At Least There's Turkey
Even with the current political chaos, today can be deemed a success because of a truly belt-busting Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, and a dozen other entries and side dishes all contributed to a post-feast lethargy that can only be achieved on this holiday. I only wish I was back home in Connecticut, enjoying the fall season, and watching a football game on TV. Perhaps next year…
My only gripe for today is something which really doesn’t affect me but that only solidifies my reasons for leaving my university. The owner of the school, who inherited it from his father but whose life’s passion is being a music artist, came up with a brilliant solution to the poor enrollment numbers: put more pictures of international looking people on the university website and drop the “College” from our name, among other things. The overall goal, of course, is to change the image of the university. Hmmm… A fresh coat of paint will cover up all the cracks and inconsistencies long enough for students to be lured in. What about investing in the infrastructure to attract new students through the strength of our programs? No. That’s stupid. Gilding is much more effective… and cheap.
The administration is also trying to solve is the high turnover rate of the foreign staff. The words of wisdom for this issue? Hire more foreigners who won’t leave. Uh, yeah. That’s it. We’ll ask teachers who apply if they will leave. If they say yes, then we won’t hire them. Brilliant! We could address the reasons for faculty quitting, such as inadequate facilities, misleading promises about curriculum development, non-existent teacher training, and complete disregard for “knowledge with virtue” but that sounds like a lot of work and effort. Plus some people might not like the implied message that its a systemic problem. Egos might be bruised. Best to treat the symptoms and cover up the disease. By the time the patient dies from their illness, they won’t be your problem anymore and you’ll have their money! Sounds like good medicine to me!
