College Professors: What is Another Day in the Trenches About?

Another blog?  Why?  The inspiration for this was a blog that some college professors ran for several years that brought relief to many of us in the profession.  But it folded after the person in charge tired of maintaining the blog.  Scientists, writers, artists, musicians, dancers, critics and educators who teach college classes as part of their work should feel at home here.  That is my hope.  I would like this to be a forum where ideas about college life, academic standards, student behavior, college administrators' behavior, and "life in the trenches" can be discussed and debated.  I would like this to also serve as a place where college professors, and allies, can go to share stories of academic life that are interesting and, at times, disturbing.  Trends in college governance and policy making, student behavior in and out of class, intellectual discourse on college campuses, and other college-related information is open for consideration.  I want this to be a place where college professors, the ones in the trenches teaching and working with students, can come and discuss the academic world without fear of being identified by students, administrators, and even co-workers.  Yes, I know it seems strange for a college professor to advocate for anonymous discourse on the internet when our institutions value academic freedom so highly (sarcasm intended), but there are several reasons why I and most of the contributors to this blog will want to remain anonymous.

First, some things happen to college professors that we are afraid to discuss with many people in our home institution.  I recently experienced this after reporting student misconduct to the Dean of students. After making the report, the Dean mildly chastised the student for not being nice and within days I was informed that this "confidential matter" was being discussed by members of the student senate who sided with the student in the case.  The student was spreading false rumors about the opinions and views I had expressed in class (nothing new there) but had chosen to write these allegations in the form of several Facebook posts.  There are legal precedents for social media statements to be held to libel laws in the United States (and other countries, such as New Zealand) and thus the false statements the student had attributed to me were subject to legal action as well as action by the college.  Despite receiving complete support from the Dean of Faculty at my school, others at the school have sided with the student and do not think any harm will come of her postings (sent to over 700 FB "friend" and the friends of her friends). At this point, I want the matter to fade away so that I can try to restore my reputation as being a respected member of the teaching and research faculty.  But, I want to continue to discuss the case with others but who to talk to? My departmental colleagues have been very supportive, but they are powerless and frightened that students will soon come after them by spreading rumors about them on social media outlets.  I also would like to discuss the matter with other faculty who have experienced this new form of badgering and bullying by students.  I think this is a widespread problem and it would be helpful to learn what others have done when they faced a similar problem.  The first step is to consult trusted confidantes in the workplace and, perhaps, with loved ones.  But beyond that, faculty members like myself would like to learn what is happening in other academic communities.  Many faculty do not wish to share their stories of alleged misdeeds, rumors, etc. if they can be identified.  Anonymity has value in this venue even though there are some who will not have any problem signing their given names to their blog posts.

In addition, I think there are some unusual and even frightening things happening on college campuses that do not get reported but that would be worthwhile learning about.  If my home institution, a very dysfunctional organization run by a business person with no academic teaching experience, learned that I have shared some of the stories that I intend to report here, I would be in serious trouble.  With anonymity, I can report these events, with some name changes, to others college professors and they may wish to share their stories as well.  My employer does not tolerate any faculty member who does not express public support for the college mission and anything deemed to be promoting that mission.  Some of the tactics in hiring, promotion, tenure, and governance are disturbing and even violate laws in some cases. I think people outside of academe would be shocked by the type of power politics employed on the grounds of our top colleges.  Machiavelli would be embarrassed by the bold manipulation tactics used on a regular basis by college administrators.

Last, but certainly not least, are stories about our teaching experiences that thrill, astonish, inspire, or depress us.  I love teaching and doing my scholarly research and writing or else I would not have continued doing this job for over 20 years.  I cannot imagine wanting to do most anything else (although I have fantasies of doing the work of plumbers or gardeners on bad days) but that does not mean that everything is wonderful at all times.  I am stunned by the inability of some of my students to do basic mathematics (e.g., squaring a number), by ideas that are horribly cruel, writing that is puzzling, or logic that baffles.  Classrooms are changing rapidly with technology and our students today are very different from when we were in college.  I gain great pleasure from my students but on some days, like today (the inspiration for this blog taking off), they can seem narcissistic and cruel.  Our reputations are valuable to us and, as Warren Buffet reportedly said "it takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it."  This blog may help prevent some of us from having our reputations tarnished.  I believe in helping other folks like me and I know many of you feel the same way.  I will be happy if some of faculty colleagues laugh and learn by coming here.

Please, feel free to write me and send me stories to post. I promise to write more interesting things in the future, but I wanted to be clear about the goals of this blog and invite you, my esteemed colleagues, to participate in what I hope will be a place that you visit and enjoy regularly.

Bruce M. Dan