uni. prof, ask me anything

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:(1) Are you thinking of transforming any assignments in the wake of ChatGPT? Have you played around with it at all, and do you have any impressions of what it means for teaching in your (sub)field?

(2) You may have already answered this, but are you done grading for the semester? What’s looming? (Any R&Rs, dissertations, overdue reviews?)

(3) You are clearly well paid relative to other humanities faculty ($103K at an R1 right here). How did you get to that salary? Retention offers? Moves? Unionized? Some magical force counteracting salary compression?

(OP here): 1) We are thinking about this as a faculty. My sense is students will be writing essay exams a lot more under proctored conditions.

2) I have a couple of books in process (okay, okay, in pathetic states of stasis), multiple reviews to write, way too many articles/chapter commitments, and an edited volume to complete. It makes my head hurt. I say yes to friends and then regret it for a year (or three).

3) my salary grew through a couple of normal steps up, a good institutional salary model that increases for inflation and other considerations, and an admin stipend that adds a good chunk.

[Anonymous]

Which humanities field, specifically?

Do you find yourself grading essays with arguments that you don't agree with harsher than those that you do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:R1, humanities field, with strong undergrads programs (think Brown, Gtown, Tufts). Fire away.

My DD is autistic. She’s Level I, very gifted and quite social, but also very rigid and anxious. Until very recently, she wanted to major in STEM. There seem to be more people on the spectrum in STEM and we suspect she’ll have a less difficult time with accommodations and finding her tribe among hard science majors. However, she’s fallen in love with the humanities and social sciences recently. I worry that there’s less acceptance of autistic traits in those fields. Moreover, there’s a lot of figurative language and academic double speak in the humanities that I think she might not grasp. What do you think?

(OP here): I really don't have enough grasp of autism and how it impacts cognitive and analytical abilities (and assume it's very person-variable), so I can't really speak to this. That said, I end up with a lot of STEM students who want to explore more than just the hard sciences, and many report it helps them love all inquiry more, including in their chosen (science) major. "Acceptance" and accommodations are really dependent on the faculty member--I have humanities colleagues who are terribly hard-nosed ("your grandma died at the hands of your mother last night, in front of you, but you turned the paper in late? Tough. It's late and you fail.") Again, the culture of accommodation is more local to the prof, maybe the school type will lend itself to some leniency.

My one suggestion: encourage her to explore. Don't pressure too much. See how she does in a class or two. A humanities class that lights her imagination and mind on fire may very well carry over into embracing all the other work.

Thank you!

[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).

Remember that those private school kids came from an advantaged upbringing to begin with.

Not necessarily. Most privates offer financial aid, and at Catholic schools, tuition is reasonable enough that many parents take on a part time job to pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Which humanities field, specifically?

Do you find yourself grading essays with arguments that you don't agree with harsher than those that you do?

(OP here): not getting more specific on which field.

I care about the construction of arguments, far less than the particular conclusions. I'm trying to teach thinking, interpreting, analysis, argumentation, not make disciples.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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).

Remember that those private school kids came from an advantaged upbringing to begin with.

Not necessarily. Most privates offer financial aid, and at Catholic schools, tuition is reasonable enough that many parents take on a part time job to pay.

(OP here): indeed, I have been surprised at how lower and mid-middle class some of the top students are, (and it suggests the private/parochial schools that provide financial aid are doing something wonderful with that). Again, I also have strong/excellent public school students. And once they're at my university, those differences can start to fade away (or at least begin to equalize).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Thank you Prof. Maybe this will quiet the rampant MCPS boosterism for an evening…private school gives better education, including Catholics.
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).

Remember that those private school kids came from an advantaged upbringing to begin with.

Not necessarily. Most privates offer financial aid, and at Catholic schools, tuition is reasonable enough that many parents take on a part time job to pay.

(OP here): indeed, I have been surprised at how lower and mid-middle class some of the top students are, (and it suggests the private/parochial schools that provide financial aid are doing something wonderful with that). Again, I also have strong/excellent public school students. And once they're at my university, those differences can start to fade away (or at least begin to equalize).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why did you spend five years to earn as much as someone with an undergraduate degree in marketing?

-Finance Prof

Is the money worth selling your soul to capitalism? What do you think of late stage capitalism?

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

I feel it's doubtful that you actually are a university professor.

[Anonymous]

Do you know your student's SAT / ACT score?

Do you know who applied Test Optional or not?

[Anonymous]

Do you have access to students' HS grades/transcripts?

[Anonymous]

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.

Not a professor but a parent attending a lot of open houses. My son and a lot of other students wear apparel from their HS. My son only had like 3 sweatshirts and 2 of them are from his HS. He has been stopped multiple times at open houses by admissions people to chat about his HS due to his sweatshirt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why did you spend five years to earn as much as someone with an undergraduate degree in marketing?

-Finance Prof

Is the money worth selling your soul to capitalism? What do you think of late stage capitalism?

Yes

[Anonymous]

Would you recommend student pursue a humanities major?