Faculty Member Highlighted in Tribune

Child Development Professor Jennifer Asimow is quoted in this Chicago Tribune article, "Parents Can Give Kids a Math Head Start."

The article highlights a grant-funded project that will help child care providers, educators, and parents develop math skills in children early. Professor Asimow will be running the blog for the project, called "Math Access for Teachers and Home Care Providers."

Congratulations, Jennifer - this is great coverage for one of our great faculty members. 

Education as Radical Surgery

Steven Rattner, former "Car Czar" for the Obama administration's bail-outs of GM and Chrysler, offers his ideas on how to solve America's economic problems in a Monday op-ed from the Financial Times (behind a paywall).

After recounting the forces he believes that have led us here, chief among them the "relentless forces of global competition that not only depress job totals but depress incomes," he proposes what he calls "radical surgery:"

". . .  Major education and retraining initiatives, better incentives for starting businesses in industries where American can compete."

When I think about what we do, I use words such as pathways, opportunities, transformation. I have not thought about education as 'radical surgery.' Yet in an environment in which Pell grants are under attack and the notion that government should play a role in helping its citizen improve themselves through education is viewed as totalitarian intervention, maybe it is time to get radical. 

I have always been somewhat conservative in outlook with a desire to break out and do something against type. It appears that my desire is now being fulfilled in leading an institution of higher learning. With the start of classes on August 22, I am aiding and abetting the new radical subversion of the established economic order. 

Let the revolution begin.

Community

I loved this post from Kamran Swanson, one of our faculty members. One of the guiding principles during our Reinvention research is that students who feel more connected to faculty and the College are more likely to stay and complete.

I joke to people who ask me how may students we have at Harold Washington College that the reports I read tell me have 8,500 students, but I keep seeing the same 100 students over and over again. We have groups of students who do an outstanding job of finding or creating a community at our school. We need to find more opportunities for all members of our community to feel connected to our school and each other. 

I like Kamran's ideas about creating a space where we can come together.  Given the Mayor's guidelines, we won't be spending college money on the coffee, cups, or other textiles, but I commit to figuring out a way to bring us together in community to share.

I'd like to ask Kamran to take the lead on this and come back to me with some ideas based on what people are telling him. My job is then to figure out how to fund it and make it happen.

Tropical Storm Don

I am still getting used to living a more public life after years of relative anonymity toiling in the private sector. Even so, I never expected this kind of coverage:

"DON CONTINUES TO HAVE A SHEARED APPEARANCE 

ON SATELLITE IMAGES WITH THE LOW-LEVEL CENTER 

DISPLACED NEAR THE NORTHERN EDGE OF AN 

ELONGATED AREA OF STRONG CONVECTION."

You may read more here: 

NOAA COVERAGE

A Good Day

I just made the first of many calls offering an outstanding person the opportunity to join the wonderful faculty at Harold Washington College. It is a privilege and joy.

Powers

Several semis and trailers are parked in front of the College this morning. Some investigative sleuthing on the part of your ever-vigilant president uncovered this scoop.

Film crews are in place to shoot scenes for a new FX television series called "Powers" starring Jason Patric of "The Losers" and "In the Valley of Elah." Patric will play a homicide detective who only investigates cases involving people with superpowers, according to EW.com. One of the crew assured me that the show will have lots of "sex and violence." Let's hope it doesn't all take place in front of the school.

Career Education

I experienced a moment of deja vu when reading this article from last Sunday's New York Times discussing the threat to Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs. This quote, in particular, prompted the feeling: "Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said that 'at a time when local, state and federal governments are all facing tremendous budget pressure' advocates for vocationally oriented education 'must make a compelling case for continued funding.'” 

During the summer of 2008, when I was working as the oldest intern in CPS history, I had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Duncan and present my strategy for upgrading the quality of CTE programs at Chicago Public Schools. The strongest research has been MDRC's extensive efforts to evaluate career and vocational-oriented programs, or Career Academies. In an extensive evaluation of students in career academies compared to control groups, they found that students in career academies had higher earnings than the control group. Admittedly, most of the benefits accrued to the males (and less so to females), but the results were significant (in an econometric sense). Extensive research into what works in other countries also points to the value of career-oriented programs.

Based on that research,  Mr. Duncan approved the hiring of Aarti Dhupelia to develop an in-depth strategy for what she called "College and Career Academies." Under her phenomenal leadership, she convinced Mr. Duncan to invest sizable funds in upgrading the quality and capabilities of the College and Career Academies at CPS, an initative that continues today under Aarti's able stewardship.

I was nonplussed, then, to read of his recent call for more and better research. If it was good enough for CPS, surely it is good enough for the nation. In addition, President Obama's call for more college graduates to meet the needs of employers who require more skilled workers will require extensive investments in and improvement of career education. 

I was heartened, then, to do a little more research to see that the quote, in my opinion, was taken out of context. When I read the original speech, I saw that Mr. Duncan is calling for a re-imagining of CTE. When you read the speech, you can clearly see the positive view he has on the potential for CTE, in alignment with Aarti's strategy as presented to him a little more than two years ago. And further, it seems like a great opportunity for CCC to use Reinvention as a way to re-imagine what we ought to be doing for students.

Assessment

The Chronicle has a worthwhile read on assessment today. The article, "Learning Assessment at Community Colleges Is Growing but Fragile, Report Says," states that only 35% of community college teachers report using assessments to improve teaching. One of the barriers is lack of time. In our operating plan this year, we have planned for release time for faculty members to engage in and evaluate active learning strategies. We have also planned for increased time with adjuncts to help them evaluate their effectiveness.

Later in the article, the ten learning outcomes from Miami-Dade College are referenced. I list them here because I like their concise, clear explanation of what is expected of students.

1. Communicate effectively using listening, speaking, reading, and writing skills.
2. Use quantitative analytical skills to evaluate and process numerical data.
3. Solve problems using critical and creative thinking and scientific reasoning.
4. Formulate strategies to locate, evaluate, and apply information.
5. Demonstrate knowledge of diverse cultures, including global and historical perspectives.
6. Create strategies that can be used to fulfill personal, civic, and social responsibilities.
7. Demonstrate knowledge of ethical thinking and its application to issues in society.
8. Use computer and emerging technologies effectively.
9. Demonstrate an appreciation for aesthetics and creative activities.
10. Describe how natural systems function and recognize the impact of humans on the environment.

 Elsewhere on their site you can find each outcome defined in terms of proficiency.

I look forward to learning about what we are doing at Harold Washington College to measure student success from our Assessment Committee this fall and figuring out what resources we need to support those efforts.

Noms de Plume

Since my default operational mode is collaborative/conciliatory, it sometimes causes angst when I confront someone, even in an ironic or humorous way. Such thoughts have been rattling around my brain since my 90 Days post where I made some sidebar comments regarding cartoon posters. 

Imagine my delight then in reading on Huffington Post about the legitimate uses of pseudonyms.

Items on the full list border on NSFW, but the first three justifications for pseudonymous posting will give you a flavor:

• You are a convicted felon
• You have Mommy issues
• You have multiple personalities

Please read the rather informative explanations beneath the captions before responding. 

Completion Matters - 3

From Sunday's NYTimes, Dave Leonhardt writes about the value of college degrees. His analysis indicates that a college degree has economic value even in those occupations where it is not apparent possessing a degree matters. For example, a waiter or waitress with a degree makes 34% more than one without; a hairdresser 69% more; and a dishwasher 83% more. 

The main argument contends such attitudes arguing against the value of a college degree are elitist. Worth a read.

Completion Matters - 2

The discussion of completion has been fruitful. I agree that we should use multiple measures. We are an accredited institution, and several faculty members have justifiably highlighted our last review, where the Higher Learning Commission recommended our next review in ten years, or 2018-2019. 

I decided to consult the review for guidance on what we may face in seven years time regarding measures of student success. The write-up was illuminating. As always, I welcome your thoughtful comments.

From the "Report of a Comprehensive Evaluation Visit to Harold Washington College" for the Higher Learning Commission, dated March 2 - 4, 2009.

Topic Four:  Improving Graduation Rates

Harold Washington College staff identified the relatively low graduation rate as an area upon which to focus consultative advice in the Advancement Section of the team report. Indeed the 4% graduation yearly rates is among the lowest in the country for community colleges. HWC appropriately identified numerous other student success measures that contribute to student outcomes, as all community colleges contend (rightly so) that graduation rates are not a significant indicator of success, as a large percentage of of students do not enter community colleges with the intent to graduate. Yet increasingly, federal and state reporting requirements and accreditation bodies require documentation of graduation rates, as well as course and program retention rates, semester to semester and yearly persistence rates, and transfer success rates. Consequently, HWC must become more focused on collecting data that describes student success, with an emphasis on improving graduation rates. [emphasis mine]

In order to adequately address the multi-faceted issue of improving the number of students to graduate, there must be a comprehensive effort across the college to improve this measure of student success. A plan for graduation improvement should be crafted that examines impediments to student graduation and a call to action to increase student graduation rates. Once completed, the president could call a 'graduation summit day' where the entire college convenes to focus on the effort to improve graduation rates. Programs, both career/technical and the liberal arts, should be challenged and held accountable to increase the graduation rate by an identified percentage over a 3 to 5 year period. Programs that meet or exceed the goals should be rewarded; programs that don't should be required to develop additional strategies for improvement.

A marketing campaign about the value of graduating from HWC should be launched that informs students about the benefit of holding a HWC diploma or degree. It would be very valuable to forge partnerships with baccalaureate institutions to garner support for the mechanisms to foster graduation at the associate degree prior to transfer. Some universities will work with community colleges to retroactively award an associates degree students that transfer a certain number of credits short of the earned degree. Once the student pleads the credits, the university registrar will transfer the credits back to the community college, and the student is awarded the associates degree. While the attainment of an associates degree is not necessarily important to the student at the time, it is valuable to demonstrate that through a combination of the community college and the baccalaureate degree institution, the student did obtain the associates degree credential, also providing the student documentation of degree obtainment in the event that a baccalaureate degree is not completed.

It is important for Harold Washington College to collect and analyze student data that will better assist student persistence to graduation. For example, the accuracy of career and technical declared major data is critical to track students through coursework to graduation. Use of online degree audit systems provides accurate data to student services personnel, program faculty, and students. . . . The process for improving graduation rates is multi-faceted, and will take time and concentrated effort to measure progress.

First 90 Days

When I was in eighth grade, I brought home a report card with all A's except for a B in Physical Science. My mother was not amused. "How do you explain the B?" she asked accusingly. No mention of the seven A's from Mrs. Laackman. I was so completely humbled and ashamed that throughout high school, I earned straight As. 

I carry that baggage with me today. As a result, I was particularly stung by a recent post on the Harold Lounge in response to my own post on completion. When I started blogging, I made a promise to myself that I would not respond to anonymous or pseudonymous posters, or cartoon posters as I think of them, owing to their frequent use of cartoon characters as avatars. In responding to Realist, I am breaking that vow. Some may call me flexible; others, spineless. No matter. The Realist cartoon character hit a nerve with his assessment of my performance to date: "I give him four out of five gold, err, orange stars for all he’s done so far." As I read it, a roaring white noise filled my ears, my eyes filled with blood, and as much as I tried to concentrate on the rest of the post, all I could think was, "Four out of five stars? FOUR OUT OF FIVE STARS? What do I have to do to earn that fifth star?"

After I calmed down, I saw this back-handed cartoon compliment as an opportunity for me to assess my performance. The timing seems right - I am almost through my first 90 days here at the College. It is fair, even for an anonymous cartoon, to ask, "What, exactly, have you done for us?"

I focused on two major tasks in my first 90 days at the college. As promised during my interview for the job, I talked to as many faculty, staff and students as I could. For those who have spent the hour with me, they know that I ask the same seven questions of everyone. I ask these questions to help me understand who and what we are. What do people want to change? What do they want to preserve? What do they hope I do? How do we better support student success?

In parallel with these discussions, I dove into the budget process. As one may expect from my background, I believe money is the lifeblood of any organization. This year, we asked departments to articulate their goals and aspirations through the operating plans. We allowed them free rein to envision what they wanted and needed to support student success. 

A common thread wove through the discussions and the budget process. Particularly in discussions with faculty, I was told that the best way to ensure student success was to hire more full-time faculty. I did my own research and engaged the Reinvention teams in discussions to understand if more full timers would make a difference. I convinced myself, for a number of reasons, that more full time faculty would help us drive greater student success. Through the budget process, the academic departments asked for budget to hire twenty new and replacement faculty. I listened to the faculty, and they in turn backed up their desire to drive greater student success by asking for budget to hire more faculty.

In the budget process, I was steadfast in my desire to hire these faculty. I made the case. I argued in several meetings for adding these faculty. I was spurred, I admit, by that plaque in our digital multimedia center that honors President DeSombre for hiring 43 full time faculty during her entire tenure. By all accounts, she was a phenomenal president. Here I am, in my first 90 days, proposing to hire 20. Audacity of Hope, indeed. I had no idea if District would support it, but I felt the case had to be made. 

Realist said in his post, ". . . the chancellor has made it quite clear that she will have final say in all matters. It’s all going to boil down to dollars and the external forces of accountability, not the direct input of faculty; much less the affected students. That’s wrong. That hurts."

So what did our Chancellor, who according to the Realist values dollars and external forces of accountability over students, say when I made the final case for twenty new and replacement faculty at a not insignificant increase in our budget in these difficult economic times? When I argued that my faculty had told me that full time faculty matter, and that they believed, and I believe, that more full time faculty will help our students?  Our Chancellor said, "Don, my number one priority is student success. If you are telling me that more full time faculty will drive student success, I fully support your request." There being no free lunches, she followed with the expectation that I would be accountable for student success at the college. And no, I did not sign up for increasing the graduation rate. I signed up for course success and retention as my measures of accountability. 

I don't know where Realist is getting his take on the Chancellor, but in my meetings with her, she has been consistent, passionate and unwavering in her support for students. In the case of Harold Washington College, she is now backing that up with support for more faculty. Now it is up to us.*

So I ask Realist, and the rest of my readers, what do I have to do to earn that fifth star? In the spirit of continuous improvement, I welcome suggestions on what I, and folks in my administration, can do to make the college better.

The over 100 one-on-ones with faculty, staff and students provide a starting point. This summer, I am compiling this feedback and will report back in the fall, in conjunction with our operating plan, our initiatives for FY2012.

For the record, in my first 90 days, I have listened to concerns, accepted criticism, solved problems, and tried to respond to suggestions from the discussions. I have, with the help of our faculty and my executive council, in particular John and Andy, assembled a budget that supports twenty new and replacement faculty. I have tried to be present with faculty, visible to students, engaged with issues, and a stalwart steward for this great institution. I view the new faculty hires as my down payment to our students, to our current faculty, and to our future successes.

A four-star president is not good enough for Harold Washington College. So many people told me in our one-on-ones that they want to preserve our reputation for excellence, our commitment to students. You should not have to settle for a four-star president at a five-star college. I welcome your suggestions.

And please, please, please, don't tell my mother about the four stars. 
______________________
*As I write this, our budget is not yet approved. In the coming days, the budget needs to go out for public comment, and the Board will vote in July.

Building 2

Yesterday, I stood in the lobby from 7:45 - 10:45 AM, and again from 5:15 - 6:00 PM, to welcome faculty and students to the first day of summer term. I wore my best suit, my brightest Harold Washington orange tie, and what I hoped was a welcoming smile. The day, even at 8 AM, was brutally hot and humid, and you could see the relief of students as they entered our cool lobby. For those without headphones, or with music turned down enough to hear the outside world, they met my greetings with a smile, a nod, a return "Good Morning" or "Good Afternoon," and very often, with questions. 

As one would expect, the second most frequent question was where their class was and how do they get there. Many asked where they could get their ID, their ID sticker, or a UPass. A small number had questions about where they could find the business office, financial aid, or admissions. I especially enjoyed the student who came in and said, "I have a class, but I don't have my schedule, and I am not sure which class it is, but it is something in math." The officers at the front desk and I, along with the help of our summer schedule, managed to get her to the right room. 

The most surprising question, though, and the one asked most frequently, was, "Is this Building 2?"

When first confronted with the question, I was baffled. There, prominently printed on every student schedule to the left of their classroom number, is a notation, "Building 2." I could not dispute the fact. In an effort to be helpful, I returned the question with a question of my own, "Are you taking a class at Harold Washington College?" When answered affirmatively, I assured them they were in the right place. After the fifth or sixth inquiry, however, I had to solve the mystery of Building 2. 

Speculation among the staff on the first floor was rife. Perhaps Building 2 was the recognition that our current location was our second location. Others speculated we were designated as the second building east of State Street, the traditional Point 0 in the Chicago grid. An officer with gravitas then declared that each building in the district is assigned a number. District is Building 1, and we are Building 2. Someone has captured this fact in PeopleSoft, and we helpfully print it on each and every student schedule. 

Thus equipped, I re-took my central position in the lobby and confidently informed all comers that "Yes, this is Building 2." Faces beamed upon confirmation that they were in the right place, especially when they arrived in the lobby 30 seconds before class time. 

I question the utility of this information. Perhaps other Colleges in the system with multiple buildings or satellites need this. For us, it just engenders confusion. One idea is to plaster "Building 2" on our facade and have signs in the lobby proclaiming our secondary status. Another is to hold orientations for incoming students educating them on the geography of City Colleges. Maybe we could even make it a credit-bearing class. A third is to print explanations on the student schedules. I suppose we could also just remove it from the schedules, but I am loathe to toy with the revered traditions that students have come to expect and embrace. In the interest of fairness, however, I am open to suggestions. Post away.

Green Wall Appeal

A couple of Harold Washington College architecture students - Lauren and Anisa - asked me to get the word out regarding their efforts to build a green wall on the side of our College facing into the Com Ed substation next to the building. You can find out more here: hwcgreenwall.blogspot.com.

As you will note when you visit the site, they are raising money through Kickstarter. They were, as of this morning, 20% of the way toward their goal. I just made my pledge.

Active Learning

This post is a refresh of an earlier discussion regarding active vs. passive learning strategies. Thanks to John Hader for contributing a dissenting viewpoint. 

The Economist published an article this week highlighting research in favor of active learning strategies. What I found interesting is that the students who were given some initial structure and then left to pursue learning identified more uses for the toys in shorter amount of time than other strategies. The summary and link follow: 

 _________________________________________________

Now you know

When should you teach children, and when should you let them explore?

IT IS one of the oldest debates in education. Should teachers tell pupils the way things are or encourage them to find out for themselves? Telling children “truths” about the world helps them learn those facts more quickly. Yet the efficient learning of specific facts may lead to the assumption that when the adult has finished teaching, there is nothing further to learn—because if there were, the adult would have said so. A study just published in Cognition by Elizabeth Bonawitz of the University of California, Berkeley, and Patrick Shafto of the University of Louisville, in Kentucky, suggests that is true.

See full article

Purpose and Mastery

My economics training has drilled into me the notion that rational individuals seek to maximize personal gain. It seems, then, that monetary incentives ought to result in better performance and outcomes. I have wrestled with these concepts as I seek to lead an organization where my ability to reward individuals monetarily is limited. 

This video transformed my understanding of the role of incentives in spurring performance and innovation. It is worth a watch in case you haven't seen it. I look forward to working with faculty and staff to understand how they define their purpose and what support they need to develop mastery in fulfilling that purpose.

Scheinbuks' Big Bucks

Dr. Julian Scheinbuks left the largest gift ever to an public Illinois university with his one million dollar gift to Chicago State. The Sun-Times article does a nice job giving us a sense of the man. 

Teachers who spend their lives working with students are amazingly special people. When one of them turns around and then gives all of his material possessions saved through those years of work back again to the students - that is just overwhelming.

Dr. Scheinbuks' life served as an inspiration. With his passing, he humbles us all. May he rest in peace.

Mentor-palooza

Over 260 Harold Washington students and recent graduates signed up and attended an event at McCormick Place sponsored by Accenture, my former employer. 

The day started with a networking opportunity. Accenture employees and City College students and recent graduates paired up so that our students could ask for career advice. I was proud that our HWC students were sharply dressed and, as more than one Accenture employee told me, asked great questions with poise. 

The networking was followed by inspirational speeches by Chancellor Hyman and Bill Green, the Chairman of Accenture's board. They both shared their stories about how a community college had changed their lives. A few Accenture employees stood up during the Q&A and talked about their own experiences at community college. One woman in their Finance department who has been with Accenture for over 20 years identified herself as a graduate of Daley College (which prompted enthusiastic applause from President Aybar).

Also during the Q&A (with over 3,000 people in the room) one of our Harold Washington students (and a Year Up participant) stood up to ask Bill Green what characteristics he believes make his best employees. Bill broke his response into capabilities and characteristics. The capabilities for good employees were analytical thinking, common sense, good judgment, and getting along with others. He expanded upon analytical thinking, explaining that he views the ability to look at problems critically, break them down, and then logically decide how to begin to solve it, as critical to success. I was pleased to hear that one of the core values of what our faculty hope to provide our students was front and center. 

The characteristics Bill outlined were competence, confidence, and caring. He talked about the need to develop deep knowledge in an area. That mastery gives you the confidence to share it with others. You then need to care enough to share it and try to make a difference. 

The large plenary was followed by breakouts, where Accenture employees talked about the need to protect your online reputation. The recommended that students join LinkedIn, and that they also guard what they post on their Facebook walls. They learned that companies now routinely search online social media sites in their background checks of individuals. They also said that every Tweet in Twitter is being saved in perpetuity at the Library of Congress. Many students I talked to appreciated the straight talk about how to protect themselves. 

All in all, a great day for our students. I thank Accenture for their willingness to engage with our students, and I thank the students who took advantage of the opportunity. 

Does Completion Matter?

As I sat on the stage during Graduation last Wednesday night, peering into the bright lights at the UIC Pavilion, I asked myself if completion matters.

It mattered to the families who crowded into the auditorium to see their sons, daughters, grandkids, sisters, brothers, parents, and extended family and friends mark the completion of their studies. It mattered to the faculty and administrators who showed up to cheer on their students.

Most of all, it mattered to the students who had worked so hard to achieve this milestone, and then apply for the degree, show up, wait in the heat of the garage, march in, wait in another line, and then march across stage, shake hands, leave the stage, sometimes cheering, waving their diploma above their heads, arms often raised in triumph. 

In my one-on-ones, people have argued many sides of the debate. Yes, completion matters, and we can do a better job of helping students graduate. Yes, completion matters, but you cannot hold individuals accountable. Too many factors outside of an individual staff or faculty's control determine whether a student graduates. No, what matters is that the student gets the skills they need and then moves on to success in a school that will accept all of their credits. No, what matters is that we serve students well and meet them where they are and let them chart their own unique path. Yes, it matters for some students, but not others. 

As I weighed the arguments, name after name after name was called. Students ascended the stairs, shook the hands, exited the stage. Completion mattered to these students.

There is a national context to the question of whether completion matters. I heard fellow educators at the Higher Learning Commission meeting this past spring argue passionately that completion matters. I heard leadership of the HLC say that not only does completion matter, but we (the assembled Presidents) better get on board, because accountability for completion is coming whether we like it or not. 

I respond better to incentives than to threats, but I respond best to intrinsic rewards. With all the noise about accountability, I come back to the question, Does Completion Matter to Students? Do we serve them well by supporting them through completion and graduation?

As I watched the faces, I was caught up in the pomp and circumstance and decided that yes, completion matters. 

What I want to do is to make sure that we as a college are doing everything we can to help students complete. A student should walk through our doors on that first day of registration and sense that everyone in this building is committed to and helping them complete.  For those students for whom completion means graduation, we need to support them better all along their path. We need to make registration work better. We need to ensure that our advisers have the tools and time to set and keep students on a meaningful path. We need to have clearer pathways that help students decide what degrees and courses of study to pursue. We need the academic supports to help students along the way. We need to ensure that our course offerings in credit programs articulate to four-year colleges. We need faculty empowered to understand the needs of students and bring additional resources to bear when needed to help students continue.

I acknowledge that we need to work through accountability, how to measure success, how to figure out if what we are doing is working. For me, I decided last Wednesday that I want to see more smiling faces from Harold Washington College ascend those stairs, shake the hands, and get their degree. I will hold myself, first and foremost, accountable for our success in helping students complete. I need the help of everyone here to figure out what we need to do to help more students complete. In the coming months, based on much of the feedback I received in my one-on-ones, I will start working with faculty, staff and administrators to figure out what we each can do to contribute to that goal. I welcome ongoing feedback. I am confident that if we implement many of the great ideas I have already heard, along with the new ones people come up with, we will help more students complete.

The Art of Persuasion

In Rhetoric, Aristotle outlines the three modes of persuasion one can employ: ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos appeals to an audiences' character. Pathos appeals to emotion. Logos employs logic to win over people. Recent posts on this blog have caused me to revisit Aristotle and question the value of a recent dialogue in this blog.

In my post "Serf Ready" I unintentionally walked into an argument over adjunct pay. I intended to post on student exploitation and my readers quickly moved to a discussion of adjuncts. While not my intent, I was open to persuasion. This community (loosely defined as those who care enough to read this blog) has an opportunity to educate, and yes, persuade me. The adjunct issue presented one such opportunity. 

On my blog, an adjunct named Xavier, and in a separate post on the Harold Lounge by PhiloDave (some day I will come up with some cool pseudonym) engaged in a discussion regarding my post. I found their comments enlightening and yes, persuasive. I found PhiloDave's fact-based discussion of his recent difficulties on finding quality adjuncts particularly persuasive. Perhaps Dave has figured out that logos is a mode that appeals to me. 

In contrast, a poster named "City Colleges of Chicago Reinvention: The Truth" wrote a sarcastic response. I chose not to respond in the comments, but Mr. Truth's (not quite as catchy as PhiloDave, but I hope the abbreviated appellation is interpreted as a sign of respect; further, I assume a gender for Mr. Truth as a convenience. If Mr. Truth reveals himself to be herself, I will readily amend this post to reflect this gender clarification. If Mr. Truth would prefer just The Truth, I can make that correction as well. As they say, the truth will out) sarcasm stuck with me. 

Aristotle, as I read him, would categorize sarcasm as a method appealing to emotion, or pathos. Sarcasm demonstrates the disdain the writer has for the audience. In this case, Mr. Truth's disdain for my apparently naive or dismissive attitude toward adjuncts is apparent. Yet I find the argument less than persuasive. Sarcasm provokes defensiveness. It places the writer (in this case, Mr. Truth) in the role of a judge who has passed sentence without right of appeal. How does one respond to sarcasm without appearing defensive, weak, or worse, responding in kind? Are we locked into a mutually destructive war of words, or does the audience (in this case, me) slink off to lick his metaphorical wounds and question his intelligence?

It comes down to, in my view, intent. If the intent is to truly persuade, illuminate, enlighten, and ultimately to cause me to take some action in alignment with the arguments presented, I find logos and ethos highly persuasive. Pathos has its place, but is much harder to use effectively. I would argue that sarcasm is not an appropriate pathetic device. I would like this blog to be a forum for ideas and argument, as well as a showcase for the wonderful accomplishments of the faculty, staff and students of our school. I welcome dissent and disagreement. I welcome praise even more, although only if earned and honest. Disgust, though, fails to persuade me. You will not find me responding to sarcasm, unless someone persuades me of its rhetorical value. Further, sarcasm can have the opposite effect of the apparent intent, unless the intent is to insult the writer and move on. I won't censor the sarcastic, but I will not engage them, either.