Our Teaching’s Great, The Admin Sucks

An interesting read — especially as I’m coming from it from the academic side. Accessible, intelligent and informative. Occasionally amusing. Well worth a read, if you’re interested in the workings of academia.

A very interesting book about a seemingly boring subject… behind the scenes at a university exposed in all its… glory? Maybe not. I’ve worked for big employers in a behind the scenes role, and although it wasn’t in higher education, so much of this was familiar. The incompetence, the bullying, the ‘issues’ with HR, ‘promoting’ people sideways or up (!) and the camaraderie. Ben Richards brings honesty and humour to a hidden world - and it’s fascinating.

There’s a lot of information packed into this book and anyone thinking of going to university, or any parent pushing for a child to go, should read it. Now that a degree leaves you with tens of thousands of debt, is it really worth it? You could earn as much with a vocational qualification and study part time from home.

I learned loads and I loved it. It would be interesting to chat to Ben over a coffee and hear some of the stories he left out. Also, I hope we hear more from him even if it isn’t an ‘exposè’.

I was given a copy of this book by NetGalley

I was really interested to read this perspective as a teacher myself. I think that this book highlights some good points and some challenges that are faced in schools today. I would recommend this read to teachers.

Have recommended this to my teacher friends! Fascinating read! Thank you so much for the advanced copy!

Our Teaching’s Great, The Admin Sucks: Tales From Inside Higher Education is an often wryly amusing, occasionally exasperated rant about the inner workings of the ivory towers of higher ed by Ben Richards. Released 17th Aug 2023 by Troubadour on their Matador imprint, it's 247 pages and is currently available in electronic format. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

Some of the stories here will be eye-opening for readers who aren't familiar with the behind-the-scenes machinations and irritations involved in running an institution of higher learning inside an increasingly legally constraining world. The difficulties compound when objectively intelligent (often brilliant - but often equally eccentric) teachers try to enlighten students and inspire them to assimilate their knowledge without running afoul of administrative rules and regulations.

For readers who are educators, especially in post-secondary education, the stories here will likely be all too familiar. In point of fact (and the author says as much), anyone anywhere who has worked in a bureaucratic institution will have experienced most of what goes on. This is his sometimes slightly self-indulgent recollections of working in universities over a long period of time.

Four stars. Worth a look for readers who have experienced the same and are looking for commiseration. Mr. Richards gets it.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.