For many years, I have told students, “Do not do what I do; rather, take whatever I have to offer and do with it what I could never imagine doing and then come back and tell me about it.” My hope is that colleges and universities will be shaken out of their complacency and will open academia to a future we cannot conceive.
End the University as We Know It – NYTimes.com
Bracing article that among other things, calls for an end to tenure (and that from a tenured professor). Without tenure, I would not have the freedom to experiment in the classroom, to try novel ideas. I do not believe that all who are tenured are ossified. I do understand very well the tendency toward ossification. Different pressures would be brought to bear in a non-tenured system. Popularity contests and comforting assurances will win out.
(via rafaelfajardo)