Date:         Sun, 18 May 97 16:15:41 EDT
From: Alan <DAVIDSON@UCONNVM.UCONN.EDU>
Subject:      Talk of the Nation
To: socgrad@CSF.COLORADO.EDU
Message-Id:   <970518.162754.EDT.DAVIDSON@UConnVM.UConn.Edu>
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I didn't hear the show (although I might try to call it up at some point),
but one must keep in mind where most of the discourse is coming from.
One should keep in mind that Martin Anderson is a "scholar-in-residence"
at the Hoover Institution, along with such eminent notables as Thomas
Sowell.  One hears similar concerns about graduate students teaching
(versus faculty) from cost-conscious Board of Trustees, state legislators,
and the like.  However, looking around UCONN (where, at one time or another
almost all graduate students have relatively good evaluations -- at least
pre-dissertation writing), there are some faculty (in the soc. department
and others) that we are doing a favor keeping undergrads. away from.  Perhaps
in an ideal world, a faculty member who is strongly committed to teaching
is better than a graduate student who, while they might be highly committed,
might lack experience and have an occasional lecture where "the students
just don't get it."  Likewise, graduate students sometimes are too busy
or too tired to teach well -- I made a personal decision to back out for
the Fall after 9 consecutive years).  On the other hand, there is the
issue of the internal political economy of academe in the 1990's -- the
only folks who are going to be interested in teaching at research 1's
and who are also going to be high on recruitment committee lists are
folks who primarily wish to do research and only secondarily teach.  There
are tons of good teachers who either never get their Ph.D.'s, spend 20
years to do so, or never get tenure -- and this message is very clearly
stressed both to graduate students and junior profs.  Hence, in order for
faculty to get the grants and do the research and get the superstar
pubs. expected of them for tenure, there isn't much of a choice but to have
graduate students teach -- and, if you have faculty for whom teaching is
a secondary priority, then it is probably best for all concerned.