An interesting conundrum Matheus and one I think about quite a bit, as it addresses the purpose of our public universities especially. And as a college sports fan who scoffs at the NCAA's supposed "commitment to its student athletes" it adds another dimension to that hypocrisy. Are we first and foremost educational institutions, or are we research and sports factories?
As a PhD student who has won awards for both teaching and research I remember this exchange vividly. After accepting a University teacher award, I was then announced for a research prize. The presenter exclaimed, "Wow, a teacher that can do research!" This was either a condescending statement aimed at those who value teaching, or simply an expression of the normal perception that there's only room for one or the other, particularly at large research Universities. You are absolutely right that good teaching takes time and at many Universities is not a particularly coveted quality. In my view, this is one of the reasons for run away grade inflation, as it's much easier to give everyone A's and B's, keeping the kids happy, rather than deeply and accurately assessing their progress and scheming ways to help them (and you) improve. Good teaching is difficult, and as you mentioned, is seldom rewarded by the administration. The rewards of the student you help on their way, however, are immeasurable. As I'm in the midst of a job search right now, I can tell you that no one has asked about my teaching credentials, outside of teaching universities, though in the private sector, many take them at least as a sign that I'm able to communicate and work well with others. In a system that is overly obsessed with a questionable rating structure, only the things that are accurately quantified survive: how much have you written, where did you publish, how much grant money have you pulled in. Teaching then gets lost in the shuffle. And as someone who's seen both systems at work from the inside (the smaller teaching-oriented school, to the large research university) I can assure you that my kids will be encouraged to go to the former for their undergraduate education. The later is for graduate students. Best, D On Mon, May 4, 2009 at 8:08 PM, Matheus Carvalho <[email protected]>wrote: > This is not really about ecology, but I think some people here could agree > with the following statement (from the book "Applied Economics - thinking > beyond stage one" by Thomas Sowell): > ...a common but paradoxical phenomenon at many universities—the outstand- > ing young teacher who is terminated, to the consternation of his > students, who may even mount organized protests, usually in vain. > It is even common on some campuses to hear the "teacher of the > year" award referred to as "the kiss of death" for young faculty > members. That is because outstanding teaching is very time-con- > suming, in terms of creating high-quality courses and preparing > each lecture in these courses, so that there is insufficient time left > for doing the amount and quality of research required for getting > tenure at a top university. Such institutions usually fill their senior > positions by hiring those people who have already produced the > requisite quantity and quality of publications somewhere else. > > > > > > > > Veja quais são os assuntos do momento no Yahoo! +Buscados > http://br.maisbuscados.yahoo.com >
