Jim Hightower: A Poor Educational System
A Poor Educational System
Monday, 16 December 2013 09:37
By Jim Hightower, OtherWords | Op-Ed
Theres a growing army of the working poor in our nation, and big contingents of these folks are now on the march. Theyre strategizing, organizing, and mobilizing against the immoral economics of inequality being hung around Americas neck by the likes of Walmart, McDonalds, and colleges.
Wait a minute. Colleges? You get advanced degrees to get ahead in life. More education makes you better off, right? Well, ask a college professor about that you know, the ones who earned PhDs and are now teaching Americas next generation.
The sorry secret of higher education from community colleges to brand-name universities is that theyve embraced the corporate culture of a contingent workforce. Theyre turning lots of professors into part-time, low-paid, no-benefit, no-tenure, temporary teachers.
It also means that these highly educated, fully credentialed professors have become part of Americas army of the working poor. They never know until a semester starts whether theyll teach one class, three, or none typically, this leaves them with take-home pay somewhere between zero and maybe $1,000 a month. Poverty.Overall, three-quarters of Americas higher-ed faculty members today are adjunct professors or off the tenure track. That means theyre attached to a particular school, but not essentially a part of it. .....................(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/20654-a-poor-educational-system