PEN-L message, Re: Another classroom exercise

While Zizek's behavior is reprehensible, especially given that his teaching duties are almost certainly minimal, it is not uncommon that when teachers get burned out, they start to take short cuts. These are often indirectly encouraged by the administration which cuts funding for teaching, takes on too many students for the faculty, rewards easy teachers who give high grades, etc. Teachers start to give micky mouse tests, reduce readings, cut short their classes, take days off, etc. Avoiding students is a common enough short cut.

Of course, a basic problem is that tenure often enough has little to do with teaching well. Disdain for the undergraduates is an occupational disease.

Michael Yates

----- Original Message -----

From: Louis Proyect

To: PEN-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sent: Sunday, March 28, 2004 3:48 PM

Subject: Re: [PEN-L] Another classroom exercise

>I visited Jim Craven's classes (huge classes, and he has to teach a lot of
>them to make ends meet) last December. The students were curious and
>asked me good questions.
>
>Michael Yates

A couple of years ago when I was on the phone with Jim a lot discussing
Blackfoot and related issues, I often caught him in the tail-end of a
conversation with a student in his office. Although I never mentioned it to
him, I was always impressed with the obvious rapport he had with the
student and the individual attention he seemed to be giving. Compare that
with Zizek who confided to Lingua Franca about putting up a schedule of
meetings with non-existent students on his office door. Since he didn't
want to waste his time engaging with ordinary students, he faked being all
booked up. Honestly I can't understand why anybody who has invested in the
time and energy to get tenure would behave in this fashion. For me the high
point of the week is meeting some young person from Marxmail in person who
wants to discuss politics. Or even exchanging email.

Louis Proyect
Marxism list: www.marxmail.org