6.1328, Disc: Teaching as a prestigious occupation?

[The Linguist List]

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LINGUIST List:  Vol-6-1328. Fri Sep 29 1995. ISSN: 1068-4875. Lines:  140
 
Subject: 6.1328, Disc: Teaching as a prestigious occupation?
 
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            Helen Dry: Eastern Michigan U. <hdry at emunix.emich.edu>
 
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Editor for this issue: hdry at emunix.emich.edu (Helen Dry)
 
---------------------------------Directory-----------------------------------
1)
Date:  Wed, 27 Sep 1995 23:57:25 CDT
From:  CONNOLLY at msuvx2.memphis.edu
Subject:  Re: 6.1322, Disc: Teaching as a prestigious occupation?
 
2)
Date:  Thu, 28 Sep 1995 13:50:31 EDT
From:  sstraigh at bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu ("H Stephen STRAIGHT (Binghamton Uni
versity, SUNY)")
Subject:  Re: 6.1322, Disc: Teaching as a prestigious occupation?
 
3)
Date:  Thu, 28 Sep 1995 17:15:11 EDT
From:  teacher at amanda.dorsai.org (ESLTEACHER)
Subject:  Re: 6.1322, Disc: Teaching as a prestigious occupation?
 
---------------------------------Messages------------------------------------
1)
Date:  Wed, 27 Sep 1995 23:57:25 CDT
From:  CONNOLLY at msuvx2.memphis.edu
Subject:  Re: 6.1322, Disc: Teaching as a prestigious occupation?
 
Steven Schaufele wrote:
>
>A couple of weeks ago there was some discussion on the List about the
>possible influence of Saussure on the development of Einstein's theory of
>relativity. I admit that after the first couple of postings or so i
>didn't pay much attention, but at one point during the discussion Roman
>Jakobson was quoted fairly extensively, and one statement caught my eye.
>Speaking of a possible vehicle for Sausure --> Einstein influence, a
>friend/roomate? of Einstein's who was a student of Saussure's, Jakobson
>said that, although the fellow was brilliant, his ideas were unfortunate-
>ly too far in advance of his time, and so he lived out his days as a mere
>schoolteacher.
>...
>What i am mostly concerned about right now is the suggestion that,
>in and of itself, teaching is a disappointing, wasteful, or even disrepu-
>table occupation for a gifted scholar.  As it happens, there are some of
>us (i am personally acquainted with at least one such person) who would
>give almost anything for the opportunity to teach linguistics regularly.
>I would like to know how prevalent in academia, and particularly in lin-
>guistics and language departments, is the notion that teaching is an
>onerous task whose practitioners would prefer to shun it, and that gifted
>scholar/researchers are wasted on classes.
 
You're misinterpreting the statement. What it says is that Winteler
was unable to land a university position and had to settle for
teaching in a Gymnasium.  That was, and is, by no means rare over there, given
the very small number of professors relative to the number of students.  But
who could disagree that it was a waste to have him teaching a bunch of
obstreporous Quartaner instead of serious university students?
 
That being said, I can only agree that disrespect for teaching is all too
prevalent in linguistics and language departments.  But don't blame Jakobson.
He was a European, commenting on a European tragedy from a European
perspective.
 
Leo A. Connolly                         Foreign Languages & Literatures
connolly at msuvx1.memphis.edu             University of Memphis
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2)
Date:  Thu, 28 Sep 1995 13:50:31 EDT
From:  sstraigh at bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu ("H Stephen STRAIGHT (Binghamton Uni
versity, SUNY)")
Subject:  Re: 6.1322, Disc: Teaching as a prestigious occupation?
 
I think Steven Schaurfele has misunderstood the meaning of the word
schoolteacher, which to my ear refers to a K-12 teacher not a college
professor who might have the opportunity to teach linguistics.
Admittedly, this situation may have changed in recent years:  More and
more students enter college with substantial specialized disciplinary
coursework, often taught by secondary school teachers.  However, I believe
that most schoolteachers today and virtually all linguistically inclined
schoolteachers in Saussure's time would teach elementary language or
literature rather than linguistics, and that they would therefore have
precious little or no opportunity to present or discuss their scholarly
work in the classroom.  Not as bad a situation as Einstein himself
perhaps, working as a patent office clerk, but clearly not the canonically
best career for a "gifted scholar", even if the dismissive phrase "lived
out his days as a mere schoolteacher" does underrate the status and
value of brilliant scholars in schoolteaching.
 
	Best.			 'Bye.			Steve
 
H Stephen STRAIGHT                LxC            Binghamton University (SUNY)
Assoc Prof, Anthro and Ling                Box 6000, Binghamton NY 13902-6000
Dir, Langs Across the Curriculum       Tel: 607-777-2824    Fax: 607-777-2889
 
 
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3)
Date:  Thu, 28 Sep 1995 17:15:11 EDT
From:  teacher at amanda.dorsai.org (ESLTEACHER)
Subject:  Re: 6.1322, Disc: Teaching as a prestigious occupation?
 
In each field in which I've been involved, I've heard the same old cliche:
"Those who can do and those who can't teach".  There was a time, when I
was much younger, and long before I had taught my first class, when I
thought this sounded quite fine and correct.
 
Once I was forced into a classroom situation, I found that I truly loved
teaching, that I found it very invigorating and enjoyable to show some
people what I knew and to see them grapple with it, then grasp it.  I
also found that I could learn from my experiences with my students, in
ways that I might not outside the classroom.  I also discovered to my
great amazement that I *was* a teacher.
 
I have taught alongside folks who found it to be the most miserable
chore.  They were often not very good at it.  From these experiences, I
have formulated my own take on the issue: "Some people are teachers and some
people have to teach".   Those who *have to* teach are probably the ones
who down the profession of teaching.  Those who *are* teachers are
probably having too much fun to worry about it.
 
Meg Gam
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