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.
Monday, August 8, 2022
Thursday, December 15, 2016
I'm back.
Does anyone read blogs anymore?
It took a year for me to find the access to this account once I changed computers.
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.
I have missed my little community here.
It took a year for me to find the access to this account once I changed computers.
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.
I have missed my little community here.
Monday, August 17, 2015
Dual 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).
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.
I was also affirmed that the others hate the idea of "visioning" and are dreading it too.
http://www.atypicallyrelevant.com/return-to-school-post-haste/headdesk-2
Either I'm not as much of a curmudgeon as I thought or we are all curmudgeons.
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.
I was also affirmed that the others hate the idea of "visioning" and are dreading it too.
http://www.atypicallyrelevant.com/return-to-school-post-haste/headdesk-2
Either I'm not as much of a curmudgeon as I thought or we are all curmudgeons.
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
Being UG + Grad Faculty: Joys and Annoyances
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.
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.
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- whatever).
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?
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.
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.
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- whatever).
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?
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.
Monday, August 10, 2015
Prep Time: tips for new profs.
Hi Readers,
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.
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:
Block, Week, Day, Date, Note, Pre-class prep, In-class, In Lab, Due before lab
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.
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.
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 "Neurowashing" 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 (I wrote and won an intramural grant).
That's it for now, keep telling me you are reading. Thanks for your input.
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.
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:
Block, Week, Day, Date, Note, Pre-class prep, In-class, In Lab, Due before lab
- There are 4 blocks 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.
- There are traditionally 14-15 weeks per semester, and I list these. Holiday weeks, such as breaks aren't counted as weeks.
- Putting both the day and the date helps clarify things and prevent disastrous mistakes.
- Notes include seminar series speakers (not in-class time), drop dates, break days, etc.
- Pre-class prep includes the chapter reading, etc. I keep it simple for this particular freshman level class, so only text readings.
- In-class includes both lectures and POGILS (this year I am implementing quite a few of these group-discovery-based activities).
- In-Lab 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.
- Due Before Lab 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.
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.
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.
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 "Neurowashing" 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 (I wrote and won an intramural grant).
That's it for now, keep telling me you are reading. Thanks for your input.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Feeling MUCH better
Hi Readers,
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.
Last semester's hellish course 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.
I had a period of anger, depression, hopelessness, helplessness and overall stress... on my way to my "Spring Fall Apart" - 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 exactly 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).
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 themselves.
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).
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.
Last semester's hellish course 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.
I had a period of anger, depression, hopelessness, helplessness and overall stress... on my way to my "Spring Fall Apart" - 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 exactly 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).
http://hdwallpapers-desktop.com/Random-Wallpapers/imagepages/image45.htm
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).
Friday, January 23, 2015
SQUEE! 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?
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.
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
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.
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).
I have read:
https://chroniclevitae.com/news/224-the-professor-is-in-how-to-score-that-elusive-spousal-hire
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Intricacies-of-Spousal/65456/
https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2014/06/04/essay-what-its-be-spousal-hire-faculty-job
http://theprofessorisin.com/2014/01/03/a-successful-spousal-hire-a-guest-post/
http://academic-jungle.blogspot.com/2010/05/spousal-hiring-reason-you-don-have.html
What other resources of suggestions do you have?
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.
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
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.
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).
I have read:
https://chroniclevitae.com/news/224-the-professor-is-in-how-to-score-that-elusive-spousal-hire
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Intricacies-of-Spousal/65456/
https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2014/06/04/essay-what-its-be-spousal-hire-faculty-job
http://theprofessorisin.com/2014/01/03/a-successful-spousal-hire-a-guest-post/
http://academic-jungle.blogspot.com/2010/05/spousal-hiring-reason-you-don-have.html
What other resources of suggestions do you have?
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
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
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
Friday, January 16, 2015
Getting crushed by the popular girl, er, prof.
Well, that was a hellish semester.
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.
The worst was the popular colleague. This feels like junior high, all those social comparison anxieties...
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.
Other colleagues think she's the bees knees, and to top it all off, she just got a sizable research grant.
Oh, junior high insecurity, I so thought I was over you!
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 mean girl), and I tried to implement some of her methods, but they felt awkward and wrong for me.
This was a bit comforting at the time:
http://johnstahlwert.com/2014/10/why-you-need-to-keep-being-you-at-work/
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 (see here for our institutional culture).
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.
Any baby steps you can suggest?
Oh, PS, my sabbatical work final revision was just sent in today. It should be in press soon. :)
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.
The worst was the popular colleague. This feels like junior high, all those social comparison anxieties...
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.
Other colleagues think she's the bees knees, and to top it all off, she just got a sizable research grant.
Oh, junior high insecurity, I so thought I was over you!
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 mean girl), and I tried to implement some of her methods, but they felt awkward and wrong for me.
This was a bit comforting at the time:
http://johnstahlwert.com/2014/10/why-you-need-to-keep-being-you-at-work/
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 (see here for our institutional culture).
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.
Any baby steps you can suggest?
Oh, PS, my sabbatical work final revision was just sent in today. It should be in press soon. :)
Sunday, December 14, 2014
He 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'm impressed by his CV, but they may want another sub-specialty.
He had recently given a talk there, which apparently went very well.
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.
Send us your good luck wishes. Our two body solution could be nigh. Or not.
*CNS = Cell, Nature, Science. High impact journals.
He had recently given a talk there, which apparently went very well.
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.
Send us your good luck wishes. Our two body solution could be nigh. Or not.
*CNS = Cell, Nature, Science. High impact journals.
Good advocate, you!
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 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.
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.
Tuesday, December 2, 2014
Adjusting to weaker students
In 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.
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
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
- answering more e-mails regarding learning software issues "Prof, I can't get this to upload right"
- spending more time clarifying instructions "I don't understand what we are supposed to do"
- providing an unprecedented level of support for studying
- from learning objectives: "Be able to describe the molecular mechanisms of such and such"
- to question by question instructions "Be able to answer questions 4, 5, 6B and 6C"
- Have thick skin when blamed for student's poor grades in the course
- Have thick skin when faced with pervasive disengagement despite herculean efforts to be student-centered
- Have the wisdom to not let the "it's because our students are weaker" become a self-fulfilling prophesy
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Submitted a grant today
Hi All,
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.
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504976
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.
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504976
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
I am Wheel. Hear me squeak.
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:
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
Hi Everybody,
I really haven't received any information about a time in which I can expect to move into an office, *ANY* office.
I had hoped to move into Clara Colleague's office because, well, it's a very pretty space... but its still occupied.
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.
Hunting down a key for that room took time I really didn't have to spend.
Hunting down a key for that room took time I really didn't have to spend.
In addition, all the offices in the New Office Place are dirty and have trash in them.
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 .
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.
I am Wheel. Hear me squeak. :)
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.
Sincerely,
At the End of my Rope.
AKA Phooey Prof, er PUI Prof.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Spooling up to a frenetic start
Whoooo, 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.
In other news...
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.
For example, I asked, "Did everyone read the first chapter?" Nods and hands.
"Ok, what stuck out to you, what was new and what did you know already?"
*crickets chirping*
Ohh, this is going to have to take a different tack...
Ideas?
In other news...
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.
For example, I asked, "Did everyone read the first chapter?" Nods and hands.
"Ok, what stuck out to you, what was new and what did you know already?"
*crickets chirping*
Ohh, this is going to have to take a different tack...
Ideas?
Friday, August 22, 2014
I did this crazy thing...
I sent a gift to the faculty that bailed on us at the last minute.
We had a faculty bail out of hir contract last minute, please see yesterday's post. I'll call this person Dr. Bailer. Our department chair would not elaborate on the reasons why he/she left.
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.
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 dont. talk. about. 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.
I was recently inspired by this interview:
http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/mental-illness-church-amy-simpson
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".
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.
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.
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.
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?
We had a faculty bail out of hir contract last minute, please see yesterday's post. I'll call this person Dr. Bailer. Our department chair would not elaborate on the reasons why he/she left.
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.
http://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com/2012/09/the-elephant-in-room.html
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 dont. talk. about. 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.
I was recently inspired by this interview:
http://rachelheldevans.com/blog/mental-illness-church-amy-simpson
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".
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.
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.
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.
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?
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Nothing could be worse.
...in our context than what just happened.
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.
Anybody wanna teach Chemistry in a cute college town? Send a message.
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.
Anybody wanna teach Chemistry in a cute college town? Send a message.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Chronicle's "Vitae" becoming pointless
I 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.
https://chroniclevitae.com/
Seems targeted, right?
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.
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.
__________________________________________________________________
https://chroniclevitae.com/
Seems targeted, right?
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.
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.
__________________________________________________________________
Central Washington University in Washington, United States
posted on June 10
|
|
Central Washington University in Washington, United States
posted on June 03
|
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
reading suggestion
On ‘Poor Husbands’ and Two-Body Problems
On ‘Poor Husbands’ and Two-Body Problems
On ‘Poor Husbands’ and Two-Body Problems
Friday, July 11, 2014
We won the lottery!
Random bullets of not-necessarily crap:
Just noticed: Happy 500 posts to this blog!
- 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.
- Trying to analyze data from my sabbatical. Will need to go back for one more experiment at the end of this month.
- Meanwhile, time to read and choose textbooks for Fall courses ASAP.
- 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...
- 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...
- 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!!!
Just noticed: Happy 500 posts to this blog!
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Back to separated
The family and almost all of our stuff have now returned to our modest town home in our modest-sized city.
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.
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.
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.
http://www.catsofaustralia.com/cute_kitten_pictures_7.htm
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.
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.
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.
http://www.catsofaustralia.com/cute_kitten_pictures_7.htm
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