Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Secretaries of the world unite!
I've found another secretary that everyone should pay attention to, besides me:
www.thirtyyearoldsecretary.blogspot.com
One of the great prejudices of the working world is that secretaries are no-hope, dead-enders who couldn't find decent employment if they robbed the job bank. Actually, most secretaries hold their organizations together, and if they went on strike their bosses would run around like chickens sans heads. Which makes me wonder why we don't do it more often (for more on this, see Processed World). Anyhow, people like Fritz prove that secretaries are more often than not intelligent, literate folk who do the dirty work of many. Check him out, seriously.
Education for the real world
It's been 25 degrees Celcius all day, and I've spent it in the office. On top of missing the sunshine and music, I've learnt about my workplace 're-visioning', which means turning undergrads & foreign students into cash cows to fund science research.
The neo-liberal audacity of it all frightens me. The private sector offloads its responsibilities onto public institutions, 'partnering' with universities and gaining the allegiance of their staff through funding that the government refuses to provide - which naturally means funding projects that benefit the private sector. My particular institution has a building named after a pioneer in chemical warfare, so 'projects' does not mean comparative literature.
The administration cries crocodile tears about the lack of federal funding - meanwhile they're actively lobbying for 're-regulation', which is Orwell-speak for raising tuition. Poor students will be forced to drop out, or will simply not apply. We're seeing the transformation of the public university into a branch of the private sector, with its accompanying values. God, how I love the 'free' market.
www.thirtyyearoldsecretary.blogspot.com
One of the great prejudices of the working world is that secretaries are no-hope, dead-enders who couldn't find decent employment if they robbed the job bank. Actually, most secretaries hold their organizations together, and if they went on strike their bosses would run around like chickens sans heads. Which makes me wonder why we don't do it more often (for more on this, see Processed World). Anyhow, people like Fritz prove that secretaries are more often than not intelligent, literate folk who do the dirty work of many. Check him out, seriously.
Education for the real world
It's been 25 degrees Celcius all day, and I've spent it in the office. On top of missing the sunshine and music, I've learnt about my workplace 're-visioning', which means turning undergrads & foreign students into cash cows to fund science research.
The neo-liberal audacity of it all frightens me. The private sector offloads its responsibilities onto public institutions, 'partnering' with universities and gaining the allegiance of their staff through funding that the government refuses to provide - which naturally means funding projects that benefit the private sector. My particular institution has a building named after a pioneer in chemical warfare, so 'projects' does not mean comparative literature.
The administration cries crocodile tears about the lack of federal funding - meanwhile they're actively lobbying for 're-regulation', which is Orwell-speak for raising tuition. Poor students will be forced to drop out, or will simply not apply. We're seeing the transformation of the public university into a branch of the private sector, with its accompanying values. God, how I love the 'free' market.
