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The Homeless Professor Who Lives in Her Car
National Education Association ^ | November 1, 2017 | Mary Ellen Flannery

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 ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: collegeprofessor; ellentarajamespenny; fakenews; governormoonbeam; govmoonbeam; jamespenny; nea; rentistoodamnhigh; sanjose; sanjosestate; siliconvalley; therentistoodamnhigh
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To: mdittmar

1. She only has a master’s degree. To even have a sliver of a sliver of hope of teaching liberal arts at the college level you need a PhD.

2. She could teach at the high school level and make a living. Apparently that’s beneath her dignity.

3. She could leave California! That’s also probably beneath her dignity.

4. Nothing is mentioned regarding the husband’s employment. He could work & she could have her “hobby career”. Work seems to be beneath his dignity!

I know the author of the article is trying to make me feel sorry for her. Somehow I don’t, Guess I am just another cold hearted conservative.


21 posted on 11/03/2017 5:06:37 PM PDT by Reily
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To: mdittmar

she can’t catch a break...she get’s her own story and it looks like they spelled her last name wrong


22 posted on 11/03/2017 5:08:03 PM PDT by stylin19a (Best.Election.Ever)
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To: bboop

The Homeless Professor Who Lives in Her Car
(whose husband’s profession’s not on the radar)
has SJ State students who mustn’t get close
lest her meningitis should give them a dose.
So she hides from the cops as best as she can
but still pays the union to hold her dear hand.


23 posted on 11/03/2017 5:09:19 PM PDT by sparklite2 (I'm less interested in the rights I have than the liberties I can take.)
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To: All

So, poor decision after poor decision, and somehow it is society’s fault?

How much has her gofundme account taken in since this tearjerker of an article has come out?


24 posted on 11/03/2017 5:09:41 PM PDT by LegendHasIt
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To: fr_freak; All
Profile – Ellen Tara James Penny

Ellen Tara James Penny is the luckiest penny students can find at San José State University. Teaching English composition courses at SJSU since 2013, she is outgoing and encouraging, and works to ensure that her students are well prepared for upper-division writing courses. In the short time she has been an instructor, she has inspired many students to push through everyday obstacles in order to achieve their dreams.

LOL!

25 posted on 11/03/2017 5:10:23 PM PDT by mdittmar
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To: napscoordinator

Peak brick and mortar “higher” edumacation is gonna cause a bust very soon.


26 posted on 11/03/2017 5:12:18 PM PDT by Paladin2 (No spelchk nor wrong word auto substition on mobile dev. Please be intelligent and deal with it....)
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To: Reily

Yes, she can get a certificate and teach HS english, but will she? Nope.


27 posted on 11/03/2017 5:16:23 PM PDT by Kirkwood (Zombie Hunter)
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To: fr_freak

I guess the ‘husband’s sits on the beach with the dogs all day ...


28 posted on 11/03/2017 5:19:05 PM PDT by TexasGator (Z)
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To: mdittmar

I think there was an article about this woman here at FR back in August. She went back to school for an MA in English (If I recall correctly) in her 40s or 50s and accrued significant debt. That’s just not a smart thing to do. If she had gotten an MA or MS in education (rather than English) she could have found a safe and secure public school position and made significantly more money.


29 posted on 11/03/2017 5:19:24 PM PDT by vladimir998 (Apparently I'm still living in your head rent free. At least now it isn't empty.)
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To: mdittmar

The church lets her park but I wonder if she rails against Christianity?


30 posted on 11/03/2017 5:19:30 PM PDT by tflabo
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To: mdittmar

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/3582014/posts?page=9

Do people do an article on this woman every 2 months?


31 posted on 11/03/2017 5:19:54 PM PDT by BookmanTheJanitor
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To: mdittmar
She simply does not earn enough money as an adjunct professor...

There's your problem, right there.

She needs to find some Indian heritage in her blood. Only 1/32's worth will do.

32 posted on 11/03/2017 5:22:05 PM PDT by C210N (It is easier to fool the people than convince them that they have been fooled)
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To: BookmanTheJanitor
Evidently,

LOL!

33 posted on 11/03/2017 5:23:01 PM PDT by mdittmar
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To: napscoordinator

“Adjuncts” are not “Professors “. I.E.———— BHO.


34 posted on 11/03/2017 5:25:40 PM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear (Screw The NFL!!!!!! My family fought for the flag!)
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To: mdittmar

Wow, $140,000 in student loans but she can’t earn a penny writing anything for publication. Yet her students are somehow “achieving their dreams,” by publishing their stuff one presumes. What’s wrong with this picture?


35 posted on 11/03/2017 5:26:13 PM PDT by LibWhacker
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James-Penny and her husband

*****************

What does her husband do?


36 posted on 11/03/2017 5:26:47 PM PDT by deport
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To: mdittmar

37 posted on 11/03/2017 5:29:13 PM PDT by Paladin2 (No spelchk nor wrong word auto substition on mobile dev. Please be intelligent and deal with it....)
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To: Paladin2

That’s a really pretty dog.


38 posted on 11/03/2017 5:32:32 PM PDT by Tax-chick (The bigger the problem, the less likely a solution can be politically feasible.)
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To: BookmanTheJanitor

That article fills in some of the gaps about this poor soul: 54 years old, unemployed husband, two dogs, $143K in debt. Well at least she can provide an example to her students of what not to do in life.


39 posted on 11/03/2017 5:33:27 PM PDT by Menehune56 ("Let them hate so long as they fear" (Oderint Dum Metuant), Lucius Accius (170 BC - 86 BC))
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To: Tax-chick

#Save Ellen Tara James Penny’s dog;)


40 posted on 11/03/2017 5:34:53 PM PDT by mdittmar
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