One strike
Apropos of bloodymindedness in the face of failure, it occurred to me the other day that academia is in large part a one-strike-and-you’re-out, single-elimination system. Fail your master’s exam? See ya; we don’t do second chances ’round here. Fail prelims? Nice knowing ya—or not. Unsatisfactory dissertation? Well, we might let you revise it… or not. Miss tenure? Better be looking for another job—and with a missed tenure review, good luck finding one.
I do not think this system is of service to anyone much. I genuinely don’t.
Occasionally, yes, what comes out the other end is a superstar. More often, though, what comes out is a shaking, white-knuckled terror victim too afraid to stick a neck out no matter what. Somebody like my dad. Somebody shackled to their current circumstances, because change risks failure, and there is no redeeming failure in a single-elimination system.
Failure is important. Failure is vital. Failure is necessary. But a system that wants the benefits of failure has got to offer second chances. Academia doesn’t.