So what am I really talking about in the title?

Hey, Michael, don't be so opaque. OK.

It's probably not unique, but I have this idea that a great deal of academe is just a game. Professors pretend to teach, students pretend to learn, and we all take a big ride on the taxpayer. I've certainly never supported that, and I decry it in class. But I continue to see plenty of examples where higher ed just doesn't seem to care about its own importance.

When we lead students down a rosy path and then complain that they don't want to learn, we can only blame ourselves. After all, they don't see the need for hard work unless we show it to them. We must shower them with ambiguity or they become complacent.

Professors are simultaneously ranked as one of the most trusted professions and cast as one of the least useful by politicians and administrators, and treated worse and worse all the time by students. That dichotomy is troubling. But what do we expect? If we don't emphasize the difficulty inherent in being a college professor, nobody will willingly recognize what we do.

I have colleagues who burn out all the time -- no wonder. I've been there. I've changed techniques or emphasized something different, and put the burden of work on the students every time, and it comes back successful.