Hi CandyBear --

There is a lot of moaning among the professoriate about declining standards of English. I've heard a lot of it from business and science professors as well, who correctly believe that university students ought to be able to turn in literature work. So whether it is "you," or we are all getting old and cranky, or whether it is the "educational system," I don't know. I will say that my Mom, who attended a trade high school for fashion in New York City at least 50-60 years ago, seems better educated than the students I get. As did my Dad, who subscribed and read weekly news magazines --at a time when they were about world leaders that a child rarely heard about and not Britney Spears.

As for what classes you are allowed to teach:

1. The university accreditation bodies have rules about classes M.A.'s may teach for the college to retain its accreditation. My understanding is that the Southern Collegiate body, which audits the schools records roughly every 3 years (I think), does not sanction teaching higher than sophomore with the M.A. degree. You might to find out what the policies are where teach.

2. FT faculty generally get first pick of courses they want to teach, usually have their own "babies" among the courses they teach, also get sick of teaching basic and required courses. Adjuncts are expected to pick up what the FT don't want, unless, like Rudolf Nureyev or some other "distinguised" professor, they don't need to conform to the rules. Again, you might address this with your chair as an inquiry -- how does the rotation work? -- rather than as a complaint.

For example, I'll bet Garry Wills, whose an "adjunct" professor at Northwestern, is not being paid on the same sorry scale that most of we adjuncts are.