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[almond]

I'm currently one of a handful of full time "Lecturers" in the Liberal Arts program of an urban arts college. We're from different disciplines and we teach 4 sections of the first year seminar, an interdisciplinary humanities requirement for all students at the school.

There was talk about the opportunity to teach in our home disciplines when we were hired, but currently there is no administrative support for that idea. So we're trying to make a case for it.

Besides the fact that 4 classes of the same intro class can lead to burn out,  can you help me add to this list of good reasons that we could present to our Dean? Currently, the reason given why we CAN'T teach in our home discipline is that our program serves ALL the incoming first-years, so the school can not afford to lose the classes we would be teaching. There are 60 sections of the class, and the others are currently taught by adjuncts and T-T who choose to join us when they feel like taking on something  new and different.

1. It would help us to teach the First Year Seminar because we would have hands on experience with the curriculum in our students' majors.

2. It would keep us challenged and creative.

3. It may help us recruit other faculty into First Year Seminar program.

Thanks!

[kedves]

It sounds as if these sections are the reason you have employment, in a way, so I'm not sure there is much you can do to change it.  If it is interdisciplinary (and even if it were not), does it have to taught the same way by all lecturers?  Does it have to be taught the same way every year?  Can you teach two sections with one focus and two with a different focus in the same semester?  I would be looking for ways to transform the course because I think it will be easier for you to accomplish.

[shovelbum]

Oh man, I would kill for a setup like that! I have done so many new preps over the past 3 years my head is spinning and my ability to publish has suffered. Be thankful for this gift and spend your free time writing like crazy so you can get a TT job that will allow you to teach in your specialty.

[almond]

Thanks for your comments everyone.

All of us have taught as VAP at other places where I had 3 preps and yes, it was a lot of work. One Lecturer even had a TT that he gave up for this gig because it was in the city. However, I didn't realize how intense it would be to teach the same class to classes that have 4 different personalities, that things are changing constantly. So in comparison with my other experiences, this has actually been more work. There is wiggle room to make the class our own, and we don't have complaints about the benefits of 1 prep. We just think there's value to teaching occasionally in our own disciplines and keeping those chops alive. All the adjuncts and TT faculty who teach this course as a one-off class have that luxury.

I have spoken to others in my discipline and they all agree that if I am not teaching in my discipline, after a short while I will lose my legitimacy, no matter whether I publish or not. Because I'm focusing on teaching-focused schools, I'm also scrutinized by what I have taught before. That is to say, I will be typecast as the "first year seminar person".

In fact, the school only took on tenure track this year and because it's in a big city, it relies heavily on adjuncts who have a union, and lecturers (non-union). There are no TT lines in my department, and there are no plans for such. Yes, my position is enviable to some, but that doesn't mean that's the way it should be. I guess I'd like to strive for higher standards for the non tenure track instead of settling and saying "it could be so much worse".

[grasshopper]

In fact, the school only took on tenure track this year and because it's in a big city, it relies heavily on adjuncts who have a union, and lecturers (non-union). There are no TT lines in my department, and there are no plans for such. Yes, my position is enviable to some, but that doesn't mean that's the way it should be. I guess I'd like to strive for higher standards for the non tenure track instead of settling and saying "it could be so much worse".

You're not on the TT and not unionized, then? I think you have very little power in this situation. The chances that you will change the system are slim. I think your best bet is probably to spend as little time as you can catering to the individual personalities of your four different sections, and publish your way to a position at a different school. You don't intend to be there for the long haul, right? This is stop-gap employment. So why would you put your own shot at future employment on the line to change a system that you don't intend to remain in?

The fact that you're teaching an interdisciplinary humanities course can be a big bonus. Your research work indicates your mastery of your discipline's subject matter, and your interdisciplinary teaching demonstrates your ability to teach outside of your specific field of research. For a small department in a teaching school, this is a gold star. Milk it.

[sagit]

Can you do a guest lecture in a class in the area that you want to be teaching in?  Maybe that person could then be a good letter of reference for you to get out of there.  That might help you demonstrate that you really want to teach in that other area for employers.

[oldadjunct]

You seem to be saying that you took a position which the institution openly defined as "X", and having accepted the position you want to convince the institution that you should really be doing "Y".

It is not a matter of the number of correct points to make. 

You are probably not in a position to engage the debate.

The institution will say, "Well, we hired you to do 'X' knowing that you are more than capable of doing 'Y' and perhaps even more.  But we don't need that, we need 'X'."

It's called underemployed.

[grasshopper]

Can you do a guest lecture in a class in the area that you want to be teaching in?  Maybe that person could then be a good letter of reference for you to get out of there.  That might help you demonstrate that you really want to teach in that other area for employers.

Almond has already had a VAP where, presumably, s/he has taught in his/her field. A guest lecture wouldn't be necessary in those circumstances, would it? Anyway, I suspect that having the PhD would be a more convincing testament to his/her commitment to the field than having given a guest lecture.

[prytania3]

Freshman Seminars are the rage and probably the reason you have a job.

[spyzowin]

I'm currently one of a handful of full time "Lecturers" in the Liberal Arts program of an urban arts college. We're from different disciplines and we teach 4 sections of the first year seminar, an interdisciplinary humanities requirement for all students at the school.

There was talk about the opportunity to teach in our home disciplines when we were hired, but currently there is no administrative support for that idea. So we're trying to make a case for it.

Besides the fact that 4 classes of the same intro class can lead to burn out,  can you help me add to this list of good reasons that we could present to our Dean? Currently, the reason given why we CAN'T teach in our home discipline is that our program serves ALL the incoming first-years, so the school can not afford to lose the classes we would be teaching. There are 60 sections of the class, and the others are currently taught by adjuncts and T-T who choose to join us when they feel like taking on something  new and different.

1. It would help us to teach the First Year Seminar because we would have hands on experience with the curriculum in our students' majors.

2. It would keep us challenged and creative.

3. It may help us recruit other faculty into First Year Seminar program.

Thanks!

Actually, that's a really good deal and you probably shouldn't complain.

[palla]

I have to agree that I would love to have one prep.  Oh the writing I could get done!  That being said, if you want four preps, why don't you create four preps.  You said they each have different personalities.  Use those personalities to alter how you present the material.  You might even find it advantageous to change the assignments just a little to meet the personalities of the classes.  You can make four classes of the same course four different preps if you really want to.

[mended_drum]

Here's the question I have:  if you teach "in your discipline," aren't you going to be taking a course in that department from a tenured or tenure-track faculty member?  Unless, you think that the numbers would justify creating new sections for you.  Honestly, unless your contract specified the courses you would teach, you don't have any bargaining power.  It would be better to work on applying for other jobs.

[seniorscholar]

Even at my large university in a large department, we hirer lecturers to teach the essential lower-level courses that senior PhD faculty do not have time to teach (because of their graduate teaching and/or administrative responsibilities) or, quite frankly, because we taught that course often enough long ago, when teaching loads were higher. The chair finds out from lecturers what  is "in their field" in case of a sudden surplus of students and the need to open an extra section of a more advanced course, or in case of an illness or a sabbatical . . . but we are not likely to take a section away from a senior faculty member to hand it over to a VAP just because that would be "nice" for the temporary faculty.