Summer Enrollment

Summer Enrollment (April 16, 2012)

Enrollment in the summer is always viewed from the perspective of the students but what about the teachers?  For the faculty members, a summer class means a continuous pay during the duration of summer.  Bills that need payment do not stop during this period.  A faculty member needs their summer load because it is equivalent to the continuance of life.  Nobody gets rich teaching.  You could acquire wealth in sports, in politics and in business but I have yet to meet a teacher who could claim that he made his wealth through teaching.

The economic success of a country is best measured by the means of how their teachers are paid.  In the Philippines, teachers (in public schools) are paid during these summer months but the in the private sector, a teacher’s load is the passport for continuous pay, without such, expect no payment whatsoever.

When I jumped into the academe, I didn’t realized that I would be blessed by position of department chairmanship hence of continuous pay even during the lean summer months.  But for my colleagues, a summer vacation is also equivalent to a literal vacation of emoluments and my heart really goes out and bleeds for them – they endure almost two whole months of no work and no pay.

Can the school do something about it?  The answer is a big fat “yes” but why would they do something about it?  It is well within their discretion to do something about it but somehow discretion is lost in the word and world of politics.  Those who are liked gets their summer load and those that are not so liked will have to endure penury and poverty.

Considering that we already raised the bar of college teaching where only those with a masterate degree could sustain a career in teaching this scenario of “no work and no pay” during summer time needs assessment, consideration and creativity to eradicate.

With the creeping of business in the world of education, everything is viewed with the bottom line as the main consideration.  Maximizing profit and minimizing cost have become the official mantra and to a fullest extent, employees have become labor and indirectly a cost, instead of a resource that needs nurture, care and husbandry.

I realize now that I will never get to publish this article for I might get the ire of my higher ups and I do have a family of my own to nurture, care and provide for.  But really?

If a college teacher handles 500 students (at least) in a semester, that is around 1000 students a year and if you multiply that with the number of years of your professional teaching, the figure is really quite considerable.  Personally, since I started teaching in the year 2003 that is around 9000 students so far.

Sooner or later, the issue of faculty retention would come to fore, and the ugly fact is that faculty seeks better treatment elsewhere if they couldn’t find it from their present employment.  And personally, I don’t blame them.