Modified from its original form.
There may be a tenure-track position opening up at my institution that Hub is qualified for. Hub has taught at my institution before as an adjunct. He could be home for his family! BUT 1. He really, really dislikes teaching and 2. He can't agree to the statement of faith we are required to sign (I believe, he doesn't). So dilemma, dilemma. Our two-body problem could be easily solved by Hub taking a job he hates and lying on a contractual form. Would you do it?
Oh. Goodness. I don't know what I'd do in this situation. I'd probably lie and suck up the teaching until I could find something better suited. But I don't know how onerous your statement of faith is. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI'll be honest: I really want Hub to suck it up and teach, probably because I love it and just can't understand why someone wouldn't like it. I'm not sure that I'd feel good about he/us lying on the faith form. One of the things that drew me to Hub was his integrity, and this would be a serious breech to him. Yuk. I don't like it at all. And I would certainly be complicit in the lie, something I couldn't stand well, either.
ReplyDeleteSounds like the two of you need to have a long talk about your priorities and the trade-offs that you are willing to make vs. not make. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteYes. I would figure that a statement of faith to a faith I don't believe in has no validity [indeed, *I* would enjoy the act of such signing, but Hub may not be quite as virulently atheist and/or have a different take on the value of his word in thie situation]. Teaching: suck it up, pal. It gets better, and it is largely what you make of it.
ReplyDeleteThis is an opportunity, not a problem.
The statement of faith is between him and his conscience. I wouldn't sign something like that if I disagreed with it, but I can understand why someone would.
ReplyDeleteHating teaching is a different problem I chose a PUI because I wanted to avoid teachers who hated teaching. That was reinforced for me in grad school when I had several Profs who really did not want to be there. Some people might learn to love it, but other people just keep grinding out miserable lectures which isn't good for anyone.
Umm, I'm not trying to be cruel, but you've been through h*ll having the kids and the housework on top of a job that requires more than 40 hours...and while he has a problem with the statement of faith, he does not have a problem with you signing it? WTH?
ReplyDeleteNo, I believe, he doesn't. Simple- not a problem. Let me clarify the statement of faith thing.... part of the application is to write an essay on your belief system. Hiring is done on a qualifications/ "support of the institutional mission" dyad. So far in the hiring committees I've been on we've found really good candidates that also support the mission of the institution. I doubt that a committee would hire an unqualified person who believes, and I'm sure they wouldn't hire someone qualified that doesn't. the faculty are in constant discussion of this policy, but the board is firm, As yet, the policy stays.
DeleteWhat I meant above, is that I remember you saying you were conflicted about this, and it just seems weird and maybe a bit selfish, that it's OK to your husband you could be conflicted about doing this but and not him. I'm not saying he should go against his morals, but it seems that part of his morals should be considering your situation as well as his, since you're together and especially since you have kids.
DeleteI do kinda understand the situation - I work at a catholic uni (as staff not a professor) so I understand being evaluated on supporting the "mission". In all staff's preformance reviews is a section just for this. I find I can say I support some of their "mission" without having to say I believe in it. (When fill out this section I usually find a very convulted way of snarkily saying I find my workplace's mission to be full of BS.) Does the faith statement really have to say I believe in [faith] or can it just say I believe in honesty, intregrity, and justice for all (for example)?
Well, if I were in his situation, I wouldn't do it. My moral code, even if it doesn't include a specific faith, precludes me from lying about my faith. And my DH has recently quit a job here because the teaching load was just too much and was draining the life out of him. Of course, we can live on just my salary and he can keep himself occupied with just a computer, so we don't have to live apart. DH is making sacrifices for my career, but not the specific sacrifice of teaching too heavy a load once the school year ends.
ReplyDeleteI don't have much to add, except this:
ReplyDeleteTeaching might be an entirely different animal at your institution, and that is worth considering.
If he fakes his way into a faith-based job, he's not going to be happy, because if it's really in the culture, it's a pretty constant thing. I saw this sometimes at PrettyGood.
Oh, so the faith statement really means you have to support all tenets of the faith? :( Mine only takes into account about promoting the values of the university, not whether or not I'm Catholic (I'm not an adjunct either, but we do love the good gossip about why people did or did not get tenure. Most common reasons here are not enough pubs or grants or not enough grad students graduating.) Although if I had to say I believed pro-choice was evil or that GLBT people didn't deserve equal rights including marriage, I couldn't work at my uni either. But I still have to suffer through a prayer at most departmental or uni-wide events.
DeleteDo you think having a career is a big part of Hubs' identity? My DH quit his job 2 years ago to start his own small business and stay home with the kids (e.g, pick them up after school, etc). I guess I'm afraid that your Hubs would dislike the new job as much as whatever the alternative might be (e.g., staying at home). However, that wasn't your question. Your question is whether or not I would have done it - and the answer is: it depends on when you asked. When I was on the job market and desperate for a job, I would have probably taken a job I disliked and signed a faith statement so as to live in an area I wanted to live in.
ReplyDeleteYes, caroline. We've had this discussion so many times it sounds a bit like green eggs and ham; Would you like to be a stay-at-home Dad? no, I would not like to be a stay-at-home Dad. Would you like to retrain for a related field that is represented in the area? No, I have already re-trained once, and I really like my field. Would you like to be a PI at an R01. No, I would not like to be a PI at an R01. Being a right-hand man (research ass. prof) is the best fit for me, Wife-I-am.
DeleteLOL! Maybe you could write children's book as a new career. :) It does sound like a dilemma, and I am sure you've talked through all the options. So he would probably dislike the teaching position as much as the other options. It sounds like he is unwilling to compromise in his career? That would be very difficult for me, but at least you know where he stands. I really hope you'll reach a solution that works for you.
DeleteYou're willing to leave your tenured job and retrain yourself...and he is not willing to compromise **at all**? That just doesn't seem realistic.
ReplyDeleteI understand first hand how hard the two-body problem is, but it not being willing to compromise only makes it harder.
Good luck!