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[anonnnnn]

Anyone else teach with a pack of adjunct sharks vying for one more class in order to make ends meet or get ahead?
I know that one of the other adjuncts has been going to the dean and talking about how incompetent the rest of us are (the dean told me).
Now we will all have our classes visited. 
So it goes.

[larryc]

This post makes me very sad.

[anonnnnn]

Yes.  I am sad as well.  Trying to keep hold of the hope of a tenure track job someday.

[nardo]

I saw this thread, and I could only think:

Couldn't find sharks, so they went and got some barracudas instead?

[yellowtractor]

I saw this thread, and I could only think:

Couldn't find sharks, so they went and got some barracudas instead?

No, they went and lured in some unemployed sharks.  Hungry unemployed sharks.  Hungry, and mean.

[dr_dre]

It's rough out there. I had to change my moniker to keep from getting shanked.

Actually, OP, that is totally depressing. I hope you find a good job soon and get out of the shark-infested waters.

There are mild tensions between some adjuncts where I am. Basically, as the low one on the totem pole (yes, even adjuncts have a pole), I don't stand a chance. There are adjuncts here who have been here since Wham! was still together. They get the prime teaching and I take what's left--a class here or there. Hopefully I can get off this treadmill soon.

[larryc]

Crabs in a barrel.

[nardo]

Crabs in a barrel.

What is the new Paris Hilton Ride at Knottsberry Farms?

[doppelganger]

We try to prevent the predatory behavior by not allowing adjuncts to teach more than a certain number of courses each semester.  We also make all of our adjuncts have evaluations periodically anyway.  

Of course, our dean is sufficiently bright that he'd see through such BS in an instant and the shark would be unemployed next semester.

May yours be able to smell the blood, too.  

[ursula]

We also cap how many courses per year the stipendiary instructors can teach.  It's a pain when you are one (as I was once), but makes so much sense from an institutional and faculty association point of view.

[dr_dre]

As adjuncts, we're members of a union. Our agreement states we teach no more than three courses per term. However, the department and Dean's office waive that for the longtime adjuncts, who routinely overload. One adjunct this term has six classes.

[oyster]

Anyone else teach with a pack of adjunct sharks vying for one more class in order to make ends meet or get ahead?

yes

[quetzalcoatl]

Is it just me, or are the biggest sharks usually the weakest teachers?

There's an adjunct hog in my school who is just wrong on several counts: he gives poor classes, doesn't relate to students or colleagues at *all* and gets low evals. The only reason he gets away with it is because he's close to one of the tenured staff (who, incidentally, isn't that high up on the pecking order).

I have no problem with him sticking to his (rather narrow) field, but to grab whatever else is going because he can is not only crap for other staff, but the students miss out as well.

I have a 9 to 5 job in my field outside the academy, but it's beyond disappointing when I hear students complain about how incapable and uninspiring he is when I've given the same class before and passed my evals with flying colours. The same goes for many others who could out-teach him any day, but aren't given the chance.

[chuckadoo]

Here’s my dilemma. I am an adjunct faculty member at a SLC. I have a terminal degree in the field, have taught for 6+ years (all adjunct at various institutions, the most at the one in question) and have worked professionally in the field for almost 20 years. Teaching is what I love to do.

Every semester I have to practically BEG for classes. I’m lucky if I get just one. I am basically just tossed a bone—bottom of the barrel, as one previous poster put it. There are adjuncts that are far less qualified than I am who routinely get 2-4 classes. They do not have terminal degrees. Some have never taught before and some have had very limited professional experience. My student reviews have generally been very good and the work they produce has been terrific.

Here’s the glitch: a member of my immediate family was the head of the same program for 20 years. That person has been retired for a few years now. Could the current head be wary of an appearance of nepotism by hiring me?

Any thoughts or ideas on what is going on and how to approach it? I could be the biggest shark in the tank (not really my style), but I’m still ignored and am met with waffling excuses like “I don’t know what the schedule is. I’m always the last to know.”  I’m actually very positive and upbeat about everything. I’m supportive of my students, the program and the college. I just can’t understand why I’m repeatedly left out in the cold.

I am applying for a FT-TT position in the program. Am I crazy? If they won’t even give me an adjunct class, why would they consider me for something permanent?

[patchouli]

This is a bad sign all around for a department.  If the dean believes this stuff, it tells you volumes about the climate at this place.  If instructors are at each others' throats where you teach, this is not a good sign and if it were me, I would be shopping around for another place.

Anyone else teach with a pack of adjunct sharks vying for one more class in order to make ends meet or get ahead?
I know that one of the other adjuncts has been going to the dean and talking about how incompetent the rest of us are (the dean told me).
Now we will all have our classes visited. 
So it goes.