Job Discussion Forums

[bigbadsuzie]

I work in the sort of place which is a hotbed of academia,where on a daily basis you can rub shoulders with professors (assumming you can find them ) and well motivated students (when they bother to turn up ) anyway it seems to me that just about everyone you talk to in the staff room is hell bent on getting another piece of paper to their name .Be it an MA or Phd they just seem to be spending a lot of their time and money going after these stuff when they work in the sort of place where students get diplomas for just showing their face handing in a couple of crappy essays and expecrt to get the highest mark.I know other threads preach the virtues of BAs and Tefl certs thats fair enough ,but this paper chase ,well is it really worth all the effort when most places are only interested in making money?

[dmb]

Suzie, why don't you ask your colleagues, SD and IW?

[TravellingAround]

You could say that many people are never quite satisfied with what they have. If they just said "well that's me sorted for qualifications" then they'd have to face that their life is going to be pretty similar until they retire. Instead of that they could always just keep chasing goals not to be attained until the future until - hey presto! - it's too late and they never have had to face the futility and unsatisfactory nature of their ongoing imperfectly mundane present reality.

Or maybe they just want more money and bragging rights those extra letters after their name brings!

[Glenski]

Depends on the situation you want and what country you live in, but usually the higher the degree, the higher the paycheck. Simple arithmetic, but there may also be hidden drawbacks. Look into them wherever you want to live.

[tedkarma]

In my fifteen years in TEFL, I have continued to seek addtional training. Nothing wrong with that. I'm not seeking greater wages - I'd just like to get better and better at what I do. I love teaching and want to do a good job.

Frankly, I think that is a great idea.

[sallycat]

as tedkarma notes, it's possible that people are getting MAs and PhDs because they want to.

[bigbadsuzie]

Pretty much what I expected response wise so far ,Dmb,the gentlemen you refer to are really only in it for the money ,nothing that comes from that office is of any real value ,sure they may get the chance to attend conferences and the like that we are rarely asked to then they come back to show us how great they are and still fail to convince most of us .The new ones are easily fooled but those of us who have at least a decade under our belt have seen it all before.The workshops and excuse for seminars are just repeated when the bosses want us to stay here while everyone else has a break . Frankly they are the last people I would ask for anything .
To get back to the op I applaud those who seek to better themselves and become masters of their craft ,but around here I can't get away from the fact that people just do it to get another letter after their name and the bigger pay check is just an unexpected bonus . Sadly I have also discovered that most people with said extra letters are no better at what they do than I am often they are worse ,a lot worse .I get a lot of feedback from old students who are getting the "benefits" of the more qualified tutor and they feel there is little or no difference ,infact most of them prefer what I did with them and felt the lesson had more direction and purpose.Sure these great and good academics can trot out the latest jargon and buzz words but hey teaching is a lot more than that, communication is the key ,and in chasing these bits of paper that basic skill seems to have been lost or corrupted .
I'm not saying that its true of all of them but to teach at university freshmen level do you really need a PHD or even an MA ? There are a fair number who teach at freshman level and beyond without any of these qualies and they seem to be well thought of ,or are they just good at crawling ?
I'm always amazed when a jonny come lately cruises into our place and just because he or she has a certain piece of paper they get the kind of position /respect /job/salary ( you choose) that those of us with a lot more hands on experience and ability are denied .I could of course just go online and get the required bits of paper and flourish them at my next employer , then I think I will have become one of them . To put it in its true context I will always be a painter of doors and windows ,you know the tricky bits that others don't like to do ,its what I'm good at what I enjoy ,why then do I need a diploma in wall paper hanging ?

[Stephen Jones]

[bigbadsuzie]

Ok Stephen,now look past that ,you know, this is after all, a forum ,not a writing contest . Try and give an educated response to the points I made ,if thats not too much trouble .

[Stephen Jones]

If you feel your post is so unimportant you can't be bothered to punctuate it properly, why should I be bothered to reply to it, or even read it?

[bigbadsuzie]

Oh dear , what a closed mind you must have ,my post is not unimportant to me ,but it is to you ,that much is clear. Would you dismiss all posts on this forum because of the same reason you have just given ?
What on earth possessd you to ever become a teacher with such a narrow minded perspective ?

[ls650]

[Justin Trullinger]

I won't comment on your punctiuation, though your stream of consciousness style of writing always makes you sound out of breath to me.

But here's the thing- we teach. This means a lot of things concretely, but abstractly, it should mean that we value education. Otherwise, we'd be spending all of our time doing something we don't value. That would really suck, in terms of quality of life, and in terms of quality of teaching.

So, if you value education, what's wrong with constantly wanting to go further in your own? It seems consistant to me.

I don't picture myself every saying "Well, that's me educated. Nothing else I want to study or learn." I picture my education continuing for the rest of my life.

I don't know where you work, Suze. And it seems like you work with some jerks. THere are a lot of those in the world, it's sad and it's true.

BUt please- don't turn your resentment against those jerks into some sort of stance against higher education.

If you don't think people should further their educations, then what in God's name are you doing with your life?

Best,
Justin

[tedkarma]

I support what Justin has to say.

If you view yourself as an educator, and I hope you do, it is important to value education.

If you don't value education, you don't value what you do - and thus you don't value yourself.

If you don't value education, how can you value what your students are sitting in your classroom for? And don't you think they will pick that up?

No matter what occupation you work in, there will be few schm*cks around. If you get too focused on them, you can spoil you whole life experience. Forget them and focus on your students.

That education is a credential-based career, is just how it is. Get used to it.

[bigbadsuzie]

Ok,thanks for the replies so far. I never realised that correct punctuation was such an important issue with you people ,must come with the higher education thing .
I did actually say I applauded those who seek to improve themselves, however, I do find it difficult to accept the mere presence of said piece of paper to be worth more than actual experience . Regardless of their ability they are "chosen" to be the next shining star . It also follows that because it is possible to obtain these merits merely by buying them the value of them is questionable .
I am sure all you good people are a credit to your "profession" although others on this forum don't see it as such , I for one intend to stay with it for the long haul but I do get fed up with the petty pretentious bs that people with diplomas (real or otherwise) engage in .