Short version: it sucks.

I have confirmation on this.

My therapist has a friend in the industry and that friend told him, completely unprompted, that nobody in the business has any respect for a degree from VFS.

And you know what? I am not surprised. Not in the slightest. Because the education I got there was pathetic. Practically worthless.

Why? Because the leadership sucked.

I am talking about you, Michael Baser. I wasn’t surprised when you agreed to head a totally different faculty while still heading the Writing faculty.

Ya know why? Because you do jack shit at Writing, so how big a deal of it to do jack shit for two? Why not three, or ten, or all of them?

You know there is a serious lack of leadership at an educational institution when the teachers can get away with not bothering to do ANY grading until the students are on break between terms?

I mean, what kind of bullshit fucking system is that?

And I get it, Mike. I really do. Like a lot of creative types, you don’t like being the authority figure who tells people they have to do things and pushes them to try hard or really does anything at all to safeguard the quality of the education the kids get.

And besides, all that really matters is that the kids get the certificate with their name and VFS on it at the end, so why try hard at all?

I mean, a VFS education will always open tons of doors for people so why should you bother to do such hard and non-fun things as take an active interest in students,  worry whether some of them were falling through the cracks, making allowances for those struggling with mental illness, and especially not talking to students who are definitely not getting recommendations from any teacher if that student is sort of scary and gross.

That’s why I only found out about the contempt in which they all held me on my second last day of classes, when it was far far too late to do anything about it. Sure, they could have told me when I first did things that bugged them, but that would have taken effort and concentration and actual commitment to the welfare and education of students even when they are not excellent sheep like the rest of the students and dare to have an actual personality.

And now you’re just talking crazy! I mean, what kind of lunatic would bother to help someone if it was, like, hard?

And hey, we’re basically in the business of selling worthless pieces of paper for $20,000 a pop, and why would yuou want to ruin a sweet racket like that with something as crude and unpleasant as real effort?

That’s why are the teachers are so slack. They made it very clear that their goal was to make it through the class with as little effort as possible and then leave and completely forget about us until the next one.

And they had enormous help with the sweetest scam since group therapy : peer review! It’s like magic because it makes the kids do most of the work. They write the things. They review each other’s work. You can also review their work if you’re one of lunatics that does that kind of thing, but you don’t have to. Nobody is going to make you.

But even if you decide to go that route, you will only be doing as much work as your students do.  That seems fair, right?

Why should you work harder than they do? That would be almost like working for a living. And fuck THAT, am I right?

And here’s the best part : you don’t even have to put a grade on it. Sure, that would give student a concrete way of measuring whether they are getting any better at writing, but grades are all gross and mathy and stuff, so why bother?

It’s perfectly fine that all our students know is that no matter how hard they try, everyone is going to find fault with their work anyway because that is what they are supposed to do. Maybe it’s getting better, maybe it’s getting worse. Who knows?

And more importantly, who cares?

And it’s all because of you, Mike Baser. The rot starts at the top. All the teachers that work for you are confused and uncertain and demoralized because you do not give them any leadership at all. Many of them are very worried about what kind of education the kids are getting but none of them want to say anything about it.

And you know why? It’s because everybody likes you. After all, you’re a great guy. Funny, nice, warm, and easy to get along with. What’s not to like?

And because people like you, they do not want to say anything to upset you. They might talk amongst themselves about the problems they see, but even then, they will almost never directly criticize you because they know that everyone likes you and that therefore the slightest criticism will draw the wrath of all your other adherents.

Plus, according to what I have overheard, you are not above (in fact, significantly below) punishing people for daring to criticize you or complain at all by other means. Like firing them, for instance. And not even firing them to their face, because of course, that would mean doing somethung unfun and difficult so why bother?

No, tbhey would only find out they were fired when they went to get their paycheck and there wasn’t one. Or they would be told by another teacher. Or their contract would not be renewed and no explanation would be given.

You’re a two-faced coward, Michael Baser, and you are terrible at your job. If the industry no longer values a degree from VFS, it’s because people like you have let everything go all to hell while maintaining your happy little bubble where you are the fun uncle of all these kids when you should also be their disciplinary parent.

So buck the fuck up, Uncle Buck, and do your goddamned job.

Because remember, you teach writers, and writers have the power to hurt you with their words when they realize how badly they got screwed.

And some of them, like myself. are not the excellent sheep that you are used to fleecing for $20K a pop, four times a year.

Some of us are wolves.

And we’re getting really fucking hungry.

I will talk to you nice people again tomorrow.