In today’s issue MRZine Michael D. Yates ruminates on the changing nature of university work:
Most people think that college teaching is about as good as work gets. There is no doubt that, compared to most jobs, it is. Teachers have considerable control over what they do, how they do it, and when they work. When I began to teach, in 1969, most teachers could reasonably expect to secure tenure after a six-year probationary period, and this meant that a teacher could not be fired except for cause. Every seven years, a teacher could also expect a sabbatical leave — a half-year at full pay or an entire year at half pay. Every teacher was entitled to be reimbursed for expenses when traveling to professional conferences. All of these things combined to give a teacher high status and automatic respect from students and the general public.
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