As a full time professor since the fall of 2001, an adjunct professor from 1998-2001, and now a Professor Emeritus from a California public university, I have had the "privilege" of being part of the Ivory Tower. As you can see, the word privilege has been placed in quotation marks to highlight the irony of the statement as it has been one of the least rewarding yet most eye-opening experiences of my lifetime. I do understand that those of us who reside in the tower are quite privileged, especially because of the ridiculous practice of tenure. I will speak to the double-edged sword of tenure in a later post but for now I will say it is a practice that serves to provide power to some and to ensure that junior professors follow the party line of those senior faculty members who sit in judgment of them. Archaic- yes; being abolished anytime soon- no.
To provide a frame of reference for this blog, I will introduce myself, and as you read the upcoming entries you will begin to see what brought me to putting fingers to the keyboard to document my journey. I have to begin by saying that I did earn tenure and have had the wonderful "t" word for many years. (That is a whole story for a later time.) My field of expertise is education, and more specifically, literacy education. In this role I have spent much of my time preparing new teachers to enter the classroom while also working with children who struggle to learn to read. My students and my professional field are truly my passion and they are the reward I get for working at the university level. Make no mistake, I have no regrets there! They ARE the reason I have lasted as long as I have in the tower.
Over the past few years, and most certainly since November of 2016, the world has been provided with a more public glimpse behind the walls of the Ivory Tower. This has come in the form of obnoxious tweets from various professors on topics such as race relations, presidential elections and other political topics, white privilege, social justice, hurricanes, and even country music. Why we professor-types think we hold the keys to "enlightenment" is beyond me, especially because I have had the privilege of sitting through years of faculty meetings that were anything but enlightened. (Again, that is a fun topic for another posting.). I think it is time for the marginalized (yes, great Ivory Tower word) professors such as myself to begin to speak up. Those of us who listen to country music, go hiking across this beautiful country, stand for the National Anthem and love families and children, need to put our voices out there. Many of us have been afraid to do so because the mighty sword of Ivory Tower leaves quite a mark when it smacks you across the skull; and boy do some of us get smacked!
Well..... that is my introduction to the blog. In upcoming posts I will tackle topics such as social justice, tenure, country music, campus harassment of free thinkers, and other easy listening hits. Right now I think I'll go and put on some Rascal Flats music as I get ready to pull up the curtains and open the windows of the tower.
To provide a frame of reference for this blog, I will introduce myself, and as you read the upcoming entries you will begin to see what brought me to putting fingers to the keyboard to document my journey. I have to begin by saying that I did earn tenure and have had the wonderful "t" word for many years. (That is a whole story for a later time.) My field of expertise is education, and more specifically, literacy education. In this role I have spent much of my time preparing new teachers to enter the classroom while also working with children who struggle to learn to read. My students and my professional field are truly my passion and they are the reward I get for working at the university level. Make no mistake, I have no regrets there! They ARE the reason I have lasted as long as I have in the tower.
Over the past few years, and most certainly since November of 2016, the world has been provided with a more public glimpse behind the walls of the Ivory Tower. This has come in the form of obnoxious tweets from various professors on topics such as race relations, presidential elections and other political topics, white privilege, social justice, hurricanes, and even country music. Why we professor-types think we hold the keys to "enlightenment" is beyond me, especially because I have had the privilege of sitting through years of faculty meetings that were anything but enlightened. (Again, that is a fun topic for another posting.). I think it is time for the marginalized (yes, great Ivory Tower word) professors such as myself to begin to speak up. Those of us who listen to country music, go hiking across this beautiful country, stand for the National Anthem and love families and children, need to put our voices out there. Many of us have been afraid to do so because the mighty sword of Ivory Tower leaves quite a mark when it smacks you across the skull; and boy do some of us get smacked!
Well..... that is my introduction to the blog. In upcoming posts I will tackle topics such as social justice, tenure, country music, campus harassment of free thinkers, and other easy listening hits. Right now I think I'll go and put on some Rascal Flats music as I get ready to pull up the curtains and open the windows of the tower.
