tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29367161.post7387915930748751335..comments2024-02-11T03:47:47.387-05:00Comments on Lumpenprofessoriat: Teaching Unwaged WorkersLumpenProfhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11424425909102486647noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29367161.post-85557408849092032942008-05-05T12:36:00.000-04:002008-05-05T12:36:00.000-04:00Very interesting post and threads. I'm with Histor...Very interesting post and threads. I'm with Historiann, especially on point 4. Also one of my students who is poorer than I was in college<BR/>went foodless for a while so as to buy graduation pictures. What?! said I.<BR/><BR/>There are countries in Europe which *do* pay students to study. And public universities in Latin America are actually free.Professor Zerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04909063513731044826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29367161.post-2341649258592749542008-04-30T14:43:00.000-04:002008-04-30T14:43:00.000-04:00Hi Historiann. Thanks for dropping by, and thanks ...Hi Historiann. Thanks for dropping by, and thanks for your comment. I'm glad you like bottom-line analogy. That's the part that interests me the most as well. <BR/><BR/>As for the textbook buybacks... I'm certainly not arguing that it's a good or progressive thing for student's to sell their books before finals. But I am interested in being able to understand this behavior in some way other than the standard curmudgeon-rubric of "What's wrong with kids these days? Why, back in my day..." This also holds true with changes in student living conditions. Currently, dorms and dining halls tend to be the luxury options. On many campuses, living on campus is significantly more expensive than living off campus. I'm quiet certain that more than a few students sell back books for a meal. But even if it's for a beer, the point I'm interested in pursuing is that once education is placed alongside rent and beer as an item in a budget, it shouldn't surprise us that cheaper is often seen as better. <BR/><BR/>On that note, I love book exchange proposal! I've seen these crop up on a couple of campuses I've taught at. However, they tend not to last long. I think it's because book co-ops become another place where students have to work for free and there is simply a limit to how much free-labor students are able to donate.LumpenProfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11424425909102486647noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29367161.post-44459653155656827082008-04-30T09:10:00.000-04:002008-04-30T09:10:00.000-04:00Hi Lumpenprof--thanks for the link, and the though...Hi Lumpenprof--thanks for the link, and the thoughtful commentary. I totally agree with you that much of this bottom-lineism in students is a natural reaction to the bottom-lineism in state government and universities these days, and that making education more affordable will show a commitment to academic values that will ultimately trickle down and encourage the students to approach their educations with academic values.<BR/><BR/>However, I will have to draw the line on book buyback. The prices the students get for their textbooks are so ridiculously low that they're only getting beer money for the night, not a meaningful start on next month's rent or car payment. They're permitting themselves to be exploited twice over: first in buying the books, and secondly in accepting such low prices for the return. <BR/><BR/>To be truly revolutionary, students should start their own used book depository that would work something like a lending library: drop 3 books off, pick up 3 books for next term. Bring those 3 back, pick up 3 more, etc. A free exchange collective would be a much more subversive--and frugal--challenge to business-as-usual among textbooks companies, buyback companies, and universities...<BR/><BR/>Also, I have some thoughts about the sumptuous lifestyle that many students think they're entitled to in college. Back in my day, 20 years ago, we all lived in dorms, most of us didn't have cars, and we ate in the dining hall. Going out for a pizza or out to a bar was an occasional treat, not a way of life, and our biggest weekly expense was scrounging up quarters to feed the washers and dryers. I strongly sympathize with students who truly find college unaffordable, but many, many of my students seem to spend their money not on tuition and books, but rather on apartments, cars, and restaurant and bar bills.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com