I am testing this (ancient) blog page out because my students are having a hard time with paragraphs and spacing. They say the program won't let them add a new paragraph.
I wanted to see why - so this pointless entry in a blog over 4 years dormant is for educational purposes only.
Monday, April 28, 2008
I HATE MY JOB
At least I do right now if what I think is happening really is................
Back in March, the Dept. sat together to create our summer schedules. We've done this for years. And whatever's left goes to the adjuncts. This summer, not much is running. And there may not be any classes for adjuncts.
Until now.
We had to "put in our wish list" to see if the dean would approve it. The decree came this evening. Of the four (minimum) I need (for financial purposes), I got two.
This is not acceptable. I need the classes for money. I need the classes so I do not go broke. I didn't take them for the fun of it. I took them because I need to live. And what they pay me as a full-timer is criminal. Forcing me to work in the summer.
Ummmm...........that's every summer until now.
Back in March, the Dept. sat together to create our summer schedules. We've done this for years. And whatever's left goes to the adjuncts. This summer, not much is running. And there may not be any classes for adjuncts.
Until now.
We had to "put in our wish list" to see if the dean would approve it. The decree came this evening. Of the four (minimum) I need (for financial purposes), I got two.
This is not acceptable. I need the classes for money. I need the classes so I do not go broke. I didn't take them for the fun of it. I took them because I need to live. And what they pay me as a full-timer is criminal. Forcing me to work in the summer.
Ummmm...........that's every summer until now.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Disturbing.....................On So Many Levels
The President's Correspondants' Dinner was held this weekend. In attendance were many politicians, hollywood stars & starlets, press, and "The Hills"?
Oh yes. Heidi & Spencer. And Lauren. This irks me.
These are people who have no clue as to what goes on beyond fashion, bickering over who leaked what lies to which paper/blog site, clubbing it & parties, and MTV. And here they were--hobnobbing it with some of the Nation's most powerful and influential people.
Something is definitely wrong with this country.
Oh yes. Heidi & Spencer. And Lauren. This irks me.
These are people who have no clue as to what goes on beyond fashion, bickering over who leaked what lies to which paper/blog site, clubbing it & parties, and MTV. And here they were--hobnobbing it with some of the Nation's most powerful and influential people.
Something is definitely wrong with this country.
Defeating the Purpose
The geniuses-that-be have done it again. It was registration time and that is always a nightmare from which one can barely recover. We have, for the last nine years, done what is called "mass registration" where we sit like targets behind a long row of tables and wait for the student to approach.
Now, normal schools would have students show up with degree maps filled out, a selection of classes and codes that they need and are running at times that they have chosen, and financial aide papers completed.
Notice the use of the word "normal".
Our students have shown up, year after year, with none of the aforementioned papers. They sit down with the papers handed to the by the Regsitrar and then push the papers across the table to the poor advisor and say "Uh....Here". Many just take the papers and hand-hold the student, asking them how classes are going, what they think they need, if they want this class or that, and what days & times they'd like to attend. So many times, I would say "Hey! Why haven't you done this? Why am I supposed to be more interested in your future (and finances) than you are?" and I would slide the papers back to them and tell them to go pick out what they need and I would double-check it to see if they did it correctly.
Many many (many) schools have moved to phone-in or online proccesses and yet we still do it with face-to-face meetings and hand-holding. This semester, the College decided to divide up all of the students by the number of faculty and assign us each a group. We were given the list of names March 7th. Registration was to now work as follows: Email the students that registration has begun, they need to print their own degree map and fill it in, and then select classes. They were to email back and set up a time to meet so that I could verify that all papers are correct. They had from March 13th until April 10th to do this. I had 31 students which whom I had to meet.
I heard from five and met with three. What happened to the others? I don't know. I sent out three emails detailing times, dates, and procedure to expedite the whole thing and I got NOTHING in return.
What were we told last Monday? Take all remaining students who had not registered from our groups, fill in the degree map for them, look at their previous schedules to see if they have taken summer classes or not, and then register them for summer and fall classes, respectively.
So we just took all ownership out of their hands completely? They had to do NOTHING to continue their future as I had to be considerate of it for them? Are you kidding? And we had until that Friday to submit all of the papers. It took me ten........................yes 10.............hours to do all of them by myself.
So much for making the students responsible. I guess we showed them!
Now, normal schools would have students show up with degree maps filled out, a selection of classes and codes that they need and are running at times that they have chosen, and financial aide papers completed.
Notice the use of the word "normal".
Our students have shown up, year after year, with none of the aforementioned papers. They sit down with the papers handed to the by the Regsitrar and then push the papers across the table to the poor advisor and say "Uh....Here". Many just take the papers and hand-hold the student, asking them how classes are going, what they think they need, if they want this class or that, and what days & times they'd like to attend. So many times, I would say "Hey! Why haven't you done this? Why am I supposed to be more interested in your future (and finances) than you are?" and I would slide the papers back to them and tell them to go pick out what they need and I would double-check it to see if they did it correctly.
Many many (many) schools have moved to phone-in or online proccesses and yet we still do it with face-to-face meetings and hand-holding. This semester, the College decided to divide up all of the students by the number of faculty and assign us each a group. We were given the list of names March 7th. Registration was to now work as follows: Email the students that registration has begun, they need to print their own degree map and fill it in, and then select classes. They were to email back and set up a time to meet so that I could verify that all papers are correct. They had from March 13th until April 10th to do this. I had 31 students which whom I had to meet.
I heard from five and met with three. What happened to the others? I don't know. I sent out three emails detailing times, dates, and procedure to expedite the whole thing and I got NOTHING in return.
What were we told last Monday? Take all remaining students who had not registered from our groups, fill in the degree map for them, look at their previous schedules to see if they have taken summer classes or not, and then register them for summer and fall classes, respectively.
So we just took all ownership out of their hands completely? They had to do NOTHING to continue their future as I had to be considerate of it for them? Are you kidding? And we had until that Friday to submit all of the papers. It took me ten........................yes 10.............hours to do all of them by myself.
So much for making the students responsible. I guess we showed them!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Stop Me Before I Do It
All I can think of lately is Cowboy. I wake up to thoughts about him. I listen to songs on the radio and immediately relate them to him. I hear something funny and think of how he'd appreciate it. All I want to do is call him.
And I have been so tempted to all week. Our last contact was March 17th when I texted him that I want my money. That was it.
I haven't contacted him. I probably won't. Because he wasn't a good friend to me when I needed it. And hte last thing I said tohim (his voicemail) wasn't very nice. And he's probably engaged to the latest girl in his life and I just can't hear about it.
I do believe that he will be back in my life one day. I'm not sure how, but he and I did have a connection that is rare and should not be tossed aside.
And I am not sure a relationship, in general, would solve my cravings to call him. Its beyond that. I just feel so icky going as long as I have without contact. Why did he have to be so lousy.
And I have been so tempted to all week. Our last contact was March 17th when I texted him that I want my money. That was it.
I haven't contacted him. I probably won't. Because he wasn't a good friend to me when I needed it. And hte last thing I said tohim (his voicemail) wasn't very nice. And he's probably engaged to the latest girl in his life and I just can't hear about it.
I do believe that he will be back in my life one day. I'm not sure how, but he and I did have a connection that is rare and should not be tossed aside.
And I am not sure a relationship, in general, would solve my cravings to call him. Its beyond that. I just feel so icky going as long as I have without contact. Why did he have to be so lousy.
Greatest Line Of The Week
"Panty-line-molesting-dress"
That is a quote about "The HIlls" Heidi Montag's new fashion line. What that girl knows about fashion, I have no idea. She attended FIDM for one day. Yes. One day. And that was to go into Public Relations work. Not fashion. And yet, here she has clothes that look as if they came from an old '80s hair band video shoot.
Who in the world would actually buy the pieces? Unless it was Halloween, I don't know. Heidi should stick to what she knows: falling for loser guys and screwing over the people she calls her friends all for the sake of a few dollars.
That is a quote about "The HIlls" Heidi Montag's new fashion line. What that girl knows about fashion, I have no idea. She attended FIDM for one day. Yes. One day. And that was to go into Public Relations work. Not fashion. And yet, here she has clothes that look as if they came from an old '80s hair band video shoot.
Who in the world would actually buy the pieces? Unless it was Halloween, I don't know. Heidi should stick to what she knows: falling for loser guys and screwing over the people she calls her friends all for the sake of a few dollars.
Big Money No Whammies!
Crak and I have yet to settle our TN plans and need to get moving on that train before the Chattanooga Choochoo leaves without us. I found myself heading out there Tuesday afternoon so that we could sit and look up sites, airfare, and hotels together. Again, hard to do this now that she had to go off and get a real job ............... I may survive. We'll see.
We made some plans..........nothing written in stone yet...............and then we drove over to the Franklin Square Theater for a free showing of "21". Free because she has that cable pass and gets two tickets on Tuesdays. I loved this. Money is tight and free is good.
I loved the movie. I am not going to break down the details of the film but would love to go to Vegas. And I'd love to learn how to count cards. They had such a cool system going.....with their "sweet", "paycheck", "paper" and other code words to tell how high the deck count was when the ringer came in to gamble.
The main character, Ben (played by Jim Sturgess), was not only sweet and likeable, but very goodlooking to watch on screen. I didn't get how the girl he had a crush on, Jill (Kate Bosworth) could tell him she wasn't interested, then all-of-a-sudden like him enough to seduce him and invite him to her comped suite, and then when things get rough, disappear and hold it against him for not contacting her sooner. It lost me there. But the movie was GREAT!
The theater, however, was not. It was hot. I don't mean warm and a bit uncomfortable. I mean "Welcome to the Equator in June" hot. I thought I'd pass out and told Crak that if I happened to fall out of my seat, it wasn't because I was sleeping. It'd be heat stroke.
Top the heat off with the senior group that invaded the theater. They can't see, can't hear, and bring their own snacks in a ginormous bag. In our aisle, a husband had to tell his wife what was happening in the film. It was cute. It was comical. And it was predictable to the point that, at the end, I said practically the same thing to Crak. We laughed.
As we left the theater, we talked about counting cards & how we may not be able to work out such a system and revisited the discussion about blowing on people's dice. We'll have to try and put that plan into action this summer.
We made some plans..........nothing written in stone yet...............and then we drove over to the Franklin Square Theater for a free showing of "21". Free because she has that cable pass and gets two tickets on Tuesdays. I loved this. Money is tight and free is good.
I loved the movie. I am not going to break down the details of the film but would love to go to Vegas. And I'd love to learn how to count cards. They had such a cool system going.....with their "sweet", "paycheck", "paper" and other code words to tell how high the deck count was when the ringer came in to gamble.
The main character, Ben (played by Jim Sturgess), was not only sweet and likeable, but very goodlooking to watch on screen. I didn't get how the girl he had a crush on, Jill (Kate Bosworth) could tell him she wasn't interested, then all-of-a-sudden like him enough to seduce him and invite him to her comped suite, and then when things get rough, disappear and hold it against him for not contacting her sooner. It lost me there. But the movie was GREAT!
The theater, however, was not. It was hot. I don't mean warm and a bit uncomfortable. I mean "Welcome to the Equator in June" hot. I thought I'd pass out and told Crak that if I happened to fall out of my seat, it wasn't because I was sleeping. It'd be heat stroke.
Top the heat off with the senior group that invaded the theater. They can't see, can't hear, and bring their own snacks in a ginormous bag. In our aisle, a husband had to tell his wife what was happening in the film. It was cute. It was comical. And it was predictable to the point that, at the end, I said practically the same thing to Crak. We laughed.
As we left the theater, we talked about counting cards & how we may not be able to work out such a system and revisited the discussion about blowing on people's dice. We'll have to try and put that plan into action this summer.
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