tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36684602839559228952024-03-14T01:38:47.643-07:00The Two Body ProblemI am a professor at a primarily undergraduate institution. My spouse is a research professor and works two hours' drive away. This blog is primarily about life at a PUI, but also about our family trying to make the most of an uncomfortable lifestyle.PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.comBlogger475125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-3797673045263931952022-08-08T10:54:00.001-07:002022-08-08T10:54:12.205-07:00Hi, from Long Lost Me.<p> I solved my two body problem. The job I had at the SLAC/ PUI turned south rather quickly in 2018. There was so much drama that I don't want want to report about even now, 4 years later. Hugely traumatic stuff. That made it easy for me to say buh-bye to that institution I had dedicated myself to ad sacrificed a lot for and take a position at Hub's institution. If anyone still reads and wants details, just ask in the comments. </p>PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-53391401597657834752016-12-15T19:33:00.000-08:002016-12-15T19:39:53.939-08:00I'm back.Does anyone read blogs anymore?<br />
<br />
It took a year for me to find the access to this account once I changed computers.<br />
Everything is the same, except I dug in farther at my institution. I am now faculty senate president and began a minor. Hub is still at his institution. Not much has changed except the kids are older now, and much, much easier to take care of.<br />
I have missed my little community here.PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-29196909917888288962015-08-17T13:24:00.000-07:002015-08-17T13:32:54.919-07:00Dual faculty redux.Meeting number one of "meeting week". Useful, 45 minutes long. How to differentiate instruction for grad students enrolled in dual courses (a mix of grad and undergrad students).<br />
<br />
After, the faculty began to chat and I was affirmed that an effort to begin a untenable cross-disciplinary program was also not well received by my colleagues. <br />
<br />
I was also affirmed that the others hate the idea of "<a href="http://thetwobodyproblem.blogspot.com/2015/08/being-ug-grad-faculty-joys-and.html" target="_blank">visioning</a>" and are dreading it too.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">http://www.atypicallyrelevant.com/return-to-school-post-haste/headdesk-2</span><img class="irc_mi" src="http://www.atypicallyrelevant.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/headdesk.jpg" height="213" style="margin-top: 90px;" width="420" /><br />
<br />
Either I'm not as much of a curmudgeon as I thought or we are all curmudgeons.PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-59998084797373570132015-08-11T11:14:00.000-07:002015-08-17T13:25:17.908-07:00Being UG + Grad Faculty: Joys and Annoyances<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My department has a new graduate program, a few years old. It joins the other departments and programs in the university that have grad programs. I'm happy to be a part of our little and thus-far successful graduate program. The students are great and I get to teach more in-depth material (which I was missing) and do more research project critique. I get TAs that I never had before and we have a revenue stream for our scholarship. But really: grad students rock.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However, as school starts (and the onslaught of meetings that take place prior), I'm realizing there are some serious disadvantages to being dual faculty. There are now three picnics I have to (really should) attend, and they overlap with each other (and I have to find a babysitter for). I now have an eight hour meeting and 2 four-hour meetings whereas before I "only" had the 2- 4 hour meetings. That's on top of the faculty staff retreat, which is generally great but time consuming.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What's worse, this grad program 8-hour meeting is "visioning", which causes a practical person like myself to crawl inside her skin for the entire time. The agenda includes things like "How is the world changing and how should we develop ourselves into the future?" (paraphrased to protect the innocent). Group discussion in circles. "Circle process" means you have no option to check out and let those who have needs speak, and those who are content, well, be content (and answer e-mails surreptitiously in their contentment). You are forced to share (and be vulnerable- <i>whatever</i>).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Are you seriously going to ask me to help shape the future of the entire graduate program, even though I am under-qualified and un-invested in, for example, the masters in counseling program? How about instead of spending hours brainstorming by ALL faculty- a bunch of specialists in something else, and each with extremely different programmatic needs and desires, that we have a consultant come in and find our weaknesses and present a practical plan for us to decide on? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is the price we pay for having such an extremely democratic, "we all do better when we all do better", consensus-based, even-the-janitors-are-our-colleagues, culture. Hey, I love it, completely, until we do the "circle process". Blerch.</span>PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-56668968147615590252015-08-10T12:52:00.001-07:002015-08-10T12:52:18.172-07:00Prep Time: tips for new profs.<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hi Readers,</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I love it when you ask me to write more, thanks. Classes will begin again soon, so what's a prof to do with about 1 month to go? I will tell you what I am doing. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. Scheduling classes in an excel spreadsheet. I start with an excel spreadsheet that has every class period written in it. Here are the headings: </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Block, Week, Day, Date, Note, Pre-class prep, In-class, In Lab, Due before lab</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are 4 <b>blocks</b> in my class, and there are 4 block exams. There are about 3 chapters per block and they fit together schematically. This is pretty traditional, and the chunking really helps me and them.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are traditionally 14-15 <b>weeks </b>per semester, and I list these. Holiday weeks, such as breaks aren't counted as weeks.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Putting both the <b>day </b>and the <b>date </b>helps clarify things and prevent disastrous mistakes.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Notes </b>include seminar series speakers (not in-class time), drop dates, break days, etc.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Pre-class prep</b> includes the chapter reading, etc. I keep it simple for this particular freshman level class, so only text readings.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>In-class</b> includes both lectures and POGILS (this year I am implementing quite a few of these group-discovery-based activities).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>In-Lab</b> describes which lab activities from the lab book we are doing. I also supplement or replace these occasionally. These are fairly traditional labs, but I used a different lab book last year that was "visual based", and it bored the hell out of them, because it just asked them to look at pictures and respond. I've gone back to the more traditional experiment and dissection based labs.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Due Before Lab</b> includes lab reports worksheets, mini-papers, etc. For this class it's mostly lab book based worksheets. Even though what's due before lab is exactly what we did last week, this needs to be explicitly written out for these first-year students.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The spreadsheet allows me to enter and change lectures and activities with an overview picture. It helps to balance competing goals such as keeping an even number of chapters per test and not scheduling exams right after breaks, etc. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. Running through each lab and making a list of supplies needed for it. THIS MUST BE DONE EARLY, believe-you-me. Delegate or order the lab materials.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. Ordering equipment for my research lab that will be added or replaced due to the renovation. Currently my research lab is in a pile of boxes in a teaching lab until we are granted occupancy to the research suite.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. Reading up an a new subject to help revitalize and old course. In case you are curious, I am currently reading "Neuroscience in Education: The Good the Bad and the Ugly". This book confirms some of my suspicions about the <a href="http://www.90percentofeverything.com/2010/11/11/will-everyone-please-stop-saying-neuro/" target="_blank">"Neurowashing"</a> of the subject of Education. The course I am rehabbing is taking place next semester, but now is the time to do the heavy lifting. Now also is when I have the salary stipend, an additional 3 weeks on my 9-month salary </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(I wrote and won an intramural grant</span>).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That's it for now, keep telling me you are reading. Thanks for your input.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-82396706458510619572015-03-12T08:21:00.000-07:002015-03-15T20:37:47.900-07:00Feeling MUCH better<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hi <span style="font-size: small;">Readers</span>,</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Things are going much better these days. Though Hub did not get either or the jobs he applied for that would have brought us together, he has gotten into the application process, which provides hope.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Last semester's <a href="http://thetwobodyproblem.blogspot.com/2015/01/getting-crushed-by-popular-girl-er-prof.html" target="_blank">hellish course</a> is going well. I am doing it on my terms, and the students are responding positively. Our interactions are productive and they trust me. Their grades are definitely improving, and I don't go into lecture afraid of them. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I had a period of anger, depression, hopelessness, helplessness and overall stress... on my way to my <a href="http://thetwobodyproblem.blogspot.com/2012/03/repeat-of-last-spring.html" target="_blank">"Spring Fall Apart"</a> - a yearly short mental health crisis as I get worn down from the school year. And then over about 24 hours, I realized that I had a spiritual problem, not really a workload problem (which exacerbates it). I asked myself and God, what am I afraid of? What </span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">exactly </span> is is going on in my heart that wears me down so much? I made some half-formed realizations about being afraid of the students, not trusting in myself and God, nothing ever being good enough, being afraid of my colleagues' opinions about me, feeling let down by myself, etc. Somehow, somehow, over about a week, God just released it from me (if I could have done it myself, I would have long ago).</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4vbXRo3iljg/VQGtGv7jAyI/AAAAAAAAANo/STQg7Y2BHmc/s1600/sunrise%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bforest%2B1920x1080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4vbXRo3iljg/VQGtGv7jAyI/AAAAAAAAANo/STQg7Y2BHmc/s1600/sunrise%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bforest%2B1920x1080.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">http://hdwallpapers-desktop.com/Random-Wallpapers/imagepages/image45.htm</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"> </span> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have regained my confidence, and feel OK about my work. Other things that helped: my sabbatical work is now published and I feel more legitimate as a scientist. Moreover, I submitted a manuscript from my very own lab last week. This kids are so much easier to take care of this year, too. They dress<i> themselves.</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now, I don't have heavy service obligations, nor am I running my lab right now, but I'm going to keep the faith that God will "equip me in every good thing" to keep going (Hebrews). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-49007056038737927142015-01-23T17:47:00.002-08:002015-01-23T18:41:39.953-08:00SQUEE! Hub gets an interview!I reported that Hub interviewed for a position here in town. He also responded to a request sent to his PI from a colleague at another institution looking for someone exactly like Hub, did PI know anyone who would be willing to apply?<br />
<br />
Hub got a skype interview at application #2, a university much closer to the grandparents! I will call it the Four Hour Drive U (4HDU). 4HDU is in a medium-small sized city, bigger than our current city. The schools are good, the nature is beautiful and close. It is quite far away from any major urban centers, unfortunately, but the cost of living is good.<br />
<br />
<br />
I feel ready for a change. I do like my institution, and
majorly good things have been happening, for example, a stunning
renovation that makes my workplace 400% better. However,
I recall several spring semester "fall-aparts" indicating that I am
working and living above my capacity. I would be happy staying here, but
I am amenable to change<br />
<br />
A preliminary search on the internet showed nothing for me at 4HDU. It is a relatively large state R01 institution, but does not have any posted openings a professor, instructor, or research associate in my area. <br />
<br />
We have decided NOT to make it a non-negotiable dual hire. I was not included in the cover letter. The university's website addresses spousal hires by linking to major
employers in the area (giving me the impression they don't have a strong
policy). <br />
<br />
I have read: <br />
https://chroniclevitae.com/news/224-the-professor-is-in-how-to-score-that-elusive-spousal-hire<br />
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Intricacies-of-Spousal/65456/<br />
https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2014/06/04/essay-what-its-be-spousal-hire-faculty-job<br />
http://theprofessorisin.com/2014/01/03/a-successful-spousal-hire-a-guest-post/<br />
http://academic-jungle.blogspot.com/2010/05/spousal-hiring-reason-you-don-have.html <br />
<br />
What other resources of suggestions do you have?<br />
<br />
<br />
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
The critical thing here is that one of you gets an offer, and you’re
going to damage the chances of that happening if you disclose the spouse
prematurely. I know that some disagree with this, but I stick to it.
While discrimination based on personal circumstances is not supposed to
happen in searches, the fact is, it does happen, and there are
occasionally search committees that will reject a candidate early in the
game to avoid the hassle of dealing with a spouse.
- See more at:
https://chroniclevitae.com/news/224-the-professor-is-in-how-to-score-that-elusive-spousal-hire#sthash.rSaHi0uj.dpuf</div>
<br />
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
The critical thing here is that one of you gets an offer, and you’re
going to damage the chances of that happening if you disclose the spouse
prematurely. I know that some disagree with this, but I stick to it.
While discrimination based on personal circumstances is not supposed to
happen in searches, the fact is, it does happen, and there are
occasionally search committees that will reject a candidate early in the
game to avoid the hassle of dealing with a spouse.
- See more at:
https://chroniclevitae.com/news/224-the-professor-is-in-how-to-score-that-elusive-spousal-hire#sthash.rSaHi0uj.dpuf</div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
The critical thing here is that one of you gets an offer, and you’re
going to damage the chances of that happening if you disclose the spouse
prematurely. I know that some disagree with this, but I stick to it.
While discrimination based on personal circumstances is not supposed to
happen in searches, the fact is, it does happen, and there are
occasionally search committees that will reject a candidate early in the
game to avoid the hassle of dealing with a spouse.
- See more at:
https://chroniclevitae.com/news/224-the-professor-is-in-how-to-score-that-elusive-spousal-hire#sthash.rSaHi0uj.dpuf</div>
PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-45724195095824952252015-01-16T20:39:00.001-08:002015-01-16T21:05:35.103-08:00Getting crushed by the popular girl, er, prof.Well, that was a hellish semester.<br />
<br />
There was an evening lab, a semester of entirely new labs, construction in the building, taking over a course for an extremely popular professor and getting lambasted in comparison, widespread cheating in my grad level course, and tumbling from one missed deadline to the next.<br />
<br />
The worst was the popular colleague. This feels like junior high, all those social comparison anxieties...<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://static.squarespace.com/static/54220a55e4b041fec87d2d0d/547f45c6e4b0a7dc6a8432db/547f5fe9e4b0a7dc6a86e291/1417633769568/mean-girls-at-college-social-whirl-derails-many-study-finds-lead-20130402-300x210.jpg?format=original" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://static.squarespace.com/static/54220a55e4b041fec87d2d0d/547f45c6e4b0a7dc6a8432db/547f5fe9e4b0a7dc6a86e291/1417633769568/mean-girls-at-college-social-whirl-derails-many-study-finds-lead-20130402-300x210.jpg?format=original" height="140" id="irc_mi" style="margin-top: 92px;" width="200" /></a><br />
Popular Prof is young, energetic and extremely capable. She implements all the most recent pedagogical techniques. Her courses are full of blooms taxonomy, metacognition, flipping, case studies, portfolios, POGILs, concept mapping, learning styles assessments, etc. It's extremely complicated and I have no idea how she grades all the components of it let alone prepares her 12-page syllabi explaining all the tasks the the students do. Its all well thought out in advance. Her lectures are clear and kind-sounding, and it just all comes across as so understandable. I also don't understand how she covers all the details in these lectures.<br />
<br />
Other colleagues think she's the bees knees, and to top it all off, she just got a sizable research grant.<br />
<br />
Oh, junior high insecurity, I so thought I was over you! <br />
<br />
When I returned from sabbatical, I felt ready to make a change in my traditional methods. I lecture, and use the books' powerpoints, but I also do a lot of think-pair-share and tons of demos in courses. I have frequent low-stakes quizzes and a few activities. I don't know how to use the clickers, am not entirely convinced that the POGILs really work (weak students blow them off and just text during group time). I sought her advice, and she generously gave it to me (she's not a <i>mean girl</i>), and I tried to implement some of her methods, but they felt awkward and wrong for me.<br />
<br />
This was a bit comforting at the time:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://johnstahlwert.com/2014/10/why-you-need-to-keep-being-you-at-work/" target="_blank">http://johnstahlwert.com/2014/10/why-you-need-to-keep-being-you-at-work/ </a><br />
<br />
But, then the students we shared LAMBASTED, SCOURED, PILLORIED me on course evaluations, worse even than my first year teaching. They specifically cited my "incompetence" in comparison to Popular Prof. Reading the course evals caused about 20 hours of darkness, and I am still questioning my career choice. However, I am bouncing back from the darkness, and I can recover mostly, as my evals have been good for years in that exact class. Some of the damage has been done, however, as my chair wants to meet with me regarding my "morale". Apparently comments I made here and there were noticed by the chair, so apparently I set off some red flag (<a href="http://thetwobodyproblem.blogspot.com/2014/02/have-we-found-solution-caveats.html" target="_blank">see here for our institutional culture</a>). <br />
<br />
I want to change my classroom style to become more student-centric. I want to learn from Popular Prof's successes, but now I am so overloaded that I don't have the capacity to make a change: no time, no energy, no resources, not intelligent enough to learn new software...on the fly...in short time. I will have to dedicate a summer to it. I will probably need to go to a conference or something to get me going, cause I'm not managing to do it by myself. That will be a nightmare of child care. Oh, well. Stop the whinin', PUI Prof. Just get it done, like the adult you are.<br />
<br />
Any baby steps you can suggest?<br />
<br />
Oh, PS, my sabbatical work final revision was just sent in today. It should be in press soon. :) <br />
<br />
PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-85685876774587813452014-12-14T20:46:00.002-08:002014-12-14T20:46:52.102-08:00He did it! Hub applied for a job here in town.Hub applied for a job at the big school here in town. It's hard to tell how competitive he is for the position. <i>I'm </i>impressed by his CV, but they may want another sub-specialty.<br />
<br />
He had recently given a talk there, which apparently went very well.<br />
<br />
When asking for a letter of reference, Hub's PI suddenly became very apologetic as he realized he had not properly mentored hub for the next stage in his career. He had not assured Hub a stream of publications, primarily because they have one big project which has taken years and years to get ready. There are lots of abstracts but no official publication. The project will probably go *CNS, though.<br />
<br />
Send us your good luck wishes. Our two body solution could be nigh. Or not.<br />
<br />
*CNS = Cell, Nature, Science. High impact journals. <br />
<br />PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-15957221966968614772014-12-14T20:32:00.003-08:002014-12-14T20:32:28.231-08:00Good advocate, you!<i>My response to a student who couldn't finish an online lab because some links were broken. I graded her harshly, but then she reminded me we talked about it the next day.</i><br />
<br />I
corrected your lab. It's not visible, but I simply made yours worth 10
points instead of 15, since you had fewer points to answer. In this case
you have 804/1017 = 79.0%, which is a C+. Previously you had a 78.7%,
which is a C+. Thanks for holding me to the highest standards. You will
do well advocating for yourself in other aspects of life, too.PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-7136155480263866092014-12-02T04:14:00.000-08:002014-12-02T04:14:46.658-08:00Adjusting to weaker studentsIn order to survive, my institution is expanding enrollment across all tiers (Tier 1: strongest students, Tier 5: weakest students). Tier 1 students are very expensive since we have to compete for them with scholarship dollars, so the expansion seems to target the lower tiers. So, in essence, we are getting more students, and more weak students.<br />
<br />
Having weaker students is especially time consuming for faculty for unexpected reasons. No, they don't really take more time in direct instruction, because often the ones that need to show to office hours aren't coming. It's the ancillary issues, such as <br />
<ul>
<li>answering more e-mails regarding learning software issues "Prof, I can't get this to upload right"</li>
<li>spending more time clarifying instructions "I don't understand what we are supposed to do"</li>
<li>providing an unprecedented level of support for studying </li>
<ul>
<li>from learning objectives: "Be able to describe the molecular mechanisms of such and such"</li>
<li>to question by question instructions "Be able to answer questions 4, 5, 6B and 6C"</li>
</ul>
</ul>
Not only time but psychological factors are counted in <br />
<ul>
<li>Have thick skin when blamed for student's poor grades in the course</li>
<li>Have thick skin when faced with pervasive disengagement despite herculean efforts to be student-centered</li>
<li>Have the wisdom to not let the "it's because our students are weaker" become a self-fulfilling prophesy </li>
<ul>
</ul>
</ul>
PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-49116847855444248812014-10-22T15:08:00.000-07:002014-10-22T15:08:00.789-07:00Submitted a grant todayHi All,<br />
I was asked to be a Co-PI on an IUSE grant, which we submitted today. I let some teaching go to complete do my part on it. I hope we get it.<br />
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504976<br />
<br />PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-72594998116590052762014-09-23T15:47:00.001-07:002014-09-23T15:50:00.593-07:00I am Wheel. Hear me squeak.<span style="font-size: small;">There are a lot of major renovations going on on campus. Super, duper, hugely inconvenient majorly displacing renovations. I had to write a letter today to the powers that be. Enjoy:</span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">______________________________________________________</span>
<br />
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">Hi Everybody,</span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">I really haven't received any information about a time in which I can expect to move into an office, *ANY* office.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">I had hoped to move into Clara Colleague's office because, well, it's a very pretty space... but its still occupied.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">I
have taken up temporary residence in the office next to it, and though the Technology Office did provide me with a docking station and peripherals, it seems that I
have been granted a cast-off monitor... I have contacted Dude about
that. <br /><br />Hunting down a key for that room took time I really didn't have to spend.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">In addition, all the offices in the New Office Place are dirty and have trash in them. </span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">I
have been working without an office (by choice) for 5 weeks now. I am
carrying all my textbooks and laptop in a bag to and from my home. I am
working in the computer labs, disrupting the courses that are in there
and annoying the profs. I am meeting students for office hours in the Student Burger Grill .</span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">I
wanted to be cooperative and undemanding on your services by trying to
prevent THREE office moves this year (New Office Place conference room- to
New Office Place office- to finished Fancy Science Center). It seems that my strategy
has put me at the bottom of the priority list, and was indeed unwise in
hindsight.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">I am Wheel. Hear me squeak. :)</span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">Can
I please have an office? Preferably empty, clean, with a computer, and
acceptable ergonomics. And something relatively long-term? A phone would
be a bonus.</span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">Sincerely,</span></span></div>
</div>
<div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">At the End of my Rope.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif";">AKA Phooey Prof, er PUI Prof.</span></span></div>
</div>
PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-26253689106022011022014-08-30T14:05:00.003-07:002014-08-31T19:38:34.024-07:00Spooling up to a frenetic startWhoooo, that was a brutal week. I feel so behind already. However, my cadre of household helpers has been super so far. Burden lightened. Now, how much are we willing to sacrifice for the privilege? We'll meet tonight about the budget.<br />
<br />
In other news... <br />
My favorite class has not gone as well as expected. First, at 22 it's MUCH bigger than I am used to (yes, I said that). Second, I can't gauge where my audience is. It's full of master's students, so I cranked it up a notch, but they don't talk back... so I might be blowing them away, intimidating them, or boring them to tears.<br />
<br />
For example, I asked, "Did everyone read the first chapter?" Nods and hands.<br />
"Ok, what stuck out to you, what was new and what did you know already?"<br />
*crickets chirping*<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Ohh, this is going to have to take a different tack...<br />
Ideas?<br />
<br />
<br />PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-10565604514824909912014-08-22T08:00:00.004-07:002014-08-22T08:00:52.319-07:00I did this crazy thing...I sent a gift to the faculty that bailed on us at the last minute. <br />
<br />
<br />
We had a faculty bail out of hir contract last minute, please see <a href="http://thetwobodyproblem.blogspot.com/2014/08/nothing-could-be-worse.html" target="_blank">yesterday's post</a>. I'll call this person Dr. Bailer. Our department chair would not elaborate on the reasons why he/she left.<br />
<br />
Here's where my imagination goes into overdrive, BUT there are bases to my assumptions. If this person suddenly came down with Ebola, Leukemia, or had a stroke, we would be asked to pray for them, they would be given a leave of absence, and we would bring them casseroles. If s/he had suddenly decided, "To hell with your little piss-ant college, I'm bailing!", that scenario would have been communicated to us, and the reaction of those in-the-know would have been much different.<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kydbpWYGBU4/U_dRoFZ4cSI/AAAAAAAAAMM/N36fFQxdCgM/s1600/elephant-room11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kydbpWYGBU4/U_dRoFZ4cSI/AAAAAAAAAMM/N36fFQxdCgM/s1600/elephant-room11.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-elephant-in-room.html</span></div>
<br />
However, no one is talking about what happened. I have had loved ones in my life with debilitating mental illness (but that's for another blog). It's really the only thing we <i>dont. talk. about</i>. It's hard on family members, there's still a stigma, it discomboblulates workplaces, and it freaks churches out. It's called the "no casserole" illness.<br />
<br />
I was recently inspired by this interview: <br />
<a href="http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/mental-illness-church-amy-simpson">http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/mental-illness-church-amy-simpson</a> <br />
I haven't read her book, but I can't wait to do so. In summary, churches really don't know how to treat people with mental illness, especially since some churches (not ours) still consider mental illness a spiritual problem. Most churches don't know how to rally around a family with a mentally ill member. The author argues that we should symbolically "bring casseroles".<br />
<br />
My university is tied to its church and reflects its values. My work does "bring casseroles" when it knows what to do. I don't know if anyone knows what to do with Dr. Bailer. <br />
<br />
So I made a bold move. I found out Dr. Bailer was going to complete some paperwork in HR soon, so I bought a book of poetry and a blank card. I wrote words of kindness, emphasizing that I did not know anything about why they are leaving. I said I imagined that it may be distressing and that they should feel our department's care and receive our support. The words on the card are better than my summary here. I was kind but as neutral as possible. I left the gift and card with the HR person Dr. Bailer would be meeting with.<br />
<br />
This could be a huge flop, taken the wrong way and insulting. On the other hand, it could give hir some comfort. I expect to never know. What I did is probably totally inconceivable in most workplaces. However, I have been supported and helped in tough times by my colleagues, and want to pay it forward. Regular readers will recognize the larger theme of my workplace's special culture. It's one of the things that makes the decision to uproot and find a position closer to my husband difficult. <br />
<br />
How do you feel about your institutional culture? Would you receive compassion at your workplace in the case of physical or mental illness? What type of reaction have you observed to mental illness in your workplace? What are your thoughts?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-86455868987762337022014-08-21T06:33:00.001-07:002014-08-21T06:33:22.840-07:00Nothing could be worse....in our context than what just happened.<br />
<br />
A new faculty that we hired told us TODAY, the week before classes begin, that (s)he would not be joining us. Their entire teaching load must now instantly be redistributed and we must scramble for adjuncts. Since we don't live in a booming metropolis swimming with hungry recent science Ph.D.s, we are really stuck.<br />
<br />
Anybody wanna teach Chemistry in a cute college town? Send a message.<br />
<br />
PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-23648430537544756132014-07-29T06:40:00.001-07:002014-07-29T06:40:37.800-07:00Chronicle's "Vitae" becoming pointlessI have subscribed to job search alerts through the Chronicle of Higher Education's job search for, well years and years. I have always been (very passively) looking for the right solution to our two body problem. The Chronicle changed its service recently to something called Vitae.<br />
<br />
https://chroniclevitae.com/<br />
<br />
Seems targeted, right?<br />
<br />
For the last oh, 6 months or so, it has been completely spammed by a few "institutions" which advertise mostly undesirable positions EVERY DAY. It has become an extreme annoyance.<br />
<br />
I see these every time I get an e-mail from them. If these were truly desirable positions, they shouldn't have to perpetually advertise for them. Also Vitae should probably cap the number of repeat ads.<br />
__________________________________________________________________ <br />
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<a href="https://chroniclevitae.com/jobs/234827-NP003891?cid=ja" style="color: #1e7bac; font: bold 24px/1.6 sans-serif; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lecturer Pool - Biology (2014/2015)</a>
</div>
<div style="font: normal 16px/1.5 sans-serif;">
Central Washington University in Washington, United States </div>
<div style="color: #737373; font: normal 14px/1.8 sans-serif;">
posted on June 10 </div>
<img alt="" border="0" height="17" src="https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/kPzBe_c5P-n3rLnpseMZM-6bIhgsdDgK2z-HXEczACC67fbCVhUKrdOh7TINlv15c54p49vewTl6dFiIh-fLuzHE1YpQNN0_=s0-d-e1-ft#https://chroniclevitae.com/assets/email/spacer.gif" width="1" />
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<a href="https://chroniclevitae.com/jobs/234827-NP003863?cid=ja" style="color: #1e7bac; font: bold 24px/1.6 sans-serif; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Lecturer Pool - Exercise Science, Nutrition and Food Science, Paramedics/EMS (NEHS) (2014/2015)</a>
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Central Washington University in Washington, United States </div>
<div style="color: #737373; font: normal 14px/1.8 sans-serif;">
posted on June 03 </div>
<img alt="" border="0" height="17" src="https://ci5.googleusercontent.com/proxy/kPzBe_c5P-n3rLnpseMZM-6bIhgsdDgK2z-HXEczACC67fbCVhUKrdOh7TINlv15c54p49vewTl6dFiIh-fLuzHE1YpQNN0_=s0-d-e1-ft#https://chroniclevitae.com/assets/email/spacer.gif" width="1" />
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<a href="https://chroniclevitae.com/jobs/443687-8403?cid=ja" style="color: #1e7bac; font: bold 24px/1.6 sans-serif; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Adjunct Faculty - Medical Assisting</a>
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Westwood College in Virginia, United States </div>
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p</div>
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PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-16996008958588133292014-07-15T12:41:00.001-07:002014-07-15T12:41:04.056-07:00reading suggestion<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
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<h1>
On ‘Poor Husbands’ and Two-Body Problems</h1>
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<h1>
On ‘Poor Husbands’ and Two-Body Problems</h1>
</div>
</header></article> - See more at: https://chroniclevitae.com/news/609-on-poor-husbands-and-two-body-problems?cid=megamenu#sthash.2oPKxcmh.dpuf</div>
<br />PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-73301072730680653502014-07-11T12:05:00.004-07:002014-07-11T12:10:09.186-07:00We won the lottery!Random bullets of not-necessarily crap:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Have a draft waiting to be finished about how our marriage has deteriorated since a month or two before the move. Went to counseling today. We're going to make it, but we are entering the "hard work" phase of our relationship.</li>
<li>Trying to analyze data from my sabbatical. Will need to go back for one more experiment at the end of this month.</li>
<li>Meanwhile, time to read and choose textbooks for Fall courses ASAP.</li>
<li>Lose our Au Pair at the end of the month. Have begun to cobble together child care from care.com and sittercity.com. Lots of fish in the sea. Let's see how the retention is...</li>
<li>Enrolled my son in kindergarten today. He blew the lid off the entrance evaluation. When I asked about gifted programs, I was informed that our school district is excellent at bringing English Language learners up to speed and serving the lower tier learners. But gifted? I was encouraged to be an activist within the school district...</li>
</ul>
And finally... <br />
<ul>
<li>EXCELLENT NEWS that will make it VERY HARD TO MOVE! We won the lottery to get my son (and daughter, as it is automatic) into the bilingual program!!!. Now half of his entire early elementary school hours will be conducted in Spanish. We are ecstatic!!! </li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
Just noticed: Happy 500 posts to this blog!<br />
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PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-10004321274900465912014-06-25T12:43:00.003-07:002014-06-25T12:47:23.745-07:00Back to separatedThe family and almost all of our stuff have now returned to our modest town home in our modest-sized city.<br />
<br />
On Monday, Hub drove back into work at my now-former institution in my now-former city. We are back to the status quo, with a few exceptions.<br />
<br />
1. We still have our au pair, who has been super helpful this week. She works upstairs and I work downstairs and the kids have a grand time. She has been useful in getting the kids stuff in order.<br />
<br />
2. The day Daddy drove away, we were delivered a little kitten. The kitty had been dumped behind a doctors office, and a nurse put a signal out via social media. We have been discussing getting a pet for a few weeks, but the timing made it possible to avoid a big let down that evening when we all went to bed for the first time without Daddy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
http://www.catsofaustralia.com/cute_kitten_pictures_7.htm<img alt="Tuxedo Kitten Picture" border="1" src="http://www.catsofaustralia.com/images/blackandwhite_kitten.jpg" height="267" width="400" />PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-20497599478209160802014-06-10T07:37:00.001-07:002014-06-10T08:15:16.067-07:00What THEY are really likeI grew up in a lower middle class community, and we had ideas about what rich and successful people were like. THEY were exclusive and cold. THEY saw people as tools and weren't genuinely interested in anyone that couldn't benefit them somehow. THEY were surely unhappy from a lack of true human connection. THEY took themselves and their work too seriously. <br />
<br />
This weekend we attended a milestone reunion for Hub's university, an extremely selective institution. He/we had never attended a reunion before, so we expected for there to be a lot of THEM there, as we are in some of the prime earning years of our middle-aged lives. Hub and I were fully prepared to mentally strain to overcome our intimidation of THEM and the inevitable comparisons that would ensue. <br />
<br />
What follows is a random-ish list of observations of Hub's classmates at the reunion. Please note that there is an inherent bias, as attendees of a class reunion are a group more interested and skilled in socializing than their non-attending peers. But, this was presumably still a good sample of highly successful people (THEYs).<br />
<br />
1. I expected more obvious trappings of wealth than I actually observed. Jewelry, clothing, etc was not showy in most cases.<br />
2. Not a single person smoked.<br />
3. I didn't see anyone look at their phones during the social events we attended.<br />
4. These families in their late 40's had a lot of small kids, even babies. This was a topic of discussion among us.<br />
5. People were very gracious and graceful at initiating and taking leave of conversations. I felt more awkward than usual. I want to learn these social graces better. <br />
6. Conversations felt truly genuine. Each person seemed to be "present" in the converstions.<br />
7. People made easy eye contact in the crowd and did not tightly self-segregate into groups.<br />
8. Everyone knew not to ask intimidating questions. "What do you do?" came up naturally and comparisons were very few. <br />
9. There were a few comparisons of children's accomplishments, but it was done graciously with the spirit of respect and admiration for the kids. This was also in the context of "my kid does such-and-such and can't even get into Alma Mater".<br />
10. There were several "less-accomplished" folks un-intimidated to share their position in life.<br />
11. There was also a bitter classmate- "My education cost twice as much as our house, and I suffered blatant discrimination at work, so I quit working". Discrimination is an ugly thing, and can derail even people like THEM. It's not just a birthright of us lower-class folk.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-74688321056979148492014-06-04T07:01:00.005-07:002014-06-04T08:19:15.218-07:00IHE on Spousal HiresFor your two-body, trailing-spouse, spousal-hire blog-reading pleasure: <br />
<br />
"How can you avoid the painful letdown that might emerge after the
initial excitement of landing a position that allows you to live with
your partner?"<br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br />
Read more: <a href="http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2014/06/04/essay-what-its-be-spousal-hire-faculty-job#ixzz33g8OvDQS" style="color: #003399;">http://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2014/06/04/essay-what-its-be-spousal-hire-faculty-job#ixzz33g8OvDQS</a>
<br />
Inside Higher Ed </div>
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</div>
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</div>
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The trailing spouse </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-h5YKURfFPDE/U2SnQvkpRAI/AAAAAAAAKN0/1fWHyE1jmcQ/s1600/relo-cartoon.gif" target="_blank">Image source</a></div>
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Recent references form this blog to a similar fear:<br />
<a href="http://thetwobodyproblem.blogspot.com/2014/02/have-we-found-solution-caveats.html" target="_blank">have-we-found-solution-caveats</a><br />
<a href="http://thetwobodyproblem.blogspot.com/2014/02/have-we-found-solution-perspective.html" target="_blank">have-we-found-solution-perspective</a></div>
PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-73560839697571838782014-06-02T07:07:00.001-07:002014-06-02T12:04:02.248-07:00Can I take my class to a big meeting?Something that probably doesn't happen at large R01's (weigh in!). My letter:<br />
<br />
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
Dear Dean, Dept Head, anyone else who needs to see this; </div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
<u>[Adv Course] Labs; Nontraditional</u> [Adv Course] will not have a
traditional weekly lab this year due to space constraints, but some amount of
flipping will allow us to conduct about 1/2 to 2/3 of our labs during
the lecture period. In addition, with permission and funding, we will go
to the [Big Meeting Close By (BMCB)] this year.<br />
<br />
One day's international scientific meeting is worth a million labs... (of the smokin'-hot-new-science variety). Going to
the entire meeting would be equivalent to an entire grad-level course
(3 hours *14 weeks). It's [When and How Long]. I
don't know if all week is appropriate for our students, but I'm
trying to give a sense of the massive learning potential there.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
<br />
<u>[BMCB] Funding</u></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
In
the past I have taken my research lab students (7) using "course fees"
to pay for their registration costs. What funding options are available
to me for taking [Adv Course] undergrad and grad students? The registration
fees are cheap for this sort of thing, but they need to become members
of the [Science Org.] first, which is ridiculously cheap (and
looks good on their resume).</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
[Links about fees and membership]</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
There
are also guest registrations (for one day), but I'm not quite sure that
our students would count as "guests". This is intended for folks like [Philosopher of Science]
(who has joined previously in his role as a
philosopher).</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
<u>[BMCB] Logistics</u><br />
Those costs are for a week of meetings.
There are only guest (one day) and full registrations. I
will attend the entire meeting, but I haven't decided how many days to
offer for the students. My research students gladly went for all the days
and crashed on friends' couches. As expected, some of the students
became pretty saturated after a few days. It would be different as
"requirement" for a course. </div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
Financially,
for four undergrads, it's totally do-able. For 2 grad students,
probably OK, but for 9 grad students, it will need to be discussed. </div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
In practical matters (how long? how much? logistics?), the same applies.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
<br />
<u>Importance</u><br />
I'd still love to get them there somehow, for some
amount of time. It's a rare and great opportunity for them. I argue that
it is fundamentally different from other undergrad-driven data
meetings. The field of [My field] is changing SO FAST right now with
the advent of new tools, [Special Programs], etc. that
even our brand new text is out-of-date. Sitting in [Adv. Course] will teach
them about the last 20 years of the field, going to the meeting will
teach them about the NEXT ten years, the years they will participate in.</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
Thoughts?</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
<br /></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: tahoma,sans-serif;">
PUI Prof.</div>
PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-79015988718553157422014-05-30T13:36:00.001-07:002014-05-30T13:59:31.765-07:00"Add more sections" resolved and Advanced Course "stayin' alive"In <a href="http://thetwobodyproblem.blogspot.com/2014/05/add-more-sections.html" target="_blank">this previous post</a>, I relayed a risk that my load might increase substantially due to over-enrollment in one of my courses. I'm relieved to say that we found a solution by what I'll call the "Stuff 'em in" plan, which relieved me from a potential additional 2.5 hours of contact time.<br />
<br />
Moreover, I found out that my advanced specialty course was under-enrolled, and at risk of being cut by the dean. If I would have "lost" that course, there would be consequences.<br />
<ul>
<li>My load would be lighter, and my pay less (good/ bad)</li>
<li>It is taught only once every two years, so some students would have really missed out.</li>
<li>I would be sad. I love this course. It makes me happy to teach it.</li>
<li>I keep it very current. I have been working on finding material for it all year, so that work would be for naught.</li>
<li>This is the course I would be hired to teach if I ever moved institutions. It's in my specialty. Having it worked out "perfectly" an running smoothly is a high priority.</li>
<li>This is the perfect year, as the national meeting in the field will be in town this year. I'm going to take the students to the meeting if approved...</li>
</ul>
<br />
It had 4 undergraduate students pre-enrolled in it, but the masters-level students have not enrolled yet. The problem was resolved by my adept chair asking the director of the master's program to foot part of the bill, assuming that some of the grad students will enroll.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_izvAbhExY&feature=kp" target="_blank">Stayin Aliiiiiiiive, Yeah</a><br />
<br />PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3668460283955922895.post-73021426233911169522014-05-29T12:24:00.003-07:002014-05-29T12:28:07.898-07:00Maybe you could move here?Ran across a colleague at the coffee machine, a potential collaborator who is up for tenure this year.<br />
<br />
She asked "How's the research going?"<br />
Me, "All done, analyzing data"<br />
*brief description of my project*<br />
She, "How long will you be here?"<br />
Me, "About two weeks more"<br />
She, *pouty face*<br />
Me, "Hopefully I will get to come back in summers and such..."<br />
She, "I'm sure they will be looking for tenure-line faculty soon, as we are expanding."<br />
Me, "Oh, I would really like that. It would be so good for me in so many ways"<br />
<br />
<br />
It is important to me that if I were to apply for a job here at sabbatical institution, that I have the support of the other tenure-track faculty (<a href="http://thetwobodyproblem.blogspot.com/2014/02/have-we-found-solution-caveats.html" target="_blank">see here, number 2</a>). It seems on the surface, I might.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />PUI profhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12478071402571477766noreply@blogger.com0