| continuation |
[Oct. 20th, 2006|11:39 am] |
Sorry about that, I had someone come into the office for help.
Anyway, I asked for a raise because other departments give adjuncts 25% more money for teaching similar courses and I do great job. I made a great graphic showing how superior my evaluations were than the entire university or the math department. I hate to toot my own horn too much, but I really do a great job for them and I do much more than a typical adjunct. The meeting went well, the department head is looking for places to find money and seems optimistic. If this were the corporate world, I'd say he was blowing me off, but academics are generally different.
The bottom line is that I'll continue to do it even if he finds no money, but I will ask around at related departments to gauge their interest.
Today is a quieter day - still much to do but I don't feel like I have that feeling that I'm missing something.
Our weekend will be loaded with activities, but that's OK. More later.... |
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| Busy |
[Oct. 19th, 2006|02:57 pm] |
Today is a busy day.
I get a day off from work every week, and I started my Thursdays with stuff. I used to stay home and grade a few papers, rest (I do a pretty tiring workout on Thursday mornings), and in general relax. Since my weekends are filled with stuff around the house or with the kids, I viewed Thursdays as my "weekend". I teach a class in the late afternoon, which is a lot of fun.
Despite this great arrangement, I decided I wasn't being productive enough so I popped my name on a list of people who could tutor in mathematics. Slowly my schedule filled up and now I spend 3-4 hours tutoring (which is very enjoyable and good money to boot). Despite these benefits, I no longer have time that is really contemplative time - you know - time to focus on nothing other my own existence, my breathing, etc. Time that really refreshes.
I am, of course, completely in control of how much time I spend tutoring as opposed to just hanging out. Normally, I'd say I was being lured into the tutoring by the money, but its also the one on one work helping people understand stuff they really want to understand. This is why I went into teaching - I love helping people learn. Most of the students at my regular job really have little desire to learn, they want to pass the class. WHen I tutor, there are some folks who just want to pass the class, and others who really want to understand. Getting those people to where they want to be is a rush for me. No matter how tired I might be, a good one-on-one session perks me up and makes me raring to go.
Today I asked for a raise. As an adjunct, I get paid very little (but I do love teaching and tutoring so its really worth it). I put together a slick exhibit showing how good a teacher I am (exceptional student reviews 7 semesters in a row).
To be continued,,, |
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| Freshmen are so much fun..... |
[Sep. 27th, 2006|08:37 am] |
I gave out the last of the first wave of exams yesterday afternoon. I explained my policy whereby doing well on the final can replace a low score on an hourly exam with a higher score - thus erasing the sins of the past with the knowledge of today.
One gal in the back row raised her hand and asked if she could do this on all three hourly exams - Yes I responded. Can poor performance on the final bring down exam scores? Nope I said - I may be unusual but I am not cruel. Her hand went in the air again. With all the earnest nature her 18 year old brain could muster she said: What if I do poorly on the exams AND on the final? What then? I took a breath to let the question settle and responded: Then you do poorly in the course. Welcome to college!
She looked deeply hurt.............. |
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| Handing back exams |
[Sep. 25th, 2006|07:52 pm] |
Day 1 of handing back exams is done, only four more to go!
The advanced class actually did OK, but a few were very disappointed. I think this will light a fire under their butts!
The (how do I say this politely) lower level class had 30% of the class under a 40, which even after the curve is an F. Some of these folks definitely do not belong in college. One guy got a 19 but he offered to redo the exam. I counter-offered with some extra problems that should serve the dual role of increasing his score AND getting him to study more in order to get them right. He participates in class and is very personable, so he deserves another shot at success.
The class ended on an incredibly funny note. I needed a piece of scrap paper to write down the extra problems for Mr. 19, so I pulled a clean sheet of doodle paper from the trash. Clearly it had been recently deposited by one of my students. On the top of the page one type of handwriting wrote "I'm gay with my teacher". Under it was the response "I'm a but (sic) slut for my professor". I tried to imagine who was doodling a lot in the class and drew that curious conclusion that there weren't many Male / Female pairs seated in the class. The likelihood that it was written by two guys definitely lowered the fantasy level in my head a few notches!
Funny side effect: Mr. 19 read the notes and became rather embarrassed by them. I guess that in his culture (he's a foreign student), students don't make comments like this!
I wish their creativity would translate to better math scores!
Tomorrow I give the bad news to two more sections. What fun...... |
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| Annual First semester depression |
[Sep. 24th, 2006|03:57 pm] |
Well, I'm a week into my annual two week depression.
Last week I gave my first exams of the semester, and this coming week I hand them back. It never ceases to amaze me how some students are just not cut out for college. I teach three sections of College Algebra (it's the same math my middle school-age kids are learning) to a bunch of 18-year-olds. They appear to get the material (judging from their head nods) but when push comes to shove (i.e. the actual exam) it is clear that they are much better at faking knowing the material than they are at actually learning it.
The worst part is handing back the exams. These kids (sorry - students) have a combination of a "deer in the headlights look" and a "learned helplessness look". Many where I teach take Algebra 3-4 times before they actually pass it. It's actually very sad that they are so accepting of poor performance. The ones that bother to come by my office learn a lot and generally do well. The others follow the maxim: "as ye sow so shall ye reap". I prefer the following restatement: "Life is like a sewer, what you get out of it depends on what you put into it".
By Spring semester, a lot of these students will wash out of college and work for Mom or Dad. They will never get satisfaction from a job they did well and will always feel like without the family's help they would be nowhere. What a shame! Once Spring comes along, the freshmen are a bit more mature and they realize that college is different from high school. Spring semester classes are much more pleasant!
Oh well, back to grading these exams. Maybe if I introduce a competition between the three sections they will try harder. Whatever works! |
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| The inside world and the outside world |
[Sep. 20th, 2006|12:37 pm] |
Driving into work today it seemed like my mind was all over the place. The ride is usually calm and predictable, so I was thinking of the email I got early this morning. One of my top students emailed to tell me that she would not be around for a while because her stepfather just committed suicide. What a dreadful thing for a 19 year old to face - more comforting her mother than anything else, but also that relationships with step parents are so complex. I felt very badly for her and I'll do whatever is necessary to bring her back to speed when she return to campus.
This little shock completely tossed from my fore-brain my recent obsession with an extremely attractive woman in one of my classes. I found her myspace entry and felt very voyeuristic reading about her casual sex life and her new-found concerns about "settling down". All very appropriate for a 21 year old, but it felt weird seeing such personal details about a student. Would she feel strange knowing I've read the entry? I'm sure. Would she feel strange knowing I feel very attracted to her? Who knows? It will be hard to treat her like any other member of the class given that I made the very conscious effort to learn more about her. Ah - the perils of teaching a class of almost thirty college women. It's tough, but someones got to do it.
Anyway, I pass a small pond on the way to work, and this morning I bothered to scrutinize it in the two seconds it takes me to pass it by. The wisps of fog over the surface of the water were locally regular but globally irregular. A microcosm of a complicated mathematical equation. And it was changing every instant. It was spellbinding for the brief second I saw it.
Now that it's 5 hours later, the image remains. It's an image of constant change and activity within a milieu that has likely been unchanged for centuries. I think it was telling me something, but I'm not sure what it is.
My first thought was to relate it to my student's stepfather's death. Despite the fact that his wisp of life has gone, the other wisps continue to grow and evolve and ultimately disappear as well. I found this a bit comforting - in contrary to my usually hyper-rational approach to emotions.
My second thought was that the wisps are like the women who cross paths with me. I have always been afraid to act on my attractions. Who knows why? - it goes back to my childhood. I have always allowed them to slowly disappear without any meaningful interaction. I would like to change that, but maybe the pond was telling me something about that too. |
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