I think teaching as a "noble position" goes back years when the work involved much self-sacrifice -- mainly financial. Nowadays there may be far too many professors who subordinate their teaching responsibilities to the pursuits of research, writing, consulting and even sideline businesses. They are relatively well paid in many institutions for teaching loads that have declined to just two or maybe three courses per semester. (In a great many others, that decline has not occurred and salary scales are still unacceptably low.) The pressure to show academic productivity (research, publishing, etc.) is well known -- the "publish or perish" syndrome of the last few decades. Sideline consulting businesses are quite lucrative, and build upon the professor's expertise. One friend in academia, however, opened up a shop to sell comic books, baseball cards, and other such collectibles. It was closed only when he was expected to be in the classroom or at a committee meeting on campus. The fact is that universities cannot frown on these sideline businesses; a faculty member is under contract to perform certain services and is evaluated periodically on how up to date he or she is in the relevant academic disciplines. There is nothing "wrong" with all this, from my perspective, but rather than being regarded as "noble," professors are regarded in many cases as entrepreneurs whose work, in part, involves lecturing. Graduate assistants in many cases do the teaching and reading of papers, exams, etc. Ross Weeks Jr. ----- Original Message ----- From: Aaron Marcavitch <[log in to unmask]> > I do want to ask, why are professors considered so > lowly? I thought teaching was a noble position. I > know I for one enjoy teaching because I enjoy sharing > my knowledge with others. This is sort of why I am in > this problem. On the one hand is the PHD on the other > is a degree that I can add a teaching certificate with > great ease. > ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).