Why It's Ok to Be a Slacker by Alison Suen

Author:Alison Suen [Suen, Alison]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780367338183
Google: 16QFzgEACAAJ
Goodreads: 55834455
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2021-04-09T00:00:00+00:00

Are Slacker Professors Causing Harm?

Why do we find slacker professors objectionable? Is it just that the slacker professor is not doing their job? As mentioned, unlike a slacker student, a professor does get paid for their services. A professor has duties to research, teach, and perform services. A slacker professor is not doing right by their students if they are offering substandard classes, and they are not doing right by their colleagues and institution if they are not pulling their weight. But once again, being irresponsible is just a common, but not a necessary, condition of being a slacker professor. In fact, most slacker professors cannot be too irresponsible, for failing to do one’s job is not conducive to being a slacker professor. As we know, doing some work—enough work—is necessary for sustainable slacking. A slacker student has to do enough work to pass their courses and maintain their GPA. Falling short of that, they risk interference from their parents. Similarly, if a slacker professor is too irresponsible, they risk drawing scrutiny from their chair, to whom their students and colleagues may have registered complaints. So, at least for strategic reasons, the slacker professor cannot be outrageously irresponsible.

If, as I argue, being a slacker means doing “just enough” to get by, and that being a slacker professor does not necessarily mean being an irresponsible instructor or colleague, then why should we be bothered by them? Why should we be bothered by the slacker professor’s apathetic attitude—as long as they still deliver? In the case of a slacker student, we lament the wasted promise, and the missed opportunity to engage in intrinsic learning. In the case of a slacker professor who does minimal research and publication, we may also lament the potential loss in the production of knowledge. But I think there is also something unique about the profession of college educator that makes a slacker professor particularly troubling.

First, there is a social expectation for educators to be role models. Professors are supposed to teach by example and be “inspirational.” (A caring, exceptional professor may even change the life of a student. Professor Keating from Dead Poets Society is one such example.) Given the extensive research on motivational learning, there is no shortage of pedagogical advice geared toward properly motivating students. It is not enough for professors to motivate their students with sticks and carrots, they are expected to motivate them the right way—to help them see the value of learning beyond a good grade or other external validation. If professors are expected to inspire and motivate, then slacker professors present a problem: how could a slacker professor make a case for the intrinsic value of learning if they don’t even see the intrinsic value of teaching themselves? How could a professor inspire others when they lack enthusiasm in what they do? The slacker professor’s apathetic attitude seems incompatible with the model of motivational learning that dominates education. Indeed, if learning happens in part through emulation, then a slacker professor who strives to be “just good enough” serves a rather questionable model.

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