Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/11/26

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Subject: Re: [Leica] OT:Photo grad school.
From: Guy Bennett <gbennett@lainet.com>
Date: Mon, 26 Nov 2001 16:35:39 -0800
References: <3f.2477cd7.2932de66@aol.com> <v04011702b8274c27648d@[66.81.44.219]> <v04011703b828452046ad@[66.81.51.16]>

>Guy - I realize that my situation is definitely, and very unfortunatel,
>a major exception to the rule, as there are many people out in the real
>world who have a lot to give to students, and who would like to spend
>part of their career teaching....The real irony, though, is that I have
>found that my main journalism credential is far more valuable to me in
>academia than it was in the journalism world. In journalism, once you
>are at one of the top papers, having won x or y award, etc., will get
>you an interview at another top paper, but that's about it...but take
>the same credential to academia, and there it gets some respect...pretty
>funny, when you think about it...
>B. D.


And, equally ironically, for many years my degree was much more valuable to
me in the professional world - particularly in publishing and translating -
than it ever was at the university, where full-time teaching positions were
mighty scarce and folks with advance degrees were coming out of the
woodworks.

Guy


>
>Guy Bennett wrote:
>
>>>Guy Bennett wrote:
>>>
>>>>>Though much of this activity is
>>>>>
>>>>without significance in the "real world," real world values are meaningless
>>>>in the academy: it is a self-validating system that generally does not
>>>>recognize non-academic achievement.
>>>>
>>>Actually, my experience has been precisely the opposite - While I agree
>>>entirely that virtually no one in the 'real world' gives a rat's behind
>>>about your academic credentials once you get past your first job, I have
>>>found that some folks in academia will grant 'equivalence' to certain
>>>real-world accomplishments when hiring for positions in academia. At
>>>both Harvard Medical School, where I was briefly the Director of Media
>>>Affairs and had an academic appointment, and at MIT, where I teach, my
>>>credentials in the world of journalism are viewed by academics as being
>>>the equivalent of a doctorate in their world. The bottom line, I
>>>believe, is that at these particular institutions the academics have
>>>enough self-confidence to understand that they know what they know, and
>>>that I know what I know, and what I know is as much of value to students
>>>as what they know. (Does that make sense:-) )
>>>B. D.
>>>
>>
>>
>> It definitely does. And your case is a great example of how the "real
>> world" can and should exist within the rarified world of the academy. From
>> my experience, however, this is rather exceptional. I've been teaching the
>> humanities - languages and literature - at the university level for about
>> 14 years now (first at UCLA and various community colleges in the L.A. area
>> and, for the last 2-3 years, at Otis College of Art and Design) and have
>> never seen anyone with less than a PhD given a teaching appointment in that
>> field. Even in community colleges, a full-time teacher in the humanities
>> with only a MA is becoming something of an anachronism.
>>
>> Guy
>> --
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>>
>>
>
>
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In reply to: Message from ARTHURWG@aol.com (Re: [Leica] OT:Photo grad school.)
Message from Guy Bennett <gbennett@lainet.com> (Re: [Leica] OT:Photo grad school.)
Message from Guy Bennett <gbennett@lainet.com> (Re: [Leica] OT:Photo grad school.)