4 ms·
This pattern of phrase is so condescending, and insulting to those who genuinely choose to enter a profession.
by ssss11 6y ago
This pattern of phrase is so condescending, and insulting to those who genuinely choose to enter a profession.
- hedberg10 6y agoThose who can't humor, virtue signal.
- choeger 6y agoUnfortunately, it contains a kernel of truth. I personally met staffers at my alma mater that worked there after failing to advance in their academic career but being too well connected to not have a safety net.
- netrus 6y agoI always considered that part of a much needed safety net for a professional where stagnation in the hierarchy is no option, but there are less positions at the top than at the bottom. So yes, a kernel of truth, but not necessarily a bad thing.
- djrogers 6y agoIt’s a bad thing when the cost of higher education is rising at rates 8-10x than inflation due to this excess administrative overhead. If you’ve been out of school for >10yrs, I’d strongly encourage you to look at the current cost of your alma matter - it may well shock you.
- choeger 6y agoTo the contrary. It might shock you to hear that it's still free.
- choeger 6y agoIt is a problem. Those that are capable and drop out of the insane career filter that is academia get good jobs elsewhere. Others end up in the University. And there, they don't even teach.
- geebee 6y agoI disagree that it contains a kernel of truth, though I would agree that it truthfully identifies a malign surface growth that occasionally metastizes and, left unchecked, destroys the kernel. I certainly agree that there are people who teach because they can't do, but I don't think that teaching because you can't do is even part of the kernel of teaching. As for admins... this is a huge problem right now. They are threatening to destroy the host. But a healthy host does have a trim, effective, and dedicated group of admins.
- Closi 6y agoIt's a play on "those who can, teach" which was a marketing campaign in the UK, which somewhat backfired within the UK and became the saying "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach". Clearly there are lots of people who genuinely choose to enter teaching, but in certain subjects, for some people, it is the de-facto profession if you cannot use your degree to do something else. See Avenue Q's "What can you do, with a BA in English?". This is more about high school than university-level though. [Note - I was mistaken - please see the clarification in post below!]
- chrisseaton 6y ago> It's a play on "those who can, teach" which was a marketing campaign in the UK, which somewhat backfired within the UK and became the saying "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach". Lol I think you’ve got that backwards! The marketing slogan was a play on the common criticism of teachers which is a quote of Shaw from around 1900.
- Closi 6y agoOops, I'm happy to be corrected - I'll go back into my hole...
- UncleMeat 6y agoYeah. Especially since a great number of faculty chose to turn down jobs that pay 3-4x what they receive from universities. My friends from grad school who ended up in R1 positions were the most consistently brilliant of my cohort.