quote:

This has nothing to do with the title, and everything to do with the fact that her last name is Biden, and that she's a woman.

This. Also, if the author of the op-ed was really genuine in his stance of requesting or recommending that she not use the title Dr., he would not have called her "kiddo." That right there gives him away as being a condescending asshole insincere.

quote:

Originally posted by wtg:
If he wanted to make a point...

Again, his point is simple and could be reduced to "Back in my day, we didn't have to show respect for women." Signed, MCP.

I don't think there is a person in the world who has had any exposure to higher education that thinks an honorary PhD is anything more than a token piece of paper. Like getting "the key to the city"... that key doesn't actually unlock anything. And I know no one who didn't have a real PhD who insisted on being addressed as "Doctor" because he or she had an honorary PhD.


But I think the real story is that the WSJ is standing behind this twit.

I thought this commentary on the topic was at least interesting: What's up, Doc

Interesting piece, Al. Thanks for posting that.

I saw this:

quote:

Even the London Times style guide considers it grossly continental: “There is little to be said for a German-style flourishing of doctorates in public life, and we should resist.”

And thought of the example of Kissinger brought up earlier in the thread.

I wonder if his use of ‘Dr’ was related to his German upbringing? Even today in Germany “Herr Professor Doktor” sounds impressive rather than silly.

quote:

I wonder if his use of ‘Dr’ was related to his German upbringing? Even today in Germany “Herr Professor Doktor” sounds impressive rather than silly.

That's because there are so few of them. Merely teaching at a university doesn't make you Professor Doktor.

In the US, MDs, JDs and EdDs are the big three. Add 'em together and Ph.Ds are tiny fraction by comparison.

quote:

Originally posted by big al:
I thought this commentary on the topic was at least interesting: What's up, Doc

Yes, interesting but not persuasive.

One reaction I have is that it often seems like the rules get changed when women or people of color achieve things formerly reserved to white men. This sneering at the idea of earning credentials at institutions of higher learning seems pretty unfair. Credentials do mean something, and I think it is fine to use them to decide which lawyer to retain, if you like.

As for the idea that Jill Biden’s degree is akin to having completed work as a trade school because her dissertation was of low quality. I sure hope no one digs up my papers from college or law school and points out errors in their reasoning.

Cindy — who will hang her law school diploma in her office until the day she retires

quote:

Originally posted by big al:
I thought this commentary on the topic was at least interesting: What's up, Doc

It definitely is interesting, thank you for sharing it.

I looked up a university’s program that would confer an “Ed.D” doctorate in education degree. I looked at how it’s advertised, how that program may be completed by a student, its course requirements, it’s dissertation requirements, etc. And I came out agreeing with the article about “Ed.D” not being quite the same as a “Ph.D”, more or less in the manner outlined in that article.

That article may also have a point about national media being inconsistent about who to call “doctor.”

That said, my school district’s superintendent has an Ed.D and calls himself “Dr.” Heck, he is called “Dr.” by the school staff, the students, the parents, in all official school/district communications, and also by the local press. I have no problem calling him “Dr.” before, and having read up on what an “Ed.D” entails, I still have no problem calling him “Dr.” now.

Maybe Epstein the WSJ op-ed author was trying to make a point about “Ed.D”, maybe he was too harsh on Jill Biden, maybe he just wanted to use Jill Biden as an example to draw eyeballs and solicit clicks. I see all these possibilities but I do not know which ones are his true motives, and I haven’t read enough of Epstein to be able to guess with confidence. But that “kiddo” reference sure sounds deliberately disrespectful, which undercut whatever other messages he might have meant to convey about credentialism and titles in general.

As for me personally, I have no problem calling Jill Biden “Dr.” just like I have no problem calling our respected and beloved school superintendent “Dr.”

Other non-medical “doctors” I’ve seen:
Lawn service calling itself the “Lawn Doctor”.
Plumbing service calling itself “Doctor Drain”.
Data recovery service calling itself “Disk Doctor.”
Popular fictional British TV character “Dr. Who.”

I have so far managed not to confuse any of them with a medical doctor or a Ph.D. I think I will be fine with Dr. Jill Biden.

quote:

maybe he just wanted to use Jill Biden as an example to draw eyeballs and solicit clicks.

Worked, too. But deploying that kind of clickbait degrades the entire article.

Went to an audiologist who let me know that he was to be called "Doctor". I told him that I had a Juris Doctor and that he could call me Dr. That shut him up.
He was annoying and proved to be not very competent.

Searched for Doctor is from a word for teacher with Bing.

"
Just who qualifies as a doctor anyway? Doctor comes from the Latin word for "teacher" and originally referred to a small group of theologians who had approval from the Church to speak on religious matters. Eventually the term saw greater use referring to qualified academic and medical professionals.
The History of 'Doctor' | Merriam-Webster"

My new audiologist is such a hottie I will call him whatever he wants to be called.

quote:

Originally posted by Cindysphinx:
....
As for the idea that Jill Biden’s degree is akin to having completed work as a trade school because her dissertation was of low quality....

Who says it was of low quality? Serious question, because it's too easy for people to just throw stuff around (case in point: 45's "I heard that....")

I have a PhD which I never used while in private industry because where I worked they were a dime a dozen and it would have been perceived as a bit show-offy. I did have it on my business card, though.

Now that I work in higher ed, even if not on faculty, I use it. It's kind of the coin of the realm, and I've noticed a significant upgrade in how I'm treated and my ideas are received when people know I have the magic letters.

As an aside, I had one person tell me that I MUST get a faculty appointment. What for? Because the union raises are so much better. I should have listened to that person...

Where you really see title creep is in medicine.

Every person in the hospital has letters after their name, I don't mean just the usual ones, RN, MD. etc. Every kind of tech or therapist has some multi-letter license abbreviation on their card. Often multiple ones. Some are quite strange.