The Lottery

by Lee Shainen

A WHILE AGO, a student of mine wrote a paper inspired by a poster that said, “Education is the one thing people are willing to pay for and not receive.” When she read that line in class, the other students snorted a short laugh of self-recognition. It started me thinking of all the students who did not get what they paid for in my classes over the years. I consistently get good evaluations from my students, but the ones who disappear usually do so without saying a word. It is easy for me to assume that it was any of a hundred things, other than me, that kept them from completing what they started, what they paid for.

Of course they are adults, or at least must be treated as such, so I never believed it was my job to track down every student who stopped attending class. But I must admit, after hearing this one student’s paper, I became more curious. So, I started to make phone calls and leave messages. Initially, I could find only about a dozen students who had dropped out, and their reasons were mostly typical and expected. But I also picked up on a minor theme about quirky behavior from instructors, which prompted me to query my classes, and students from a nearby university, about the quality of instruction they were receiving.

Sadly, the teachers that truly inspire students are just as rare today as they were when I was a student. I had one in high school, one in college-two during my twenty years as a student! Most of my students could name only one, if any. But I teach primarily freshmen, so they might still find one or two more before they’re done. Here’s the good news: it seems all it takes is one good teacher to make a difference in a student’s life.

Here’s the bad news: there are an awful lot of teachers out there not reaching their students. Many of them don’t even seem to care. They believe it is the student’s responsibility to understand, not theirs to be understood. They’re the kind who pride themselves in how difficult their tests are, how hard it is to get an “A” from them, and even how few students pass their classes. These are the snobbish gatekeeper teachers who believe it is up to them to single-handedly uphold some idiosyncratic and elitist tradition of education. They discourage even good students, but at least they know their subject area and cover the material expected of them.

Another category of teachers is the exhibitionists: they’re the ones who are so self-centered and attention starved that their classes are more about their own personal lives than about the subject matter they are teaching. Sometimes they are entertaining and likeable, but are students getting what they paid for? A student once came to my class furious because in her previous class her female teacher exposed her breasts to reveal some recent surgery.

I’ve heard stories about lazy or burnt-out teachers who use the same worn notes every semester, use videos to fill class time, dismiss class early regularly, and are never around, or very helpful when they are, during their office hours. But they usually give high grades, because they know their life will be more peaceful if they don’t have any students complaining; besides, it takes more effort to grade accurately.

In my rather small study, the gatekeepers and burned-out teachers were almost always full-timers; the exhibitionists were well represented by full- and part-timers alike, and the real jaw-dropping anecdotes almost always came from the classrooms of part-timers. Certainly, some of the most dedicated, innovative, and talented teachers I know are part-timers. However, there is always a constant stream of new hires in the part-time ranks, many hired at the last minute, with little or no screening, to fill a need.

By far, the worst cases of professional indiscretions and ethical breaches are being committed by what I call “one semester wonders.” One such marvel dismissed his class halfway through the semester; another kept his booze in the office refrigerator. One decided to meet her students one-on-one at coffee shops instead of holding class; another thought it best for her Monday, Wednesday, and Friday class not to meet on Fridays. Some of the scariest stories I heard from students were about teachers coming on to them. One guy, after finding out that one of his students was an exotic dancer, became a regular at her club and a frequent caller to her home.

By the time what has happened in their unsupervised classrooms is discovered, the semester is lost. Naturally, they don’t get hired back-at that institution-but then another unknown is plugged into the classroom.

Nationwide, the problem is most evident at community colleges, where training programs, mentors, technical support, class visitations, and supervision are rarely available for part-timers. But hey! At least part-timers are easier to get rid of than tenured or full-time professors.

Where are these issues being addressed? Is it not time for educators to take charge of their profession? We all know at least one teacher whose behavior or efficacy in the classroom is questionable. Is there a blue line (white chalk, most likely) of silence among teachers? Receiving a quality education should not be like buying a lottery ticket.