Overuse and Abuse of Adjuncts Threaten Core Academic Values

[sylvan8798]

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@mathyone

@sylvan, Of course it doesn’t mean you are bad. But you probably don’t have access to the same level of support and mentoring from the department as well. Do you ever eat lunch with the full-time faculty?

Over the years I’ve taught at 4 institutions, so I’ll try to answer these with regard to all of them. At schools C and N I frequently lunched with other faculty. At schools B and S no one seems to eat lunch. Including me. Also, I’ve often taught night sections and am not on campus at lunchtime.</p>

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Have you ever been to a faculty meeting where courses and curriculum are discussed?

At school C, yes. Not expected to attend faculty meetings at B, N, or S.

*Did the former professor give you any advice, information, curriculum ideas, lecture notes, when you first taught a new class? *

Definitely true everywhere to the extent that former instructors were still available.

*Do you feel well-informed about how your class’s level of difficulty, workload, grading policy compares with other classes offered by the department? *

Not sure how to respond to this since this is an area where I have to use my own judgment and discretion.<br>

If you were ill, would you be able to contact one of the other professors and ask them to fill in for you with your notes or does your class simply get cancelled?

No one does that at any of the schools. Class is canceled if the instructor is sick. Unless, of course, it’s going to be a long term thing, in which case I’m sure they would find a replacement for me.

• Do you feel the school has any interest whatsoever in helping you become a better teacher–for instance, are you encouraged to have your lectures videotaped and your performance critiqued by education professionals or anything like that? *

I’ve been critiqued at all schools, as is generally their procedure. The students also do faculty evaluations at the end of the semester. School S has pre and post tests for all students in certain courses, which measure progress across all the sections, including mine.</p>

<p>In only one school do I not have an office space, but I teach labs there and can use the lab itself if I need to so it’s not an issue.</p>