Wednesday, May 28, 2008
forced indifference?
In the early portions of Electronic Writing Centers, David Coogan references Maxine Hairston's point that a possible reason for the struggle with composition teaching is the "untrained" or "indifferent" instructors. While I may be alone in my lack of teaching experience, from what I understand, many of the writing/comp instructors are poorly compensated for their time and effort, let alone any outside research into the world of rhetoric. It doesn't seem like teaching English 101 is a substantial enough income to be a primary income, so I assume these teachers are either working on an advanced degree (and are new to composition studies) or, are working another job as well. I understand why research is an important component of creating a good teacher, but if it becomes an expectation, it should somehow be worked into the compensation that these instructors receive. I think it was even mentioned in class today, that this is a problem that is a result of how these faculty are treated.
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3 comments:
I agree that insufficient compensation often leads to indifference, but it must also be true that insufficient compensation reflects indifference—the indifference of English departments and universities. As you speculate, it is in fact the case that many composition instructors are working on advanced degrees and working other jobs. Many, moreover, have no intention of specializing in composition. That was certainly the case at the University of Cincinnati when I worked on my MA. We were there because we wanted to be professors of literature—but we were used to teach composition. I have come around since then, but at the time it was certainly a recipe for indifference.
It's unfair to characterize instructors as being indifferent when it could just as often be students who are indifferent. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think most composition instructors care about what they're doing, even though it can be frustrating for so many reasons.
You are no doubt correct. I was careless when I asserted that “insufficient compensation often leads to indifference.” Many contract composition instructors care deeply about the work they do in the classroom. I should have written that insufficient compensation sometimes leads to indifference.
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