Bullying in the Schools

A friend has recently departed the green fields of academics/education—English teaching—for the green fields of editing. He says he did so to get away from the office politics and backbiting, and says there seems to be much less in non-academic fields.

Having also worked in both fields, I completely agree. So, incidentally, does Henry Kissinger, who publicly lamented how fierce academic infighting always was. I warrant Larry Summers feels the same, having been forced to resign as president of Harvard after successfully navigating the field of actual politics for many years.

How come? Why is there always such nasty politics and infighting in academics and education?

I think this is an indication of the reality that the field is tailor-made for bullies, and so it attracts the bullying type. The bullying type will then not stop at bullying their students; they will also, if they can, try to bully their colleagues.

Conventional wisdom, of course, is that the classic opportunity for bullies is in the corporate world. And I have no doubt it has its share. But in the corporate world, the bully is held in check to some extent by market discipline; his bullying instincts must come second to producing something that will actually sell. Conversely, the bullied, if they can actually show that they generate a profit, can protect themselves.

In education and academics, there is no such check, and no such protection.

The basic situation in academics is perfect for a bully: a room full of people who must do whatever you say for several hours every week, who must do whatever they can to please you, on pain of having their futures destroyed. You don’t get that, handed on a plate, in the corporate sector. You might hope, with luck, to one day get something like that, but certainly not guaranteed, and certainly not so early in your career. This is especially true for el-hi teachers.

The heavy pressures for political conformity that we see in the classroom and the academy are a clear example of this bullying, and a symptom of how bad the problem has become.

The solution: first, those who teach should not be those who evaluate. This would impose something like a market discipline. Second, at least at higher levels, instructors should be evaluated primarily by their students, and this should have real repercussions for their salary and advancement, if not their tenure.