When I say the exam will close at 1 AM on July 10, that DOES NOT mean 1 AM on July 11....
Do I need to explain it to you like this...
You go out drinking for your birthday -- you turn 21 on July 10 --so, you do the 'power hour' from midnight to 1 AM on your birthday. The exam closes like the bar closes at 1 AM...
Don't argue with me because you can't friggin tell time.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Fooling the Felines...
Today I'm headed into the woods for a couple of days of girl talk in the trees.
I'll be back on Sunday and all the activities we have planned can be accomplished in shorts or a swimsuit -- SO... packing was easy.
As I started the packing behaviors, the Queen sat on my suitcase --- but, I didn't need my suitcase, so I fooled her -- maybe.
I may not have fooled her, as I got out the bag for my CPAP machine -- hmmmm.
I'll be back on Sunday and all the activities we have planned can be accomplished in shorts or a swimsuit -- SO... packing was easy.
As I started the packing behaviors, the Queen sat on my suitcase --- but, I didn't need my suitcase, so I fooled her -- maybe.
I may not have fooled her, as I got out the bag for my CPAP machine -- hmmmm.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
Could I place ads like this for my classes...
An honest help wanted ad...
Really, if you don't have Criggo on your blogroll -- fix that error immediately. The whole blog is simply posting stuff from the newspaper... and it's all funny!
Really, if you don't have Criggo on your blogroll -- fix that error immediately. The whole blog is simply posting stuff from the newspaper... and it's all funny!
The differences between me and my students...
I work my backside off before the class and during the week...
So far nobody has had to wait more than about 24 hours for a grade.
So far, I've spent more time and attention on their drafts than they have.
BUT -- this weekend, things are changing.
Today Bioethics students are doing their midterm, and figuring out they should have looked at the questions and asked me about them when they had the chance... mwhhahahah.
Bioethics students are doing revisions -- and they ALL have a lot to do.
Logic students have figured out that they should have been doing more homework and that their exam on Monday is going to be tough.
This weekend I'm going to the woods with a girlfriend --- one who gets it, as she also teaches at BNCC.
Next week I'll have a pile of logic exams to grade, the Biomedical ethics exams to grade AND a pile of papers to grade -- but, all that will be done by Thursday, 'cuz I'm going to THE CITY a week from tomorrow.
So far nobody has had to wait more than about 24 hours for a grade.
So far, I've spent more time and attention on their drafts than they have.
BUT -- this weekend, things are changing.
Today Bioethics students are doing their midterm, and figuring out they should have looked at the questions and asked me about them when they had the chance... mwhhahahah.
Bioethics students are doing revisions -- and they ALL have a lot to do.
Logic students have figured out that they should have been doing more homework and that their exam on Monday is going to be tough.
This weekend I'm going to the woods with a girlfriend --- one who gets it, as she also teaches at BNCC.
Next week I'll have a pile of logic exams to grade, the Biomedical ethics exams to grade AND a pile of papers to grade -- but, all that will be done by Thursday, 'cuz I'm going to THE CITY a week from tomorrow.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Liveblogging the morning... Dear:
- Minion, you aren't helpful. I'm trying to work, your goal is to get more affection. Wasn't "snuggling" all night enough? go take a nap or chase a paperclip around the livingroom. love, mom cat
- triple-spacing student. Umm... you think I won't notice the big font and the triple spacing? You'd notice if just a little bit of your pot had been poached by your buddy, because you use it every day. As a proffie, I look at double spaced stuff every day -- you didn't fool me. Your supposedly 5 page draft wasn't sufficient.
- media -- please stop talking about MJ. thx bye
- airhead student -- the premise of that essay question occupied about 30 mintues of classtime, and I'm pretty sure you were there. What were you doing, poaching pot from your triple-spacing buddy?
- 'miss thing' -- I have the paper topic assignment procedure for a reason. If you wanted to write on topic X, why did you say you wanted to write on Y??? Do you lead the rest of your life this way?? If so, the good work you're doing may not turn out that way...
- 'confused' -- you selected a topic, then you wrote a paper about three different topics. The sad bit is that you don't even realize it -- take a good look at the paper and don't even begin to wonder why your grade wasn't that great.
- Negative Nancy: Really, if I hear "I don't get it" one more time... did you even TRY to do the homework -- or just have a little temper-tantrum in frustration? Please, God -- don't be going into anything related to medicine, I wouldn't want you to have a temper tantrum when you are supposed to be saving my life.
- Russian: God love you -- and I finally understand you... you're trying. You may not make it, but you're getting in the swing of things. When you told me your current profession, it made so much sense -- I worked in a parallel field for years -- I knew you felt familiar. Now we can relate - you and I.
No, I didn't watch it...
... the MJ spectacle, that is.
The audio clip of his daughter was sad --
and the rest of it seemed to be people who either used him, kept him a child or wanted to pretend that he was normal.
plus -- I was just flat out busy... but, I got stuff done.
The audio clip of his daughter was sad --
and the rest of it seemed to be people who either used him, kept him a child or wanted to pretend that he was normal.
plus -- I was just flat out busy... but, I got stuff done.
- Chapter 4 is in percolation, I'll begin chapter 5 today
- I rearranged the kitchen -- which was kind of a hassle, but it looks great!!
- I read 21ish biomedical ethics drafts -- and decided there is no way I'm reading drafts for 100 ethics students in the fall... just, no way. It was probably good that I read this pile of drafts when I'm working on my ethics syllabus.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Adunct Advice...
.. folks, if you like to teach, if you are willing to sacrifice financial and job security to follow your calling -- you should also be prepared to sit down and shut up.
Another adjunct has been fired for being critical to administration...
It's sad but true. I've been there.
As an adjunct I've had craptastic deans who didn't know anything -- and who implemented asinine policies like doing class evaluations at mid-term -- probably so that they could fire the folks with low evaluations in time to replace them for the next semester... This same dean was too disorganized to call me after a phone interview to tell me I had a job -- it was only after a timid, 'sorry I didn't get the job, do you have suggestions for my next interview' e-mail that she roaring back at me demanding to know why I hadn't committed to a schedule.
I had more than one department chair who both expected extensive office hours AND didn't want to actually provide anything close to an office. One of them reportedly said, 'they're just adjuncts, they don't deserve an office' -- when there were several unoccupied offices in the suite. This same person expected me to share an office with an adjunct who, no more than 3 years earlier, as my instructor, said I was in a 'cult' -- I complained to him directly... so he can't say he didn't know.
I had a tenured person with extraordinarily offensive and explicit political bumper stickers on his door -- and on things he brought into the classroom.... I also followed (in a classroom schedule) another tenured person whose 'critical thinking' class was 100% ranting against Bush -- of course, I only knew that because he couldn't be bothered to erase the board.
In all of those situations I kept my mouth shut because I knew I could be not-rehired for any reason - or for no reason at all... so I sure as hell wasn't going to stick my head up and ask to be fired.
What's really sad about all of this is the increase in adjunct labor -- which brings with it a corresponding decrease in the number of voices objecting to truely objectionable actions by administration.
As a tenured person -- and as a department chair -- I think it's my duty to act as a buffer for my adjuncts. I have no real power, but -- I have a position that gives me a little bit of a say in how things are run and a bit more of a position from which to engineer needed changes. All of you who are tenured should do the same for the adjuncts in your area...
As an adjunct -- keep your head down, teach your students and make friends with the admin people on your campus. They hold a lot more power than you'll ever see -- and can save you from numerous problems... just because you've got a few degrees doesn't mean anything. You and I both know the department secretary earns 3-4 times what you do... and s/he knows were all the bodies are buried. In many ways, the admin people in the department are the only ones worth their salaries...
Another adjunct has been fired for being critical to administration...
It's sad but true. I've been there.
As an adjunct I've had craptastic deans who didn't know anything -- and who implemented asinine policies like doing class evaluations at mid-term -- probably so that they could fire the folks with low evaluations in time to replace them for the next semester... This same dean was too disorganized to call me after a phone interview to tell me I had a job -- it was only after a timid, 'sorry I didn't get the job, do you have suggestions for my next interview' e-mail that she roaring back at me demanding to know why I hadn't committed to a schedule.
I had more than one department chair who both expected extensive office hours AND didn't want to actually provide anything close to an office. One of them reportedly said, 'they're just adjuncts, they don't deserve an office' -- when there were several unoccupied offices in the suite. This same person expected me to share an office with an adjunct who, no more than 3 years earlier, as my instructor, said I was in a 'cult' -- I complained to him directly... so he can't say he didn't know.
I had a tenured person with extraordinarily offensive and explicit political bumper stickers on his door -- and on things he brought into the classroom.... I also followed (in a classroom schedule) another tenured person whose 'critical thinking' class was 100% ranting against Bush -- of course, I only knew that because he couldn't be bothered to erase the board.
In all of those situations I kept my mouth shut because I knew I could be not-rehired for any reason - or for no reason at all... so I sure as hell wasn't going to stick my head up and ask to be fired.
What's really sad about all of this is the increase in adjunct labor -- which brings with it a corresponding decrease in the number of voices objecting to truely objectionable actions by administration.
As a tenured person -- and as a department chair -- I think it's my duty to act as a buffer for my adjuncts. I have no real power, but -- I have a position that gives me a little bit of a say in how things are run and a bit more of a position from which to engineer needed changes. All of you who are tenured should do the same for the adjuncts in your area...
As an adjunct -- keep your head down, teach your students and make friends with the admin people on your campus. They hold a lot more power than you'll ever see -- and can save you from numerous problems... just because you've got a few degrees doesn't mean anything. You and I both know the department secretary earns 3-4 times what you do... and s/he knows were all the bodies are buried. In many ways, the admin people in the department are the only ones worth their salaries...
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