uni. prof, ask me anything

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Would you recommend student pursue a humanities major?

(OP here): A humanities major can lead to many things, including admissions to graduate training that has lucrative financial outcomes, if that's your driving criterion. There are also pretty rounded students who don't have such polarized views and study a wide range of subjects, double major (e.g. philosophy and biology) and end up leading very interesting lives.

[Anonymous]

Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid went to college and suffered the start of a serious mental illness—schizophrenia. There was no prior history of this illness. I was very upset at how the college managed the issue, since child also had rapidly declining executive function and energy levels.

Any thoughts OP on how to better handle mental health?

(OP here): This is very tough. I'm sorry for your child. Students can start a semester strong, and then just disappear, and the reasons can be opaque to a professor. The whole network has to work--residence hall directors, advisors/deans, medical center, etc. And lots of kids fall through the cracks. I'm one of the faculty who tends to be very empathetic, and I have a lot of colleagues like this. Sometimes the kids are just checked out and there isn't an underlying crisis. I tend to think there needs to be a way to hit "pause" and leave, get your stuff together, then come back and not have a huge negative mark (or a bunch of Fs) on your record. Sometimes kids have acute crises that ought not destroy the whole trajectory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you know which high schools your students came from? Is this a very small school? I don’t think a professor ever asked me that info.

They never ask this question. This prof is looking it up or having the students reveal this.

Not the OP, but also a professor. I have access to transcripts and SAT/ACT/AP scores. I don’t actively look at my students records. However, I do see the info because I advise majors and sometimes, if I have a struggling student I look at their transcript and standardized test scores.

(OP here): thanks. I think our major directors may have this access (and thereby can see trends). We've changed systems so many times I've lost track of what the features are, and I just haven't felt the need for the information.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There’s no way your salary is what you report it to be, even with an admin component.

Signed,
Social sciences prof who sees salary comparisons across all schools

(OP here): you see averages in those comparisons. I see the faculty in my purview and I'm not an anomaly.

DP and I believe this. I work in grants and see salaries like this at wealthy private schools.

(OP here): Bingo, one example of how this is very common (even at a private where the information is not public--if you're doing grants together, you see salaries). Or people who run programs and centers and institutes who have budget authority and then see faculty salaries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I see a substantial difference between student abilities coming out of private schools and out of public schools (esp. in the ability to read/interpret, think analytically, and in level of confidence).

Do you believe this is due to “good teaching” at private schools, or is it selection bias (smarter parents make money, have smarter kids, and can afford private schools)?

OP here, back,

I think (assertion!) it's more curricular freedom, more emphasis on deep reading, analytical reading, "reading the classics" (which can, in a way, just be careful attention to reading texts that are complex and make you think, struggle, reflect, etc., which is precisely why they seem to then excel at doing those things in college!).

How about writing skills in private vs public students?

(OP here): many more of my students who came from private schools can write really well. Overall, the level of writing skills is depressing (I also feel that way about 3/4 of the literature in my field, but I'm probably just an a$$hole).

How do you know where your students went to high school? Do you look it up? Do you ask them for this information?

Extremely weird and creepy

(OP here): "Hi, tell us about yourself, what brought you to XYZ University?" "I grew up in [state]. Went to {school} and I [sports/hobbies] and I took this class because [sometimes quite thoughtful and compelling answers]." Not sure how that is weird or creepy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How do you know which high schools your students came from? Is this a very small school? I don’t think a professor ever asked me that info.

They never ask this question. This prof is looking it up or having the students reveal this.

Not the OP, but also a professor. I have access to transcripts and SAT/ACT/AP scores. I don’t actively look at my students records. However, I do see the info because I advise majors and sometimes, if I have a struggling student I look at their transcript and standardized test scores.

Do you think you are biased in evaluating your students based on what you know about their high school education?

(Op here): No. I've been as impressed and disappointed at the writing of public and private students. I noted a trend that I've seen in my own experience, not a determinative framework for how I evaluate performance. There are great public high schools feeding our school, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why?

(Op here): Or, why not?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many years have you been teaching?

What changes have you seen in students over the years?

I taught a number of years during grad school at a big research uni (not my own), three years at my phd institution (top of the top) and then 13 years where I am now.

Overall, the students seem to have greater pressure to succeed financially. At the same time, the paths to that success are much more diverse. 15 years ago, it was clear tracks to big consulting firms, or banks, or other similarly defined institutions. Now the tech bulge has blown all that up. There are students who think they can do startups, live in the Maldives, and make billions.

Overall, students' abilities to interpret texts and analyze ideas has PLUMMETED.

They seem afraid. Honestly afraid that the world is on the precipice of falling apart.

At the same time, I'm honestly blown away by how much intellectual ability many of them have. If it can be shaped and directed in good ways, we have some hope for the future.

Also, general note: I see a substantial difference between student abilities coming out of private schools and out of public schools (esp. in the ability to read/interpret, think analytically, and in level of confidence). There are some standout public school students, but the numbers of top private school students outweigh the numbers of public school students (caveat: total anecdotal evidence from my own limited experience, but it's been consistently the case over 20 years).

This made me sad, but it's what I see in my college kid. Afraid and depressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How many years have you been teaching?

What changes have you seen in students over the years?

I taught a number of years during grad school at a big research uni (not my own), three years at my phd institution (top of the top) and then 13 years where I am now.

Overall, the students seem to have greater pressure to succeed financially. At the same time, the paths to that success are much more diverse. 15 years ago, it was clear tracks to big consulting firms, or banks, or other similarly defined institutions. Now the tech bulge has blown all that up. There are students who think they can do startups, live in the Maldives, and make billions.

Overall, students' abilities to interpret texts and analyze ideas has PLUMMETED.

They seem afraid. Honestly afraid that the world is on the precipice of falling apart.

At the same time, I'm honestly blown away by how much intellectual ability many of them have. If it can be shaped and directed in good ways, we have some hope for the future.

Also, general note: I see a substantial difference between student abilities coming out of private schools and out of public schools (esp. in the ability to read/interpret, think analytically, and in level of confidence). There are some standout public school students, but the numbers of top private school students outweigh the numbers of public school students (caveat: total anecdotal evidence from my own limited experience, but it's been consistently the case over 20 years).

This made me sad, but it's what I see in my college kid. Afraid and depressed.

(Op here): Also a sense of hopelessness, coupled with some still-present aspiration for a better world. I'm not sure I'd have any hope left if I wasn't around 18-20 somethings who still think the world can be improved. Deep down I still believe that, despite every bit of evidence around me. They inherit a legacy of so much promise and so much decay.

[Anonymous]

Is college harder now than it was 20 years ago? I graduated in 1999, and I don’t remember it being intense. Yes I had all nighters, writing papers and exams, but it was a lot of reading, discussing, learning ideas, taking interesting classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I see a substantial difference between student abilities coming out of private schools and out of public schools (esp. in the ability to read/interpret, think analytically, and in level of confidence).

Do you believe this is due to “good teaching” at private schools, or is it selection bias (smarter parents make money, have smarter kids, and can afford private schools)?

OP here, back,

I think (assertion!) it's more curricular freedom, more emphasis on deep reading, analytical reading, "reading the classics" (which can, in a way, just be careful attention to reading texts that are complex and make you think, struggle, reflect, etc., which is precisely why they seem to then excel at doing those things in college!).

How about writing skills in private vs public students?

(OP here): many more of my students who came from private schools can write really well. Overall, the level of writing skills is depressing (I also feel that way about 3/4 of the literature in my field, but I'm probably just an a$$hole).

How do you know where your students went to high school? Do you look it up? Do you ask them for this information?

Extremely weird and creepy

(OP here): "Hi, tell us about yourself, what brought you to XYZ University?" "I grew up in [state]. Went to {school} and I [sports/hobbies] and I took this class because [sometimes quite thoughtful and compelling answers]." Not sure how that is weird or creepy.

Extremely weird and creepy school/class.
Kids usually says 'I'm from NYC", I played football, I like cats".

They don't say I went to such and such high school named XYZ which is private or public.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is college harder now than it was 20 years ago? I graduated in 1999, and I don’t remember it being intense. Yes I had all nighters, writing papers and exams, but it was a lot of reading, discussing, learning ideas, taking interesting classes.

(OP here): I'm not sure the academics are more difficult, and in ways the attention to pedagogy is light years ahead (more consistent delivery of fact-based material, inverted/flipped classes where there may be a homogeneous delivery of material and class time is for smaller group discussion/analysis or working through problems, having assumed the delivery of lecture-style content as part of prep/study time). I think what is different is how much extra stuff is packed into the time--clubs, activities, internships, etc. The kids I know are scheduled from 7am until 11pm (I frequently overhear discussions of this prior to class start, where they are lamenting not eating breakfast or not being in their dorm room, or having to their room to grab an item because they won't be back for 10 more hours, etc.). By mid-semester break they're usually pretty tired and by end of finals they're collapsing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do most faculty members treat professional staff members as “lesser than” and “the help”—especially when many staff members command higher salaries than faculty?

(OP here): Because a fair number of faculty members were trained very deeply in something few others fully grasp, and many (not all, but many) are deeply intellectual having had upbringings with little attention to other material or logistical pursuits, and often then can't pull their heads out to see how much others are also pursuing interests, doing good, struggling, and/or not recognizing that the faculty member is not the sole center of the world. Narcissism abounds! I also have incredibly empathetic, caring, and wonderful colleagues. They are fewer in number than the narcissists.

Is this true? In my experience, staff salaries are very low in higher ed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I see a substantial difference between student abilities coming out of private schools and out of public schools (esp. in the ability to read/interpret, think analytically, and in level of confidence).

Do you believe this is due to “good teaching” at private schools, or is it selection bias (smarter parents make money, have smarter kids, and can afford private schools)?

OP here, back,

I think (assertion!) it's more curricular freedom, more emphasis on deep reading, analytical reading, "reading the classics" (which can, in a way, just be careful attention to reading texts that are complex and make you think, struggle, reflect, etc., which is precisely why they seem to then excel at doing those things in college!).

How about writing skills in private vs public students?

(OP here): many more of my students who came from private schools can write really well. Overall, the level of writing skills is depressing (I also feel that way about 3/4 of the literature in my field, but I'm probably just an a$$hole).

How do you know where your students went to high school? Do you look it up? Do you ask them for this information?

Extremely weird and creepy

(OP here): "Hi, tell us about yourself, what brought you to XYZ University?" "I grew up in [state]. Went to {school} and I [sports/hobbies] and I took this class because [sometimes quite thoughtful and compelling answers]." Not sure how that is weird or creepy.

Extremely weird and creepy school/class.
Kids usually says 'I'm from NYC", I played football, I like cats".

They don't say I went to such and such high school named XYZ which is private or public.

My kid has a copuple of classes with 16 kids and 19 kids.
I bet it was never said, and my kid never knows which ones went to public HS and which ones went to priviate HS.
Very weired school/class.