Why do *some* academics have such a holier-than-thou attitude? I mean it’s not like academics are the pinnacle of society, are they? Yes, academics are smart… sometimes, but sometimes they can’t look beyond themselves. Some do ridiculously pointless research, others can’t be bothered with teaching. Others still are just interested in power. I wish a few more of them would concentrate their energy on doing a proper job of teaching students. I don’t think we *truly* prepare students for their lives in their careers. Some would say that’s not our job, but hey, think about it. Students begin choosing a career at high school, lets say microbiology… then they come to university to learn the “skills” that enable them to find a job. University may have been a different place in the 1930’s, but now most students are focused on getting a piece of paper to get a job. That’s why they choose to go into biology, or computer science, or marketing. Medicine and law are professions, and we teach those. Somebody going into law, knows they want to practice law.
Yes we should be teaching basic skills, but maybe we should be teaching more about life. How to cook, how to manage your time, how to relax (I mean university *can* be stressful), how to plan your finances. Some will say these things are not our job. Well times change, and so do responsibilities. Maybe it’s time to help students become more well-rounded. Offer more on-the-job training, and skills-based classes. Yes, it’s a dream, but surprisingly I think students would learn just as much from taking a course on baking than they would anything else. I mean, a little bit of chemistry (reactions of baking soda, baking powder etc.), algorithm design (following the recipe, making changes), software testing (trying the end product), math (conversions from cups to grams), decoration (fine art?). Yeah alot to learn, and it can be fun while teaching an important life skill. It might produce students that are more well-rounded and academics who can look outside the book (sorry box!) more.
I think *maybe* it’s just some of the science academics who have such strange ideas about academia. The whole “publish or perish” thing. I prefer to be a good teacher, publish when and where I see appropriate, and have a life. Students appreciate honesty more than they do a long list of publications. As an academic you should never forget that you were once a student too… probably in times when class sizes were small, tuition was practically non-existent, and you didn’t have 5-6 classes a semester.

Yes, sometimes I perceive the cup as half-empty. But if it were half-full many would be less inclined to fill it.