I would like to second Doug Bisson's remarks. I too found that the world of
college teaching differs considerably from the ideal held forth in graduate
school, which seems designed to produce clones of the research university
faculty. I know some graduate programs in recent years have begun to
recognize the importance of helping graduate students learn to teach. I
wonder, though, whether even those programs don't still somehow imply that
to end up anywhere other than a research university teaching two courses a
semester (one a graduate seminar) is somehow second best. Many of us have
those 12 hour loads and 120 students every semester, and no graduate
students to carry the grading load. I have to remind myself often that
"success" in higher ed. means more than publications and a fully impressive
vita. Students are why we're here, I hope. Research has its place, but
persons interested in graduate school do need to know that they don't have
to emulate their graduate profs to find meaningful employment. At the same
time, I agree that graduate study in history (or any field, for that
matter) is only for those who are truly committed to it and know why.
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Dwight Brautigam
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