And they stay until they drop.
Why should they retire?
Their “jobs” are what many of us would do in our retirement, given the chance. Could argue they’re already retired in all but name.
“Arguably, no matter what their political views might be, these professors know a good deal when they get it and are “reluctant” to let go of it.”
Nonsense. One accusation of racism or homophobia and they are fired. Tenure won’t help them
I fall into the category of ‘won’t leave’ – that said, I could retire but I love teaching; have been doing it for many years. I have found that not only do students know nothing about American history and Civics (a course I once taught in high school) but the ‘new-bee’ profs know nothing as well.
Soon you’ll have universities and colleges populated by know-nothings who will fall for anything the media pushes at them. When my era generation retires, the party is over for freedom of thought and expression, etc. Sometimes it’s all I can do to stay on the job but the good still outweighs the bad so I’ll continue to tough it out.
And, by the way, teaching is not easy (when it’s conducted in the proper manner)….and I don’t play golf or date the cheerleaders!
• “Enjoy teaching and interacting with students;” No, not really.
• “Value the intellectual stimulation provided by research;” Yes, but this can continue after retirement.
• “Value the intellectual stimulation provided by interactions with colleagues.” No, as a conservative I am scorned by my colleagues.
The given answers sound like good reasons to continue to work even though you could retire. But, is this the reality? It shouldn’t be for the superannuated tenured professor to determine each for himself.
It’s kind of like driver’s licenses. After a certain age, people should have to have periodic eye exams and perhaps also driving exams to make sure they actually can drive a car safely.
My school doesn’t have a tenure system. The regular full-time faculty are on long-term renewable contracts. Almost everybody stays in the first year of their multi-year contract by reason of annual performance review. This sounds pretty good on paper, but in reality there is a tendency toward grade inflation and puff courses. This is because faculty are always under the gun of student evaluations.
I think ending tenure requires a new approach to testing. Students should have to take standardized exams not graded by their particular instructor. In such manner their instructor becomes their resources for learning. Plus, administrators could use pass rates in addition to student evaluations in their annual performance reviews.
So what?
I am an academic. Used to think I’d retire at 62, but now I’m thinking it might be between 65-72. Not because I have to work, but because I enjoy working. Also, I’ve noticed that some people (not all) suffer significant mental decline after they retire—including those who retire relatively early.
The critical thing is: Do the students find your course engaging & valuable? I teach computer science, so its also important to keep up with new developments. When you can do longer do that, it’s definitely time to go.
Do you mean "Die Hard MMXV (2015): tenure" rather than "MCXV", (1115).
(we old codgers remember the numbering system of our youth!)