingly abandoned in recent years: "we discard[ed] the idea of college faculty". If there ever was a reason that university teachers deserved tenure, that reason has eroded or been outright cast aside over the past few decades. The author of the article thinks that's a bad thing, and I tend to agree.
blihp 8y ago
Of course not. But the reason that tenure ostensibly exists is to allow people who are considered in the top of their field academically to say and do things that might be unpopular (with administrators, politicians or the public at large) in the form of teaching their classes, research and publication.[1] The idea is that society wants them to push the envelope without fear of repercussions. Take away the protection that tenure provides, and more often than not (even more) professors will take the path of least resistance and become politicians and bureaucrats rather than educators and researchers. [1] Yes, tenure has been horribly abused by some professors over the years that had nothing to do with this. There are also those who, while not blatantly abusing it in ways that made headlines, never contributed much back to society in return for the privilege. All systems can be gamed.

Bingo!

Most college instructors in the US today don't, either, and aren't in positions that will ever be eligible for it. That's the point.

opportune 8y ago
Why do instructors deserve tenure?
- rosser 8y ago
  The theory, as I understand it, is that without tenure or a mechanism like it people might not feel empowered to research controversial subjects, or draw conclusions which challenge conventions, for example.
  - opportune 8y ago
    What I was implying was that instructors =/= professor. Don't really think adjuncts need tenure any more than public school teachers (though I know some public school teachers in certain districts can get "tenure")
- Steuard 8y ago
  The point of the article, as I read it, is that 50 years ago there basically weren't instructors: very few college/university classes were taught by anyone other than (tenured or tenure-track) professors. That model has been increasingly abandoned in recent years: "we discard[ed] the idea of college faculty". If there ever was a reason that university teachers deserved tenure, that reason has eroded or been outright cast aside over the past few decades. The author of the article thinks that's a bad thing, and I tend to agree.

blihp 8y ago

Of course not. But the reason that tenure ostensibly exists is to allow people who are considered in the top of their field academically to say and do things that might be unpopular (with administrators, politicians or the public at large) in the form of teaching their classes, research and publication.[1] The idea is that society wants them to push the envelope without fear of repercussions. Take away the protection that tenure provides, and more often than not (even more) professors will take the path of least resistance and become politicians and bureaucrats rather than educators and researchers. [1] Yes, tenure has been horribly abused by some professors over the years that had nothing to do with this. There are also those who, while not blatantly abusing it in ways that made headlines, never contributed much back to society in return for the privilege. All systems can be gamed.