Identity Crisis
Folks new to the college experience, whatever their age or pathway, are expecting teachers. The trouble is that teaching is a whole other profession, with a completely different educational profile, and divergent values, habits, and beliefs from those of us who went through graduate school with the understanding that we would be working at the college level. We are not trained in pedagogy, for one; a basic assumption is that students come to college already provided with the tools to learn, and our job is to communicate discipline-specific information. If you make this assumption the basis for your self-definition, and communicate it from the outset, you will save yourself a lot of grief.
When students come to college, many may discover for the first time that they have need of remedial instruction in some skill areas. If you, the professor, define your job as one of helping remedial students, you will never get around to doing what you are actually being paid to do. Even if we have received some pedagogical training, and are willing and able to assist floundering students, we are not often granted the time or resources to do so. Most adjuncts do not receive payment
Short URL: http://www.adjunctnation.com/?p=2111
