My colleagues exchanged hundreds of comments through the university’s mailing list on the subject of whether there should be clocks in the classrooms. They exchanged even more comments on the subject of the campus geese. On the topic of the IBHE director’s talk yesterday, however, they have not exchanged a single comment. Nobody cares.
On this blog, the interest to the IBHE post is not a whole lot greater than the interest to the (admittedly funny) story of how I fed my husband soap. The post hasn’t had a single refback. It has not gone on Facebook. The likelihood of it going viral is nil. Aside from the blog’s regular readers who are exceptionally intelligent and well-informed, nobody cares.
Academics are online more than any other professional group I know. They produce miles upon miles of posts about students who looked sideways at them or colleagues who stepped on their big toe scarring them emotionally and physically for life. They are exceptionally well-equipped to participate in a discussion about the future of higher ed but the don’t. I guess, they just don’t care.
Clarissa's Blog 
It’s called “denial”.
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They are afraid. That nothing will change anyway, except they will be tagged as those “outdated” people whose place isn’t in the system. And, a few others are sure they’ll be fine and don’t care / don’t want to endanger their position.
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If I hear one more time about these weird fears, I swear to God. As my colleague said yesterday, “They are all spineless pussies.” And this particular colleague is absolutely fearless and has been waging one battle after another. She tends to win the battles but she is retiring soon.
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I remember listening to an otherwise smart and impressive academic speak on how the government — at that time a rather punitive, right-wing one — was watching “us” (academics) to see if we were behaving responsibly with the funding allocated to universities. I realized she had no idea how the political game is played because in her mind the government is a responsible paternalistic figure, capable of distinguishing between good and bad research. Perhaps this is how most academics view political issues. They can’t seem to wrap their heads around the idea that it is about power.
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// They can’t seem to wrap their heads around the idea that it is about power.
I don’t understand, power to do what?
Was the academic wrong because a right-wing government would always be against research, no matter what academics do?
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Power has to do with gaining force for yourself and those like you. It’s not something very susceptible to nuances, especially finely graded academic nuances. It’s a crude thing. It moves sweepingly. It’s basis, in contemporary (post-Feudal) society is not spiritual but monetary. In post-Feudal society, power is not paternalistic.
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Yet many seem to think it *is* paternalistic. I have not understood why.
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“I remember listening to an otherwise smart and impressive academic speak on how the government — at that time a rather punitive, right-wing one — was watching “us” (academics) to see if we were behaving responsibly with the funding allocated to universities. I realized she had no idea how the political game is played because in her mind the government is a responsible paternalistic figure, capable of distinguishing between good and bad research. Perhaps this is how most academics view political issues. They can’t seem to wrap their heads around the idea that it is about power.”
– Exactly. You are so right. I adore this comment.
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Some of my colleagues in the sciences harbored the delusion that it was only those squishy humanities types who had to worry about politicians vindictively going after their funding. That was back in the 90s. I think they know better now.
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I care about clocks in classrooms because I never wear a watch (I have broken too many of them, because I can’t wear the strap tight and they swing around and hit stuff, or I break the strap, or…)!
In my university, emails about ducks or clocks get many responses, but at least ones about the policies of the government or the university ALSO get many responses, and we are far more likely to have meetings about policies than ducks. The meetings are usually ineffectual, but we do rather lack the power to make things happen beyond a small level, and at least (most of) my colleagues care about both ducks AND politics.
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The clocks in your classrooms should tell the time in Morse code.
That way, when your students stare at the clock to attempt to figure out what time it is, it’ll be patently obvious that they care more about the clock than the proceedings …
“At the third stroke of the red light, it will be .—- .—- …– —.. —– —– ”
.-.. —– .-.. 🙂
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