I think your comments are right on the money and I enjoyed reading them. Non Hoop Jumper Catherine Fitts Assistant Curator -----Original Message----- From: Matthew White <[log in to unmask]> Newsgroups: bit.listserv.museum-l To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Wednesday, June 24, 1998 10:27 PM Subject: Re: AAM, accreditation, etc. (long rebuttal) >I'd like to buck the crowd a little and speak *against* the idea of an >officially sanctioned accreditation sponsored by AAM. I think it is an >idea that has some merit, but I also see some problems with actual >implementation, and besides, I hate to see anything be unanimous. > > It may look from the outside that these plans work well for Doctor's, >Lawyer's, Teachers, and Architects, but one thing we must remember is >that if a museum professional is less than adequate at their job no one >will die, no innocent people will go to jail, no building's will fall, >and no one's children will be doomed to illiteracy. A bad exhibit, a >poorly planned event, a botched application grant just doesn't compare >and will never create the sense of immediacy that an incompetent in these >other professions will create. > >Will it create higher salaries for "accredited professionals?" Maybe. >But one need look no further than the growth of Physicians Assistants, >paralegals, teacher's aides and adjunct faculty to see how many large >institutions are hiring less credentialed people and shoving more work on >to less qualified people. I myself was told point blank by more than one >person that I was LESS marketable as a school teacher with a Master's >Degree in hand because any school system would have to pay me a higher >starting salary than someone with only a bachelor's. More bang for the >buck as it were. Let's for a minute assume that there was an AAM >requirement for a certain percentage of employees at a given institution >to be certified in order to be accredited as was put forth on this list. >What would a museum on the low side of that threshold who desires >accreditation do? Given all the hand-wringing on this list on the topic >I would say they would fire a couple of uncertified employees (or not >replace ones that leave) and accomplish more of their work with >contractors, consultants, and other non-employee help thereby raising >their percentage while accomplishing the same amount of work and not >having to pay for professional development which many small museums >cannot afford. > >It is also apparent that many of the most regulated professions (whether >by professional organizations or by guilds or unions) are arguably the >least diverse in terms of minorities or philosophical outlook. Under the >disguise of keeping standards high people who are not part of the >official network, people who have not graduated from the right school, or >people who do not know or agree with prevailing belief can be kept out. >The most egregious example of this is the Hollywood guild system which >can keep talented professionals out of high paying jobs for decades >because they have not worked the right number of hours for the right >companies or they cannot convince current members to nominate them. >Subsequently, for all of their liberal, progressive image, there are few >industries harder for minorities and women to break into than the motion >picture industry. And then there is the perennial accusation that law >schools and medical schools are keeping the supply of doctors and lawyers >artificially low to keep salaries and their power within the profession >and industry high. > >Can't happen here you say? Of course it can. > >It may sound like a good idea to all of the people on this list, but we >are a fairly homogeneous group of people. All interests are not >represented. A certification program might (I repeat, might) raise some >salaries, but the result would be more reliance on non-employee labor, >more bureaucratic paper work for institutions and individuals, more >financial burdens on small museums and any museum who wishes >accreditation by the AAM (an already prohibitively expensive procedure >for many institutions) and the closing off of any avenue into the >profession other than the one's approved of by the certification >committee. I love this profession precisely because it is full of people >from so many different backgrounds with so many different experiences who >are judged by the quality of their work not which course they took or >what school they went to. A perfect system? Of course not. But will >putting letters after your name make you a better exhibit designer, a >better educator, a better grant writer or marketer? No. Will it make you >more ethical or adhere to professional standards? Of course not (Has it >worked that way for doctor's, lawyer's, or accountants?). All it will >mean is that you have jumped through the approved set of hoops, and as >valuable as those hoops may be, having a staff full of hoop jumpers will >not make any museum better at what they do. > >Matthew White >Director of Education >B&O Railroad Museum >[log in to unmask] >