When you don’t fit in
This article in The Chronicle of Higher Education caught my eye today. Although the details are somewhat different, the reality is the same. Michele and I definitely do not fit in here in rural, east central Indiana. I wonder sometimes if we ever will. Or if I even want to fit in here. Like the author of the article, I am up for tenure next year. I’m not at all a fan of tenure. It’s not that I mind the requirements. I’ve been there, done that, not because I had to, but because I wanted to. I’ve published, presented, become deeply involved in professional organizations, taught a graduate level LIS course (and will do that again in a few months). I’ve done more, professionally, than many people I know who have tenure. The only piece I am missing at this point is another advanced degree, and again, I am planning to pursue that anyway because I want to, not just because it’s a tenure requirement.
I have seen tenure (or its equivalent) abused too often, in all of the places I’ve worked, to think highly of it.
To quote from the article:
If it doesn’t feel like home by now, when will it?
