I'm from Brazil. You may know this country as one of the world's worst education. The State University in which I study has a salary of 3037 dollars per month at best. The average programmer can make over 7k USD with almost no experience, and the average lawyer makes over 12k. Oh, and our politicians have a minimum of ~12k USD/mo while working only 4 days a week.
Yet professors, with their abysmal salary, work 5 days/week plus extras from having to check works, notes, helping students and whatnot. It's no wonder most of our professors are shitty: there is no incentive for good people to become professors, so those who are shitty do it.
Yet, there are exceptions. There are the gems out there which makes you, as a student, really happy to study. These gems are amazing. They make you research, they make you look for better methods to do your work, and they prepare you properly for the world - unlike the shitty ones who only grade you and don't give a fuck about you.
These gems would probably make much more money and live a better life if they would just apply their knowledge to non-education jobs. Yet they want to improve the education, and for that they live through hell.
Yesterday, one of these gems passed away. My professor had gave me lessons for 6 months, yet he was one of the best ones I've had classes with. In November, he was diagnosed with Leukemia. He couldn't afford the best treatments, being a public university professor and depending on public healthcare. He was barely over 50 years old, and after having three extra healthy months this year, he died. Poof, just like that.
Fuck this. Why can't the shitty people die? Why can't the fucktards who care only about themselves die? Why does it have to be the GOOD guy? Why do I have to stand with the asshole who'd rather fuck over students rather than help them? Why?
Fuck this shit. It's not enough that we have to keep up with this shitty education system, shitty politics and shitty incentives. Nature has to shit on us too.
Becoming a professor in the US at a top ranked school is way more competitive and time-consuming (PhD) than it is worth to do in terms of salary. They forgo 4-6 years of income by getting a PhD. These are the smartest people in the world and they get paid pretty low in the beginning... since they are only visiting professors in the beginning and they have to compete to get tenureship.
US professors are probably the most comfortable in the world, but all I am saying, they should be rewarded more than some other professions.
Well working as lawyer or programmer may be a work-horse shitty job in most cases.
Teaching is considered a more pleasant job - working with people, creative, lot of free time(however balanced with responsibilities), unmanaged(no boss or real hierarchy)...
I bet if teaching was highly paid everyone would want to become a teacher.
On March 11 2014 02:26 LastWish wrote: Well working as lawyer or programmer may be a work-horse shitty job in most cases.
Teaching is considered a more pleasant job - working with people, creative, lot of free time(however balanced with responsibilities), unmanaged(no boss or real hierarchy)...
I bet if teaching was highly paid everyone would want to become a teacher.
On March 11 2014 02:26 LastWish wrote: Well working as lawyer or programmer may be a work-horse shitty job in most cases.
Teaching is considered a more pleasant job - working with people, creative, lot of free time(however balanced with responsibilities), unmanaged(no boss or real hierarchy)...
I bet if teaching was highly paid everyone would want to become a teacher.
At least it would be competitive...
And that would in turn lead to higher overall quality of teachers. I disagree that "teaching is considered a more pleasant job." It depends on where you teach. I have a friend who teaches inner-city kids in Baltimore, and if you watch season 4 of The Wire, it's pretty much like that; underprivileged kids who have one or more parent(s) that are out of the picture or may as well be are far from easy to manage. There certainly must be a sense of satisfaction from being able to positively impact even just one child's life in that situation, but most of what they're required to do (and judged upon) is prepare these kids to take arbitrary standardized tests so politicians can point at the scores for their own political agendas. All we do with "standards" anyway when they're not met is lower them so we can. I read awhile ago that Baltimore (can't remember if city or county or both) public schools considered ketchup a vegetable for purposes of meeting school lunch nutrition requirements. Why then even bother pretending we care about nutrition when it comes to school lunches?
I see the same problem with police. How on earth do we plan on attracting candidates who are physically fit, intelligent, and possess a strong moral compass with $30,000/yr? Sure, you get the odd officer (like OP's professor, may he rest in peace) who is out there because he/she wants to positively impact society. Sadly, most of them seem like they're just looking for an easy way to bully people by having the "law" on their side. I'll never understand why every cop I've had to deal with or watch on some stupid tv show feels like he/she is qualified to dispense life advice, and it's not in the job description anyway.
I agree with the OP. "He ponders the problem, how to make better a world where evil brings profit, and virtue none at all."
But I also agree with the guy who said we were lucky to have OP's professor in our world for the time that we did.
On March 11 2014 02:26 LastWish wrote: Well working as lawyer or programmer may be a work-horse shitty job in most cases.
Teaching is considered a more pleasant job - working with people, creative, lot of free time(however balanced with responsibilities), unmanaged(no boss or real hierarchy)...
I bet if teaching was highly paid everyone would want to become a teacher.
The world would be better off if teachers were paid as much as lawyers (in the past ) were. Hell, I'd probably become a teacher.
But at least some people are so selfless that they will teach no matter what the pay
It is no secret that governments - specially power hungry govts like Brazil's - will avoid good education in order to control the masses.
What pisses me off is that leukemia and cancer is something so random, and the number of corrupts/assholes is enormous. Why the fuck was the only good guy the one to die? Fuck that.
my over simplified, big picture-ish, naively hopeful thoughts
really sorry to hear that. I know jack shit about economics or anything but I really think the way the world works is heavily reflected on people's awareness and level of consciousness ( ridiculous pompous new age-ish word but it's the best thing I can think of, and I think true to certain degree. ) People gets extremely mad and emotional, easily backed by action when someone steals $50 directly from them... but as of now, very few bats an eye (except in really direct and dire circumstances) when those in positions of power, or so happen to be in a position that directly manipulates money, such as unethical politicians, bankers and brokers etc, takes billions. Often they are (especially bankers) literally stealing money/value from your own pockets, hugely disproportional to the value they contribute to society; but because it seems not so direct, most is not aware of it to an emotional level and just goes about their day.
And it's easy to come to an us vs them mentally... we, the good , honest people vs them, the corrupt politicians or whatever. but the truth is at the most fundamental level there is really no us or them, it's just people. It's one system, totally interconnected all parts help each other shape to be whatever they are. (system wise, I'm not talking particular individual psychos)
But people's disgust and distaste at the injustices and the imbalances of the system is itself a sign of good. As more people become more and more aware, things will change for the better (I'm an optimist) . It's easy to say that nature sux or look at this good person dies while the person who does bad things thrives. But are we not part of the nature? is our brain not a product of mother nature (or the universe, or god if you're religious)? If so then our natural anger at what is injust and our desire to move toward what is just, is nature's own power and desire to move to what's just. For our own intelligence is reflection of all that is. It is the arrogance of man to draw a line between himself and rest of the universe/nature. when we are an aspect of it. And we can safely say that over all, our true being, and the direction we desire to head toward, is a more just and harmonious world, and if it is will of man, I like to think it's a part of the will of the natural world.
It kinds reminds me of this video below.. tho no video is unbiased, It provides some data that each of his own can reflect upon. If we are individual cells in a body that is the human race, then obviously every cell, no matter how small, is part of it and contributes to its over all health. (tho definitely there are a bunch of diseased cell in here) Hopefully as time goes on and people's awareness and knowledge increases, we are moving toward health, harmony, even bliss? (did I mention I'm an optimist)
The reason most people are self-centered is because they don't want to get hurt since being emotionally vulnerable is a sign of weakness is many societies.
EPT
) were. Hell, I'd probably become a teacher.
