Ten questions change-seekers must ask
By Caprice Lawless
Constant themes in
the literature of change are accumulation and aggregation. Rarely is change engendered by an event. More often it begins with a shift in awareness,
imperceptible at first. As even small groups of people begin to share with one another their changing perspectives, small shifts collect into an unstoppable movement. The adjunct movement across American academia is already in the secondary
stage, necessitating new attention from the Internal Revenue Service, the National
Labor Relations Board and the Department of Labor, to name a few oversight
agencies at the federal level.
As
teachers, we know firsthand the need to ask the right questions to get a
discussion started. To that end, consider these ten questions from the Harvard Business Review.
According to writer Bill Taylor (co-founder of Fast Company magazine) lasting change traces its lineage to those
who move from powerless complaining to empowering action. He urges
change-seekers to ask themselves ten provocative questions. Here are
his prompts, with replies from the perspective of Colorado Adjuncts:
1. Do you see opportunities the
competition does not see?
Unfortunately,
we work under the illusion that adjunct faculty are in competition with other
adjuncts. Is this true for you as a CCCS adjunct? Consider for a moment what
type of power this illusion has given administration, what power it has taken
away from you, and from all of us.
2. Do you have new ideas about where to
look for new ideas?
The
vast workforce of approximately 3,500 adjunct faculty labor within the Colorado
Community College System (CCCS); a pattern sustained by old arguments and old
designs. The CCCS, in turn, operates under the direction of the nine-member
(governor-appointed) State Board for Community Colleges and Occupational
Education (SBCCOE). This model of subjugated labor has flourished across 45
years of CCCS history. People who are invested in maintaining old models are
not in a position to entertain any new ideas. That work will be up to those
seeking change to the status quo.
3. Are you the most of anything?
Since
adjunct faculty comprises 70% of the faculty, teaching more than 70% of all
classes, we’ve got this one in spades.
4. If your company went out of business
tomorrow, who would you miss and why?
Consider
this for a moment. Your answers may surprise you. Then, think again, but this
way: If the way the CCCS functions were to change tomorrow, what would you
miss, and why?
5. Have you figured out how your
organization’s history can help to shape its future?
The
argument for affordable education can be rebuilt to more accurately reflect the
needs of a changing society. The CCCS has maintained its model of an adjunct
underclass, but the reasons for doing so are now subject to scrutiny. The model
through which we teach must better reflect
the humanitarian ideals we are charged to
teach. We need to identify the fault lines in the existing model and
re-frame our work to address them.
6. Can your customers live without you?
There
are numerous “customers” adjuncts serve. Of course we see our customers as our
students, whose needs draw on our deep reserves of service. We know firsthand
they could not “live” or, rather, learn, nearly as well without us. This is a
challenging job; we serve some of the most beleaguered students in the state,
by institutional design.
Other
“customers” are the leaders of our campuses, officials of the CCCS, the
Colorado Commission on Higher Education (CCHE) and the SBCCOE who have proven,
for nearly half a century, they can easily live without an adjunct teacher who can
afford to quit teaching. For those customers, we are a dime a dozen. Their annual
reports to legislative bodies, their sourcebooks distributed to the general
public, internal and external salary surveys, presentations to prospective
students and parents, and numerous other administrative tools document that
history.
A
third “customer” is the Colorado taxpayer, who has been hoodwinked into
thinking cheap teachers under the Wal-Mart model of higher education is a
win-win. However, the model is eviscerating the professoriate and poses a real
threat to academic integrity. The CCCS is faltering in its ability to attract
and retain quality faculty. More importantly, it has been unwilling to see -- for
nearly half a century -- what might have been if only adjunct faculty had been
given a seat at the table, financial security, benefits in proportion to their
massive contribution, and a role in shared governance of the institution. We are
all aware (or should be) that many adjunct faculty rely on state-subsidized
health care, utility bill relief and food stamps. Taxpayer dollars have been
used to rob Peter to pay Paul. The taxpayer – our third customer base – has not
been aware of this situation to date but is beginning to awaken to it through
the advocacy of Colorado Adjuncts.
7. Do you treat customers differently?
Given
the three categories of customers listed above, which among them can we treat
differently? Previously, our silence seems to have been misconstrued as consent.
We are changing this by raising awareness about the adjunct cause, and thus
engender the legislative change we have been requested to make at the behest of
our own campus president. Remember that when asked for improvements to our
working conditions, he has said repeatedly that we need to work with the state legislature. This is what we have been doing for nearly a year now. By speaking up, we are
treating our customer groups very differently indeed.
8. Are you getting the best
contributions from the most people?
Because
it is imperative we call on those outside our organization for help, we are
establishing support in the Colorado legislature, state-wide agencies,
expertise from the American Association of University Professors, the New
Faculty Majority and the Chicago Coalition of Academic Labor, and others. As we address
tough problems, we maintain the humility that we don’t have all the answers. We
realize our strengths are as educators in the community college setting. We are
not administrators with the inside track on budget figures, nor are we skilled
in writing legislation. Over the past year we have researched the
adjunct/contingent labor issue and are sharing our findings in the pages of Adjunct Network, our extensive website, an
online, 20-page bibliography , an ongoing Film Series, , and other advocacy
measures. Strong shoulders among lawmakers, journalists, professional
organizations and supportive community groups have already stepped forward and are willing to make further contributions.
9. Are you consistent in your
commitment to change?
We
are staying the course because we care about the long-term quality of education
provided by Colorado’s community colleges. We believe working conditions are
also learning conditions. Thus, we remain consistently professional in our work
while unrelenting in our charge.
10. Are you learning as fast as the world is
changing?
Getting
together to gripe about conditions feels good in the short term, but to
engender lasting change, we need adjunct teachers to learn about the issues –
and quickly. Attend our meetings. Visit our Web site regularly. Take part in our
anonymous book blog. Commit the time. Learn the sometimes startling facts while
staying focused on the goal of equity for adjuncts. True empowerment requires
you to show up for meetings that will make you uncomfortable; to take on the
perceived risk of job loss; to become familiar with the research on our Web
site; and to tap into the deep need for change you feel but perhaps didn’t know
you could use. As educators, we empower students every week and are way-finders
for them. In this movement, we must also serve as way-finders for one another, educating
ourselves about the issues and holding the possibility of lasting change for
adjunct faculty.
Source:
Taylor, Bill. “The 10 Questions
Every Change Agent Must Answer.” Harvard
Business Review Blog, June 18, 2009 HBR, Web 28 Dec. 2012.
