Posted on 11/03/2017 4:41:31 PM PDT by mdittmar
On a recent weeknight, writing instructor Ellen Tara James-Penny sits with a student in a parking lot near San José State University for more than an hour, explaining the perils of “hasty generalizations” and other pitfalls in college-level writing. Then, James-Penny and her husband get into their aging Volvo sedan and drive a few blocks to a local church, where she sleeps in their car with one dog and he sleeps in a tent a few feet away with the other.
Despite the four college courses she teaches, and the master’s degree she earned a few years ago, James-Penny is homeless. She simply does not earn enough money as an adjunct professor—that is a college educator who lacks tenure or job security, and typically is hired on a per-class basis—to afford the high cost of rents in Silicon Valley. Last year, James-Penny made $28,700, according to California’s state worker salary database. This year, she expects to make a little more, thanks to raises negotiated by her union, the California Faculty Association.
(Excerpt) Read more at neatoday.org ...
Here's an old song I like;)
Too much competition in her field is the problem. The colleges aren’t going to pay much when there are 100 qualified applicants for every job. Why should they?
Academia is a hide-out for leftists / parasites. Its even better than government. No one expects results and you can justify any asinine or dangerous idea with the pretext of “freedom.” Moreover, its all paid for with government money and massive debt pushed on to the backs of students.
Its a great 21st century American scam.
LOL!
The 8 million illegals in Kali don’t seem to have this problem.
Supply and demand is a harsh mistress.
Every day, they work hard to evade police
People move to other areas of the country all the time to seek jobs and opportunities. There is a teacher shortage in the K-12 schools in many states, but she probably views such a job as beneath her.
Just as people flooded West to seek opportunities, she and her husband need to move to another area of the country where there are teaching openings. They do have a car.
Cheap Winnebago,,,
Yes, I’m looking for one, too.
Retirement is a couple years away
And I have a couple mountains
I would like to explore.
For an English degree? This is a loser. Wow!
Making matters worse, to pay for her master’s degree, James-Penny borrowed more than $140,000 and her monthly student loan payments top $400. This is not unusual—the number of people who owe more than $100,000 in student debt quadrupled over the past 10 years, according to Federal Reserve Bank of New York data. About 25 percent of graduate students now owe more than $100,000 in loans.
Something that would help James-Penny and other adjuncts is U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s Adjunct Faculty Loan Fairness Act, which would make adjuncts eligible for public-service loan forgiveness. (Durbin talked with the NEA Higher Education Advocate about his bill, as well as the need for Dream Act legislation.)
This is all about getting more money...that's all.
How'd they afford the volvo?
How do they afford the dogs?
First, part time jobs are not usually capable of supporting a family, it’s unreasonable to expect that. Second, she’s getting paid somewhat more than such workers usually receive, and the college could Get a qualified person for a few thousand less if they wished — with no difficulty whatsoever. Third, this article and the original report both gloss right over the question of what her husband’s been doing to support his family. Apparently, nada. Absent serious disability, which you’d think they’d mention if present to only to get more reader tears flowing, absent disability he needs to get off his duff and get a job. Fourth, she’s chosen to live in the highest cost area imaginable — which only makes things harder for herself of course. So sorry but I can’t seem to generate very many tears, try as I may. Her expectatiobs appear quite unrealistic in the circumstances. All the very best to her and I do hope she connects with a real job and/or that her hubby can/ will start providing like he should.
$170,000 in debt to get an almost worthless masters? A husband that doesn’t appear to have any employable skills? Spends money on union dues?
I think the word she is looking for in the dictionary is ‘loser’.
I knew it was going to be an adjunct instructor.....professor....spit. These jobs are designed for full time workers who want to make a few bucks teaching a few classes at night or for Mom who are homemakers who want to teach a class or two or even moreso retirees who want to have something to do during the week. These jobs were NEVER designed to be careers.
cry me a river, what utter shite.
LOL. Most adjuncts get paid zero, so she is better off than most. Adjunct jobs are for those that want an affiliation credential from a school in exchange for occasionally teaching.
She has a history as a loser.
From an old bio:
Ellen’s current success, however, did not come easily. A casualty of the dotcom bust of the early 2000s, she lost her job at an emerging tech company and was unable to find similar work. Struggling financially, she took a job cleaning and painting apartments in exchange for her rent. Thirty-nine and almost homeless, Ellen felt defeated, but a good friend encouraged her to pursue her dreams of higher education. Ellen took the advice and enrolled at SJSU in 2006 to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in English. By the spring of 2013, she had completed both her B.A. and her M.F.A. in English, and in fall 2013, she was teaching her first class at SJSU.
Any self-respecting homeless university professor would get a JOB not in her field. Delivering pizza. Walmart. Come on, lady, you are a grown-up and you have to support yourself. Did you learn NOTHING in college? (Though why would I think she would?)
Let’s see... 140k in student loans... making payments of 4800 bucks a year...
No wonder the Libtards want to drop the math reqt for college. Their own students would realize they’re innumerate morons.
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