Inflation

The idea of academic inflation has been on my mind a lot lately. There are several levels to my thought processes regarding this subject. At its core, however, is the simple idea is that one's education just is not worth what it used to be. An associate's degree holds little value at this point in most arenas. A bachelor's is about equal to what a high school diploma once represented. A Master's is the new bachelor's, etc. Of course, there are exceptions to this trend in some fields, but, in general, I see a pattern.

I recently experienced the results of academic inflation in my own life. I currently teach for a university. I teach undergraduate psychology courses. The university has a full-time position open. I inquired about it. I was informed that I do not qualify to apply for the position, as I do not yet have a doctorate degree. Fair enough. I do not meet the minimum qualifications. The interesting thing to me is that the job is simply a full-time extended version of that which I already do-- same classification of students, same courses, etc. In theory, the university would save money by hiring me, as I am less expensive than other candidates. They also already trained me so they would save those costs too. For them, it is all about accreditation (as it should be). The situation is non-negotiable.

I mentioned the idea of academic inflation to my freshman the other day. It was a part of a larger conversation regarding human intelligence. At the end of the class, my student C approached me. He said, "I am totally freaked out. This class showed me that my time here [at the college] does not guarantee me a good-paying job. My environmental studies teacher told us today that due to global warming only half of the world's species and usable water will be around by 2050. Without a good-paying job, how will I afford water? What kind of world am I about to enter?" I told my student to calm down, to enjoy life, and to not worry about too much. He responded, "No. I need a better plan".

This particular student is quite the character. He is dramatic in every way. He is captivating and wonderful. I love having him in my class each day. He said, "I think I just need to become the next Britney Spears, but a guy and, of course, more classy". He added, "I think I am going to try to get on the Real World. I'll be the stereotypical gay guy. I'll enter reality television that way and become a superstar". My plan for him was not nearly as extravagant. I suggested: "Or, you could continue to attend classes such as mine and have be further traumatized. If traumatized enough by being enlightened to the imperfections of our world, you might develop symptoms of PTSD. If the symptoms are severe enough, perhaps they'll affect your functioning in a maladaptive manner and you can claim disability. If you do that, the government will supply you with water and the whole money thing will not matter".

What am I doing to my students?