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This headline is like saying that electronically-published newspapers aren't worth a damn because they're not printed on paper, and all of the effort that goes in publishing the stories is meaningless. 1/n https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1294675237074862080
The problem, writ large, is a failure to understand what goes into producing content. Most people don't think about the production process for most things they don't have a tangible experience with. Students and parents don't realize the job description, and how it's changed. 2/n
As a student, I honestly had no idea. I was at an R1, but didn't have an idea about the publishing and grant capture key performance indicators my professors faced, their administrative roles, or any of the other obligations they had as an academic. 3/n
Students routinely think that their instructors only have class to contend with. That's a problem. They have no idea that when there are teaching breaks, there is always work waiting. Few colleagues are able to do their jobs in the hours they're contracted for. 4/n
Plus, there is a tremendous amount of planning that goes into delivery shifts. Asynchronous materials, for example, need to be largely self-evident. Preparing those materials is extremely time consuming. That planning takes time. And that labor is invisible to most consumers. 5/n
And instructors need to have contingency plans should systems fail. In-person social dynamics don't transfer easily to the online world. There are so many interests, and possible pitfalls, and it's impossible to game plan all of them. 6/n
So, as students and parents and the public ask, what are they paying for, they are paying for a tremendous amount of labor that happens behind the scenes. And a lot of those folks doing that labor go uncompensated for making sure the student experience is good. 7/n
All of this is made worse when governments refuse to support casual academics, who support a lot of (and probably in some cases most of) the learning that happens on university campuses. 8/n
Students should be outraged at governmental failures to reduce access and support not only to them, but to the staff that are stretched thinner than ever. Universities were already stretched thin before COVID. In many western countries, it's even worse. In Aus, it's critical. 9/n
There are only so many hours in the day; and after the first two weeks, I worked so many 14 hour days that I collapsed. I'm doing my best, at the cost of doing any research or writing. I'm just getting by. And truth is, I'll still get hammered at the end of the semester. 10/n
Week 1: I had students who called my efforts "lazy" and my class a "joke." This was because I pushed for things that weren't normal. Class couldn't be. Those words were hurtful. But I don't blame the students, because they have no idea what underwrites their education. 11/n
But, if we're going to support higher education, we need everyone involved, the students, the public, politicians, to have a clear and realistic understanding of what we do and the pressures we face. And it's more than *just* teaching. #SupportHigherEd. 12/12
