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You can connect with The Salty Professor on Tumblr, because that is about his speed.
You can Pre-order book one of The Divine Comedy. Academic Inferno now.
You can get an Advanced Reader Copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. People say the cost of higher ed is too high. You can't beat free people.
Posts narrated by SuperDummy Paul
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What is The Salty Professor?
Follow Virgil Henry as he shares tales from his 30 years of experience as a professor in America's higher education system. Listen as he comments on the good, bad, and ugly aspects of doing time in the "Ivory Tower."The Salty Professor aims at the state of Higher Education and fires away with abandon. All the tea shall be spilled.
I had the privilege of being present at the graduation ceremony for the 2024 class from the university where I work.
Parents whistled.
Children cheered.
Everyone was full of joy.
Yet, the "executive board" and the "guest speaker" took up over half of the proceedings talking about themselves instead of the students. At one point, I thought I slipped into another universe and was at a corporate retreat.
Hey. Fucko. It isn't about you. We see you with your robe and your hat and your hoods (yeah, higher ed, organized religion, hate groups, and cults share a lot of the same lingo. Its a problem) up on stage. That is enough. You get to be in every single fucking picture. Isn't that enough?
It isn't about you. It is about the students, parents, and support team who helped get them there. Even we, the teachers, who sat with those students in class, for weeks, or years, got to know them and helped them achieve their goals know, it isn't about us. Not anymore.
Not ever. Really. The university has been around for way longer than I've been around and will be around for centuries. I am just one part of the overall picture. I can sit and clap and be happy for the graduates because I didn't go into this job to be a star. I do the work so that once a year, I can sweat my balls off, dressed in a robe, wearing a hood, and a funny hat, because I ultimately get to witness the fruits of our collective labor blossom. Yeah. Fruit blossoms. I know it seems like a mixed metaphor but it isn't.
So, if you famous enough or important enough or an alumni of some school and you are ever asked to do a commencement address make sure you make the speech short, less than five minutes and make sure it mentions the students over and over and make sure you remind them how fucking awesome they are. OR better yet, turn it down by saying, "It isn't about me."
#educationisaright