Hi Meredith,
Thanks for your post. Really interesting observations on the need for empathy. I whole-heartedly agree with your thoughts on the need for empathy, because it is a very human expression that we are often taught to suppress. The other side of that is that high-levels of empathy are exhausting for many people. If we really engage in empathy in our work (which we should) we are going to limit the outcome we can produce as workers (and that should be OK). This means that we need to have strong supports in place to take care of ourselves. We don’t do that well. We are more isolated relationally than at any point in history. We work ridiculous hours for the purpose of “keeping up with the Joneses.” We need to realign the way we function in order to maintain empathy. Self-care allows us to care for others. Thanks for the great post,
Gary

Setareh,
The school factory model is one that is discussed in my field – K12 education. I think an important topic in the conversation is to consider the demands of industry in the 21st century. Thomas Friedman’s ‘”The World is Flat” is a good resource for considering the impact of globalization on workplace skills and models of education. You ask really good and important questions. I wonder how this topic fits in with the other questions you pose here. Thanks for the insightful and interesting post.
Gary

Great post on having tough conversations and standing up for what’s right. As I was reading and reflecting on your post, it made me realize how important it is to hear the voices of others, even when we don’t like what they are saying. If we silence what others are saying we take away the chance to talk back to bad ideas. That means the bad ideas that are ingrained in a system are never challenged and never improved. Hear people out. Think through it. Talk back. We should be better at that in higher education than any other industry. Unfortunately, I think we are missing the mark. Fight on Corrie!
Gary

Maha,
Self-reflection is the best place to start when considering how to change. We have control over us. We don’t often have control over the externalities we’re surrounded by. Here’s to good teaching, good self-reflection, and living in a way that positively impacts the people and world around you. My best,
Gary

I recently read an article that included research on this very topic! I’d encourage you to read it here: https://www.chronicle.com/article/Many-Professors-Want-to-Change/245945?cid=wcontentlist_hp_latest. My take away after reading it – and your post – is that we measure what matters. So long as teaching practice isn’t measured for effectiveness (including inclusivity and engagement) it isn’t going to get a lot of attention, especially when other things that aren’t teaching are being measured.

Hi Robin,

So I’ll some feedback from the education setting I know best, which is K12. When I make an assignment, project, presentation – or any other course material – AND I use it in my class it is no longer my Intellectual Property (IP). It is now the IP of my school division. Since I’ve done it as part of my job – which I am paid for – then it belongs to my employer. Imagine if the person who drew Simba for the Lion King tried to copyright that character away from Disney. He could try, but he wouldn’t win that legal battle. Simba’s likeness belongs to Disney, not the person who drew him. Similarly, on sites like teacher-pay-teachers, you have to develop materials to sell on there that you don’t use in your classroom.

So how often is that the case? No idea. Do people sell stuff on those sites that isn’t their copyright? Probably. What’s the consequence? Probably nothing. School divisions aren’t interested in spending time and resources to curtail that kind of thing. Does that mean it doesn’ t matter? I don’t think that’s the case. Personally, I’m not interested in breaking the law, but to each their own.

So I honestly don’t know how your situation would play out if there were a legal argument made. My guess would be that the work actually belongs to the university and not the teaching faculty, but that’s just an educated guess coming from a more K12 perspective.

Thanks for the great post. Very interesting to think about.

Wonderful post. Very thoughtful and insightful. It forms a great base for the next discussion, which I think is going to be how to use specific teaching methodologies to make this a reality. I also really enjoyed your Leonardo DiCaprio meme. I’m going to steal that and save it to use later. It captures the idea well!

Thanks Ben,

I agree totally on the spitballs. Seeing the problem is easy – fixing it is much more challenging (as every homeowner with a do-it-yourself mentality will attest). Addressing your spitballs more specifically – I don’t know which is better. Waiting until it’s perfect is kind of silly is you can at least provide better right now. The question I guess you have to answer is, is it actually better? Thanks again for your thoughts!

Brooke,

I agree – it is a difficult thing to balance. My argument to this is simply that if you don’t consider teaching for tenure then you don’t value teaching. If effective teaching is valued then it should be required for the tenure process. As long as it’s not then we all at least understand what the true expectations are.

Thanks for your comment. Cost is a factor, time is a factor, what schools value is a factor, tradition is a factor – the list is pretty extensive I think. A concept that comes from the financial/business consulting industry is “you measure what matters.” The less attention we give to teaching approach the more we send the message that it doesn’t matter.