Married Faculty

I have mixed feelings about married faculty working in the same department.  Friction at home inevitably carries over to the workplace. 

There are ideological disagreements in the department. That's inevitable. I think that a course in English grammar should be requisite. 

Some subscribe to Noam Chomsky's belief that there exists a "language organ" hidden in the brain and that people "know" the rules of language without the benefit of instruction. Still others believe that students don't need to learn the rules of grammar because by the time they can talk, children have "internalized" the rules of grammar. Whatever that means. (Most of the faculty in this diploma mill's English department don't know the difference between a nominative absolute and a McDonald's Happy Meal).

These ideological clashes rarely amount to anything except an occasional snarky remark in the faculty lounge. I don't think that anyone cares enough to press further.

When the married faculty couples bring their problems to work, it affects the faculty morale. It also affects the power structure of the faculty when the faculty must arrive at a consensus on important department issues. Married faculty vote in blocks that disrupt the status quo. Should there be a coffee pot in the faculty lounge? Coffee with chicory or plain coffee? Should we celebrate faculty birthdays?

These things have far-reaching effects. It's the Butterfly Effect. Over time, they result in unpredictable consequences. Celebrating faculty birthdays transmogrified into the Kris Kringle Lovefest at Christmas time. I could see it coming.  That's why I stay out of the fray when it comes to a faculty vote.

If I can avoid it, I skip the faculty meeting when it's likely that there will be a vote on anything.  I don't like bugs, especially butterflies.