It seems that this semester I have a surprisingly large number of students who are absent a lot for anxiety issues. I think I don't quite get it, don't quite really understand how difficult their level of anxiety is. I just want to say, "get your rear in gear and get to class." But I don't, because I think their issues are way more difficult than I comprehend.
I admit I've sort of lost track of how often their absences are self-reported anxiety. And how often they're absent without saying anything to me about it.
I have a fairly strict absence policy in my syllabus. Three unexcused (like official excuses) are okay, and then starting with number four there's a grade penalty. But I can't figure out how to handle the anxious students when I think they're probably anxious even if they don't email to tell me that.
And what about the other student who've missed classes? How do I handle them?
And the "I don't feel good" students who miss more than three? I'm not going to tell students they feel good; how could I? But I'm also not especially sympathetic about hangovers.
And then there's the depression problem. One student told me they were depressed because it was nearing the anniversary of the death of a loved one. I can see that might make things difficult. But I really don't know what to do if the person's absent a bunch.
We have presentations around here to help us understand when students have mental health problems, and to try to convince us to be sympathetic and helpful. But they never really get to what would actually be helpful. (One of the folks who came to talk to us suggested that it would be a radical new idea to give students a couple of days when they could not come to class if they weren't feeling well; but the three unexcused absences thing is something people were doing back in the bronze age when I was a student. So not really new or radical.)
I'm no counselor, but I do try to convince students to make an appointment. And when they tell me nothing's open for three or four weeks? What do I do?
I need to have a better sense of when what a student needs is to be told to get their rear in gear and when they need something else.
And I wonder how they're going to manage with a job? I can't imagine my employer would be especially sympathetic if I suddenly started taking days and days off because I'm not feeling well or am anxious. I'd run out of sick leave and then? (My colleagues are amazingly good at stepping up and filling in for folks who are ill or have family responsibilities. But I think patience would run thin for anxiety or depression problems.)
Showing posts with label local culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label local culture. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Monday, May 13, 2019
Week 52/66: Working at the Library and Playing in London
What a busy time it's been! Since I last wrote, I had a lovely visit with my cousin's daughter, M, who's studying at St. Andrew's. (M is A's sister, the ballet dancer I visited in Pittsburgh.) First, like A, M is wonderful. Gosh, my cousins have been doing a great job raising kids! M is kind and nice, also smart, feminist, and fun!
M got here in the mid-afternoon Saturday, to King's Cross, and I showed her the British Library first. Then off to our hotel. We had a few minutes in the British Museum (before it closed) and then went and saw The Play that Goes Wrong together, and enjoyed that. The next morning, we went to see the changing of the guard along with a couple thousand of our closest friends. I didn't see much, but I hope that M, being a tad taller and nearer, was able to see a bit more. We walked from there to Horse Guards Parade, which was closed for a service (but saw a band march by), and then on to the Tower! As usual, the Tower was fun. We spent most of the day there, and then went over the Thames to Southwark, had dinner, and went to see Pericles.
Pericles was very good. They played it with a cast of 8, which necessitated some cutting (They cut the "read aloud the shield things" for example). But the energy was good, the audience reactive, and the played moved well. I thought they did an especially good job with the Antiochus/incest part, and with Pericles communicating his fears about Simonides.
In the age of "Me, too," I was worried that the prostitution part, or the "Marina's too pure to be prostituted" part would feel flat, but it didn't. Marina was just great at playing that seriously, but not innocently. She was really good.
The next morning, Monday, we reconvened and M chose the Tate Modern for the morning. We'd figured we would spend the morning at the Tate Modern and then go to the British Museum for a bit before her train, but the Tate Modern was so good that we spent the time there. She can come back for more another time.
On Tuesday, back to the Library, except I left early to see a matinee of 12th Night. This was played by the same 8 person cast that played Pericles, and again, the small cast necessitated some cuts (which I noticed more because I've taught it a fair bit.) It was very good! They cross-gender cast the four romantic roles, but not Malvolio or Antonio. Feste was super.
I walked and ate at The George in Southwark, which is supposed to be one of the oldest staging pubs in London. The food was okay, the ambience okay...
This picture is from the 1853 edition. But I've looked at the 1609 edition, and there aren't any images, certainly not this fabulous bear eating the guy's head. I haven't been able to figure out where the image came from, or if it's later (as I suspect) and thus couldn't have inspired Shakespeare.
I've been falling into two holes, good ones, I think, one about the bears, and one about arts and such, which I think is actually way more fruitful right now. I was reading Henry Peacham's Graphice, from 1609, and found some fun additions:
M got here in the mid-afternoon Saturday, to King's Cross, and I showed her the British Library first. Then off to our hotel. We had a few minutes in the British Museum (before it closed) and then went and saw The Play that Goes Wrong together, and enjoyed that. The next morning, we went to see the changing of the guard along with a couple thousand of our closest friends. I didn't see much, but I hope that M, being a tad taller and nearer, was able to see a bit more. We walked from there to Horse Guards Parade, which was closed for a service (but saw a band march by), and then on to the Tower! As usual, the Tower was fun. We spent most of the day there, and then went over the Thames to Southwark, had dinner, and went to see Pericles.
Pericles was very good. They played it with a cast of 8, which necessitated some cutting (They cut the "read aloud the shield things" for example). But the energy was good, the audience reactive, and the played moved well. I thought they did an especially good job with the Antiochus/incest part, and with Pericles communicating his fears about Simonides.
In the age of "Me, too," I was worried that the prostitution part, or the "Marina's too pure to be prostituted" part would feel flat, but it didn't. Marina was just great at playing that seriously, but not innocently. She was really good.
The next morning, Monday, we reconvened and M chose the Tate Modern for the morning. We'd figured we would spend the morning at the Tate Modern and then go to the British Museum for a bit before her train, but the Tate Modern was so good that we spent the time there. She can come back for more another time.
On Tuesday, back to the Library, except I left early to see a matinee of 12th Night. This was played by the same 8 person cast that played Pericles, and again, the small cast necessitated some cuts (which I noticed more because I've taught it a fair bit.) It was very good! They cross-gender cast the four romantic roles, but not Malvolio or Antonio. Feste was super.
I walked and ate at The George in Southwark, which is supposed to be one of the oldest staging pubs in London. The food was okay, the ambience okay...
I have to admit that I like the uneven stuff you sometimes see with older buildings.
That night, I went to see 1 Henry IV, played by the same cast that had played H5, except with a much fuller house, on a nicer evening, and voila, much more energetic performance. They did the fighting mostly by waving around flags, which I thought worked pretty darned well. Hotspur was outstanding. Hal only slightly less so. Falstaff didn't do much for me. A woman played the role, but I don't think that was it. I'm not sure...
On Wednesday, I spent an almost full day at the Library, but then went to 2H4, and it was a drizzly feeling evening (I don't think it actually drizzled, but if felt like it might), cool, and the crowd was VERY thin (and got thinner after the intermission). And the play just felt flat. Hal was very good in the crown scene, but Falstaff wore on me. H4 was good throughout. It might be that the play just has never worked as well for me as part 1.
The rest of the week was, predictably, Library time! And a very good time it was!
I read about this travel narrative by Gerrit de Veer about the exploration voyages of William Barents (1594, 1595, 1596), and read that the Winter's Tale bear eating bit might have been inspired by an image there: (Sorry to be sideways; I've tried to correct it.) (Notice the Paddleboarders in the mid-ground!)
I've been falling into two holes, good ones, I think, one about the bears, and one about arts and such, which I think is actually way more fruitful right now. I was reading Henry Peacham's Graphice, from 1609, and found some fun additions:
The date of 1678 make this too late for the poet Thomas Carew, but there's a lawyer of that name on Wikipedia active at that time, who died a couple of years later. I have no idea who the shield thing belongs to, but if anyone has thoughts, I'd love to learn!
Okay, more later on my big Sunday outing!
Monday, June 25, 2018
Week 6/66: Conversations
I went to a "town hall" meeting held by the Republican senator from my state, and it was literally held in a town hall of a town that's got maybe 800 people. The senator's "people" had communicated only (as they later said) with local(ish) people who had called or written the senator's office, and told only those people about the meeting.
So one of my friends was told, and spread the news. But then someone else told her it was a different time. So there was much confusion and denial from his staffers that 1) there was any meeting at all, 2) that they couldn't give any information, and 3) yes, there's a meeting, but it's an hour earlier than had been announced.
I called the local TV channel news office and they hadn't heard anything.
But my friend drove, and someone else came, too, and I went, and we drove for an hour.
We were all (as we talked about later) expecting this to be a meeting with lots of MAGA hats and much conservative cheering. My friend had been told that Republican politicians holding town meetings weren't allowing anyone to record them, and their staffers were temporarily confiscating phones and such, so she had three devices to record, one of which you couldn't tell was recording because it looked like it's off. Just in case.
She's also heard that Republican politicians were holding town halls that were mostly just talking points and pre-screened questions.
Anyway, we got there early, and sat in the second row. And gradually, before the senator arrived, the room filled. There were folks wearing dairy cooperative shirts, and one MAGA hat worn by a very young man, there was a Native American veteran, and some other men in veteran's gear (like hats saying "Navy Vet" or whatever). And there were some folks wearing shirts with the name of a local Democratic politician. And the Democratic politician himself.
Introductions happened, and the local town council folks were introduced, a couple politicians at different levels, and then the senator. And if he thought this was going to be a really friendly crowd, he was wrong. And since we thought that, so were we.
The questions started at the immigration problem (as in, children being incarcerated and people seeking asylum being treated badly), and went from there to Social Security, health care, the farm bill (with a heavy dose of "don't mess with people who need SNAP, just help dairy farmers make a living"), and to NRA funding (he pretended to be unaware that the NRA ever donated money to him, but also refused to refrain from accepting further NRA money. It was interesting, and plenty of people called him out quite forcefully when he BSed (about how people come to be undocumented in the US, mostly NOT by crossing the border illegally as he asserted).
The senator answered questions for over an hour, and there was ONE that seemed sympathetic, and I was surprised at that one. (The man who identified as a Native American veteran wanted to use gambling casino tax revenues to build the wall.)
My take aways: a lot of folks came from my small city. And we had a lot in common with the folks who came from the dairy cooperative and who seemed to come from local small communities. We're all concerned about Social Security. We're all concerned about children being incarcerated when their parents seek asylum or try to enter the country without documentation (or overstay visas). We all want farmers to be able to make a living.
No one recited any slogans, and everyone listened respectfully to each other.
I was impressed that the senator seemed smart and knowledgeable, though we're very opposed ideologically.
I read somewhere that most people really do think what they're doing is right and reasonable. (The context was about spies.) And that seemed pretty true of this crowd. We disagreed on some fundamental solutions to problems, and on the sorts of things we see as problems, but I got the feeling that people were reasonably well informed (and some more than that, and most more than me) and really did want to solve the problems they think are important.
And yet, look at how my state votes. It's hard to reconcile the two: what I saw at the meeting, and the way this state votes.
***
I had coffee and a long conversation with a new colleague. I'm sorry to say, they seem very young and not very interesting. (Those two don't necessarily go together, of course.) I'm feeling a little "old guard" about them, I'm afraid. I hope they end up being wonderful, though.
***
I did more biking this week and no hiking. There was weather, and there was not feeling well, and there was keeping busy.
So much to do, and the time is rushing by!
So one of my friends was told, and spread the news. But then someone else told her it was a different time. So there was much confusion and denial from his staffers that 1) there was any meeting at all, 2) that they couldn't give any information, and 3) yes, there's a meeting, but it's an hour earlier than had been announced.
I called the local TV channel news office and they hadn't heard anything.
But my friend drove, and someone else came, too, and I went, and we drove for an hour.
We were all (as we talked about later) expecting this to be a meeting with lots of MAGA hats and much conservative cheering. My friend had been told that Republican politicians holding town meetings weren't allowing anyone to record them, and their staffers were temporarily confiscating phones and such, so she had three devices to record, one of which you couldn't tell was recording because it looked like it's off. Just in case.
She's also heard that Republican politicians were holding town halls that were mostly just talking points and pre-screened questions.
Anyway, we got there early, and sat in the second row. And gradually, before the senator arrived, the room filled. There were folks wearing dairy cooperative shirts, and one MAGA hat worn by a very young man, there was a Native American veteran, and some other men in veteran's gear (like hats saying "Navy Vet" or whatever). And there were some folks wearing shirts with the name of a local Democratic politician. And the Democratic politician himself.
Introductions happened, and the local town council folks were introduced, a couple politicians at different levels, and then the senator. And if he thought this was going to be a really friendly crowd, he was wrong. And since we thought that, so were we.
The questions started at the immigration problem (as in, children being incarcerated and people seeking asylum being treated badly), and went from there to Social Security, health care, the farm bill (with a heavy dose of "don't mess with people who need SNAP, just help dairy farmers make a living"), and to NRA funding (he pretended to be unaware that the NRA ever donated money to him, but also refused to refrain from accepting further NRA money. It was interesting, and plenty of people called him out quite forcefully when he BSed (about how people come to be undocumented in the US, mostly NOT by crossing the border illegally as he asserted).
The senator answered questions for over an hour, and there was ONE that seemed sympathetic, and I was surprised at that one. (The man who identified as a Native American veteran wanted to use gambling casino tax revenues to build the wall.)
My take aways: a lot of folks came from my small city. And we had a lot in common with the folks who came from the dairy cooperative and who seemed to come from local small communities. We're all concerned about Social Security. We're all concerned about children being incarcerated when their parents seek asylum or try to enter the country without documentation (or overstay visas). We all want farmers to be able to make a living.
No one recited any slogans, and everyone listened respectfully to each other.
I was impressed that the senator seemed smart and knowledgeable, though we're very opposed ideologically.
I read somewhere that most people really do think what they're doing is right and reasonable. (The context was about spies.) And that seemed pretty true of this crowd. We disagreed on some fundamental solutions to problems, and on the sorts of things we see as problems, but I got the feeling that people were reasonably well informed (and some more than that, and most more than me) and really did want to solve the problems they think are important.
And yet, look at how my state votes. It's hard to reconcile the two: what I saw at the meeting, and the way this state votes.
***
I had coffee and a long conversation with a new colleague. I'm sorry to say, they seem very young and not very interesting. (Those two don't necessarily go together, of course.) I'm feeling a little "old guard" about them, I'm afraid. I hope they end up being wonderful, though.
***
I did more biking this week and no hiking. There was weather, and there was not feeling well, and there was keeping busy.
So much to do, and the time is rushing by!
Thursday, January 18, 2018
Professional Development
The other day, I went to a professional development session that was supposed to be on diversity. It wasn't so much on diversity as it was on communication strategies. And then it played up the sort of super magic (white) teacher who can make all the difference if just... So that wasn't good. But some of the communication strategies were interesting.
The leader had us all get together with someone we'd never met. So I ended up with someone who's on the facilities side of the university, someone who does work that's pretty much completely different from mine, whose work rarely involves contact with students (though some student workers, maybe). At least that was interesting.
How much contact do you have with people on your campuses who's work is totally different from your own? I don't have much. I know some administrative folks, of course, and administrative assistants, and some of the janitors who work in my building. But other than that? Not much. I don't know food workers (except for in my building), maintenance or budgeting folks, and so on. To be honest, I don't really think much about the people who manage stuff that's not overtly centered on students.
The leader had us all get together with someone we'd never met. So I ended up with someone who's on the facilities side of the university, someone who does work that's pretty much completely different from mine, whose work rarely involves contact with students (though some student workers, maybe). At least that was interesting.
How much contact do you have with people on your campuses who's work is totally different from your own? I don't have much. I know some administrative folks, of course, and administrative assistants, and some of the janitors who work in my building. But other than that? Not much. I don't know food workers (except for in my building), maintenance or budgeting folks, and so on. To be honest, I don't really think much about the people who manage stuff that's not overtly centered on students.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Going to a Talk in Town
I went to a talk yesterday evening sponsored by a social justice group, and given by a colleague I respect immensely. The talk was held in a newish space, one attached to a small shop associated with a local arts magazine, and was standing room only, which, in this space, probably means 40-50 people showed up (I counted chairs one one side of the room and used that to start my estimate).
The talk was great, as I expected.
What I really noticed, though, were the folks who set things up, the board of the sponsoring group. I recognized a few of them, and know one from a lot of interactions around. The thing is, I wouldn't have guessed she'd be a leader in a social justice group.
Her name is Mildred, and she's an older woman, probably in her 70s, white, always well-dressed in a classy way, who comes to community talks on Shakespeare and such, and who is also friends with another friend of mine, also a retired woman.
The other board members of this group seem also to be mostly women of, shall we say, a certain age.
Of course, these white women have all been active in social justice work for a long time, before the arts magazine started, before my colleague and I were hired here, they've been working, often quietly in the background (as last night), but working nonetheless.
The local arts magazine gets a lot of attention around here, along with related projects. And mostly, all that attention is about men. And they make all the right sounds about social justice.
But in the background, those same women come and go, working as they have for years, with little attention and little credit.
I'm feeling humbled by Mildred and the other women who've been working in my community all this time without my really noticing.
The talk was great, as I expected.
What I really noticed, though, were the folks who set things up, the board of the sponsoring group. I recognized a few of them, and know one from a lot of interactions around. The thing is, I wouldn't have guessed she'd be a leader in a social justice group.
Her name is Mildred, and she's an older woman, probably in her 70s, white, always well-dressed in a classy way, who comes to community talks on Shakespeare and such, and who is also friends with another friend of mine, also a retired woman.
The other board members of this group seem also to be mostly women of, shall we say, a certain age.
Of course, these white women have all been active in social justice work for a long time, before the arts magazine started, before my colleague and I were hired here, they've been working, often quietly in the background (as last night), but working nonetheless.
The local arts magazine gets a lot of attention around here, along with related projects. And mostly, all that attention is about men. And they make all the right sounds about social justice.
But in the background, those same women come and go, working as they have for years, with little attention and little credit.
I'm feeling humbled by Mildred and the other women who've been working in my community all this time without my really noticing.
Monday, February 29, 2016
Rereading Gawain
Over the past ten years or more, I've participated a number of times in a small "scholarship" program my department has with the local public library. Basically, each semester, there's a small sum of money (we call this sum a "donut fund" because you could use it to buy donuts for the department a couple of times a year, but that's about it), and it goes to a faculty member who runs a four session (usually over four or five weeks) program at the local public library.
In 2005, I wrote about doing my first program, on The Winter's Tale here and here (it actually ran in spring 2006, so ten years ago!). Then in 2010, I did a program on some of The Canterbury Tales. I also did a program one year on Macbeth, another on films and Henry V, and another year on some early modern lyric poems. So I've been pretty active with the program over the years.
This year, I'm doing a program on Gawain and the Green Knight. The last session is tomorrow, so tonight I was rereading the final part of the poem (using Simon Armitage's translation), and oh, what a poem.
I think I'm more aware of my failings these days, because I find myself feeling much more charitable about Gawain this reading. (It's probably been about 10 years since I've taught Gawain. I haven't taught it very often, a couple of times in an old style survey, and a couple of times in a texts course.) I was pretty teary-eyed during the ax scene.
I'm looking forward to the discussion. We had fun last week talking about the hunting scenes (outside and in). I wonder how some of the group will find this part!
In 2005, I wrote about doing my first program, on The Winter's Tale here and here (it actually ran in spring 2006, so ten years ago!). Then in 2010, I did a program on some of The Canterbury Tales. I also did a program one year on Macbeth, another on films and Henry V, and another year on some early modern lyric poems. So I've been pretty active with the program over the years.
This year, I'm doing a program on Gawain and the Green Knight. The last session is tomorrow, so tonight I was rereading the final part of the poem (using Simon Armitage's translation), and oh, what a poem.
I think I'm more aware of my failings these days, because I find myself feeling much more charitable about Gawain this reading. (It's probably been about 10 years since I've taught Gawain. I haven't taught it very often, a couple of times in an old style survey, and a couple of times in a texts course.) I was pretty teary-eyed during the ax scene.
I'm looking forward to the discussion. We had fun last week talking about the hunting scenes (outside and in). I wonder how some of the group will find this part!
Monday, June 29, 2015
Weekend
I had a pretty much perfect weekend.
It started Friday afternoon, when I read that there's a Northern Mockingbird nesting in the area, and went to see. A couple other birders were there, and they helped me find it at first, and then I walked around and saw the parents feeding the kids.
Here's a parent with a face full ready to go feed the kid.
A friend of mine emailed about taking a bike ride, so we met on Saturday for a ride, starting from a point a bit out of town, and going further out, so that she'd see a new part of the local trail. We were chatting along, and talking about a sort of local famous author's place of birth, so we decided to go in the afternoon.
It's about an hour drive away, near a place where I sometimes go to ride my bike up a road to a bakery (weekends only) and then back. Along the way, we passed the turn off to a really great pizza place out in the middle of farms, and we talked about how good it is. We went to the little author museum, and then drove to the bakery, but alas, it was closed. Then we went to the birth site and looked around.
We talked about getting ice cream at a creamery not far, and then I had this idea that we could skip the ice cream and go for pizza (and get ice cream there if we chose). My friend thought that was a good idea, so off we went.
And it was a very good idea.
It started Friday afternoon, when I read that there's a Northern Mockingbird nesting in the area, and went to see. A couple other birders were there, and they helped me find it at first, and then I walked around and saw the parents feeding the kids.
Here's a parent with a face full ready to go feed the kid.
A friend of mine emailed about taking a bike ride, so we met on Saturday for a ride, starting from a point a bit out of town, and going further out, so that she'd see a new part of the local trail. We were chatting along, and talking about a sort of local famous author's place of birth, so we decided to go in the afternoon.
It's about an hour drive away, near a place where I sometimes go to ride my bike up a road to a bakery (weekends only) and then back. Along the way, we passed the turn off to a really great pizza place out in the middle of farms, and we talked about how good it is. We went to the little author museum, and then drove to the bakery, but alas, it was closed. Then we went to the birth site and looked around.
We talked about getting ice cream at a creamery not far, and then I had this idea that we could skip the ice cream and go for pizza (and get ice cream there if we chose). My friend thought that was a good idea, so off we went.
And it was a very good idea.
This is the back of the pizza place. Behind the camera is a corn field. Off to the left is a field. Off to the right is a mowed area for kids to play. And all around, farms. But this place is packed. And the reason it's packed is because it's so amazingly good. The pizza has this amazing thin crust, and the toppings are light (at least on the pizzas I prefer here), and they're delicious and practically melt in your mouth with goodness. (I hadn't been here for at least a year, and they've added more covered areas, so there's more shade for eating.)
I think they open at 4:30, and by the time we got there at 5pm, we were #40 on the order list. And before long, I saw a person with #80 pass. It's a fairly long wait for the pizza, even though each takes about two minutes to cook, because they can cook only two at a time in the wood fired stone oven.
That was Saturday.
Sunday, I was sort of frustrated by this dirty carpet in my living room. What with having plants in there all winter, it was gross, and you can see the gross because it's basically off-white. So I decided to do the carpet cleaner thing. I used the cleaning solution twice over the whole area, and also did clear water twice, and by the time I finished, the rinse stuff the cleaner pulled up into the container was less gross than it had been, but still, I bet I could have cleaned it twice more and rinsed it twice more, and there still would have been dirt. But it looks a whole lot better than it did!
I'd finished the carpet and was sitting and relaxing, when a couple of friends stopped by out of the blue, so we went out to dinner, and had really yummy Mexican food at a place I rarely remember but really like. This couple lives a few small communities over, about an hour away, so I don't see them often, but it's always nice to see them and chat. So it was an unexpected pleasure for me.
Today I've made a huge list of stuff that needs to be done before I go away on vacation. I'm sort of stressed, but I think it's all do-able. And having the carpet cleaner makes me feel a lot better about things for some reason.
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Chasing the Light
The other night, folks were reporting seeing the Northern Lights in the upper Midwest. And so, last night, when the viewing was supposed to be likely to be good, a friend and I went out to a rural area to try to see them.
We didn't. We did play with our cameras and do some timed shots. And we played with timed shots with a flashlight moving over a parked truck.
Then my friend went home, and I drove about 30 miles north, and got out from cloud cover, but still didn't see the Northern Lights. I did see lots of stars, but even with a slow, slow shutter speed, my camera shots are just black space.
Here's one of the ones we played with, though:
(I've edited this to black out the license plate.)
Someday, I'll get to see them!
We didn't. We did play with our cameras and do some timed shots. And we played with timed shots with a flashlight moving over a parked truck.
Then my friend went home, and I drove about 30 miles north, and got out from cloud cover, but still didn't see the Northern Lights. I did see lots of stars, but even with a slow, slow shutter speed, my camera shots are just black space.
Here's one of the ones we played with, though:
Someday, I'll get to see them!
Monday, June 22, 2015
Juneteenth
I went to our local Juneteenth celebration on Friday. I hadn't gone before, but this year it seemed important to go, so I did.
The emcee started by talking a bit about the Juneteenth organization, and how this celebration got started, and how it represented work by community members to change the community for the better, because we aren't so far from Charleston.
There was a prayer by a local (white) preacher, who started with a "blonde" joke, which he tried to pre-excuse by saying that he'd been blond as a kid. I don't know if he doesn't understand the genre (which he introduced as a "blonde" joke) as denoting blonde women, or if he's more aware and trying to sound stupid. The joke would have worked just as well as a "my buddy Joe" joke, maybe better. So that was a bad start, and it got worse; every third word in his prayer was "Lord" and not all of the placements made grammatical sense. And then he ended by praying that those of us who don't have a Christian relationship with his God should get one while there was time before we go to hellfire. So much for inclusivity, eh?
Then a teenager read the Emancipation Proclamation, which was really, really interesting, and a local officer from the campus ROTC read a document from a Union officer in Texas starting to enforce it at the end of the Civil War.
A local (white) state assemblyman came to talk a bit, and gave a well thought out speech calling the Charleston murders terrorism, which was apt, and talking about what the community broadly needs to do to be more inclusive. (He was the main speaker.)
A (white) county supervisor talked stupidly in that "white liberal I don't mean to be racist but I'm skirting the edges because I don't know how to talk about such things as racism" way.
A (white) city councilmember talked blandly.
The (white) chief of police talked about improving relations since he came (about two years ago) and then called up an African American woman to do this weird promise thing (he's promising to her that the police will do X, and so on). None of the promises was bad, but it was weird calling her up. And then she took the mic and said that as the representative of the community and the campus, she'd be keeping an eye on things. Also weird. She's a faculty member, but it's weird to claim to be the campus representative or the community representative. (She's very involved in all sorts of ways, so maybe it makes sense. But it still felt weird.) Still, the police chief was there and saying things that sounded right. (Some of my friends thought it was inappropriate that he had a gun with him though he wasn't in uniform. I didn't notice the gun.)
Then the emcee invited other local politicians up to introduce themselves and what they do in the community, which gave a couple of older white men a chance to talk too long about themselves without actually saying what they're doing or what they can help with. (I give them props for being there, at least.)
And then there was the picnic. I ate with a couple of colleagues. I'd say about 15 faculty folks were there that I knew, and some staff folks.
And that was Juneteenth up in the Northwoods.
The emcee started by talking a bit about the Juneteenth organization, and how this celebration got started, and how it represented work by community members to change the community for the better, because we aren't so far from Charleston.
There was a prayer by a local (white) preacher, who started with a "blonde" joke, which he tried to pre-excuse by saying that he'd been blond as a kid. I don't know if he doesn't understand the genre (which he introduced as a "blonde" joke) as denoting blonde women, or if he's more aware and trying to sound stupid. The joke would have worked just as well as a "my buddy Joe" joke, maybe better. So that was a bad start, and it got worse; every third word in his prayer was "Lord" and not all of the placements made grammatical sense. And then he ended by praying that those of us who don't have a Christian relationship with his God should get one while there was time before we go to hellfire. So much for inclusivity, eh?
Then a teenager read the Emancipation Proclamation, which was really, really interesting, and a local officer from the campus ROTC read a document from a Union officer in Texas starting to enforce it at the end of the Civil War.
A local (white) state assemblyman came to talk a bit, and gave a well thought out speech calling the Charleston murders terrorism, which was apt, and talking about what the community broadly needs to do to be more inclusive. (He was the main speaker.)
A (white) county supervisor talked stupidly in that "white liberal I don't mean to be racist but I'm skirting the edges because I don't know how to talk about such things as racism" way.
A (white) city councilmember talked blandly.
The (white) chief of police talked about improving relations since he came (about two years ago) and then called up an African American woman to do this weird promise thing (he's promising to her that the police will do X, and so on). None of the promises was bad, but it was weird calling her up. And then she took the mic and said that as the representative of the community and the campus, she'd be keeping an eye on things. Also weird. She's a faculty member, but it's weird to claim to be the campus representative or the community representative. (She's very involved in all sorts of ways, so maybe it makes sense. But it still felt weird.) Still, the police chief was there and saying things that sounded right. (Some of my friends thought it was inappropriate that he had a gun with him though he wasn't in uniform. I didn't notice the gun.)
Then the emcee invited other local politicians up to introduce themselves and what they do in the community, which gave a couple of older white men a chance to talk too long about themselves without actually saying what they're doing or what they can help with. (I give them props for being there, at least.)
And then there was the picnic. I ate with a couple of colleagues. I'd say about 15 faculty folks were there that I knew, and some staff folks.
And that was Juneteenth up in the Northwoods.
Monday, June 15, 2015
Summer Project: Cleaned Garage, check
According to my fitbit thing, I walked about 8000 steps cleaning the garage today. I mostly emptied it out, swept, then threw a couple of buckets of water down, swept more (the water helps get rid of the road salt left over. I actually do it a couple times in winter, too, when it's dry, but not with as much water.)
I took this while the water was drying. Once it was dry, I put the stuff back in, including my kayak and car, and now it looks less tidy than it did, but still way better than when I started.
When I was a kid, I used to hate it when my Mom would declare it time to clean the garage. But as an adult, I get to a point where it's just time, and I just do it. It takes a couple of hours, and then I feel way better about it.
People have parties in their garages around here, and also sometimes have TVs set up in them. Where I'm from, I don't remember people having parties or TVs in the garage. Do you have parties or a TV in your garage?
Other people can't park their car in theirs because there's lots of stuff. (Often it's kids stuff; kids acquire lots of stuff to put in garages!)
Thursday, May 07, 2015
Filling In
One of my colleagues has been pretty ill. As I understand it (and I'm the wrong sort of doctor), it's an acute illness, one they're likely to recover from over the summer, but for now, it's been a rough go.
We do this "fill in" thing around here if someone's going to be away or gets sick. (I've written about it here.) If you're able, you send an email to the department list and ask for someone to fill in for these classes on this day, with a short comment about what they'd need to do. And usually, if things are planned ahead, people can arrange something another faculty member can fill in for.
When it's tougher, you contact the department chair, or have a loved one contact the department chair, saying that you're ill, and then the department chair takes over.
Since our basic load is 11 credits (over 3 courses), usually 1 writing course (about half the load), a lower level area course, and an upper level area course, that's a lot of courses to get filled in.
Where possible, of course, colleagues in the area help with the area courses, and the writing course can be filled in for with just about anyone who has the hour free and is willing.
At any rate, I'm now on my second week covering one of the courses. Another colleague took the first week, and then passed it along to me. I could pass it back, but it's Shakespeare, and a play I'm good at and love, and did I mention, Shakespeare? Yes. And I don't have to grade (at least not so far), and I didn't have to try to plan out the whole semester. So basically I go in for 3 hours a week and work with students on understanding Shakespeare. It takes maybe half an hour to prep for each hour, just to make sure I've got line numbers and such. (And filling in for one course means I feel absolutely no guilt that I don't think about the others.)
It's seriously the best way to teach ever. Just the fun part of talking about Shakespeare, and not the hard parts of organizing or grading. I could do this a lot.
(Let me say, I think my academic life would be a whole lot better if I were in a place where I taught an equal or slightly greater course load but all in my field instead of having my energies sapped by teaching first year writing.)
I wonder how many other departments or schools practice some sort of filling in for ill or absent colleagues?
On the other hand, filling in like this makes you realize just how selectively some of your colleagues arrange their courses to make rather minimal work for everyone involved.
We do this "fill in" thing around here if someone's going to be away or gets sick. (I've written about it here.) If you're able, you send an email to the department list and ask for someone to fill in for these classes on this day, with a short comment about what they'd need to do. And usually, if things are planned ahead, people can arrange something another faculty member can fill in for.
When it's tougher, you contact the department chair, or have a loved one contact the department chair, saying that you're ill, and then the department chair takes over.
Since our basic load is 11 credits (over 3 courses), usually 1 writing course (about half the load), a lower level area course, and an upper level area course, that's a lot of courses to get filled in.
Where possible, of course, colleagues in the area help with the area courses, and the writing course can be filled in for with just about anyone who has the hour free and is willing.
At any rate, I'm now on my second week covering one of the courses. Another colleague took the first week, and then passed it along to me. I could pass it back, but it's Shakespeare, and a play I'm good at and love, and did I mention, Shakespeare? Yes. And I don't have to grade (at least not so far), and I didn't have to try to plan out the whole semester. So basically I go in for 3 hours a week and work with students on understanding Shakespeare. It takes maybe half an hour to prep for each hour, just to make sure I've got line numbers and such. (And filling in for one course means I feel absolutely no guilt that I don't think about the others.)
It's seriously the best way to teach ever. Just the fun part of talking about Shakespeare, and not the hard parts of organizing or grading. I could do this a lot.
(Let me say, I think my academic life would be a whole lot better if I were in a place where I taught an equal or slightly greater course load but all in my field instead of having my energies sapped by teaching first year writing.)
I wonder how many other departments or schools practice some sort of filling in for ill or absent colleagues?
On the other hand, filling in like this makes you realize just how selectively some of your colleagues arrange their courses to make rather minimal work for everyone involved.
Monday, April 20, 2015
The April Time of Year
There's this activity, a poetry related activity, that someone organizes every year. I've participated in the past, more than once, even. But I have to confess that I don't find the activity much fun, and it's hours long, which multiplies the unfunness. (And the way it's organized, if you're participating, you pretty much have to plan on being there from the beginning, and likely staying most/all of the way through.)
My participations in the past have been popular, so popular that the organizers asked me specially to participate again. (I already had an obligation, however, so I declined. To be honest, I was relieved to have that other obligation.)
The activity was mentioned recently in a department meeting, and a number of people raved about the wonderfulness of the activity. (I appeared as interested as I could, but kept my mouth shut.)
The thing is, these people don't participate in the activity. Nor do they go (and as non-participants, they could go for a little while and leave, or go late, etc.)
The thing that made my participation popular, pretty much anyone could do something similar, but it takes preparation, and a willingness to laugh at yourself and your stuff.
I don't know: does everyone absolutely love this activity, but doesn't participate or go? Or do they feel as I do, but are way better at making politic noises than I am?
My additional irritation with this activity is that the organizer (who puts in a fair bit of effort, I'm sure) writes this up on their review materials as if it's the second coming of Shakespeare or something. But as a participant, I get no credit. It's nothing for me, but my work counts as someone else's success. And the organizer is someone who doesn't bother to do anything that isn't totally about themselves and their self-interest. And at the same time, the organizer is someone who makes hugely sympathetic noises. Now, if this organizer were someone who contributes to other folks' work, then I probably wouldn't resent this activity. I might even be willing to participate just to be supportive. (I've been known to do that, and in fact my other obligation is partly that.)
In looking for my post linked above, I went through a bunch of Aprils on the blog, and I realized that I complain a lot in April. It's a hard time of year, of course, the end of the academic year, with lots of projects and lots of programming to go to, spring teasing us while we get a bit more snow or cold weather, and so on.
My participations in the past have been popular, so popular that the organizers asked me specially to participate again. (I already had an obligation, however, so I declined. To be honest, I was relieved to have that other obligation.)
The activity was mentioned recently in a department meeting, and a number of people raved about the wonderfulness of the activity. (I appeared as interested as I could, but kept my mouth shut.)
The thing is, these people don't participate in the activity. Nor do they go (and as non-participants, they could go for a little while and leave, or go late, etc.)
The thing that made my participation popular, pretty much anyone could do something similar, but it takes preparation, and a willingness to laugh at yourself and your stuff.
I don't know: does everyone absolutely love this activity, but doesn't participate or go? Or do they feel as I do, but are way better at making politic noises than I am?
My additional irritation with this activity is that the organizer (who puts in a fair bit of effort, I'm sure) writes this up on their review materials as if it's the second coming of Shakespeare or something. But as a participant, I get no credit. It's nothing for me, but my work counts as someone else's success. And the organizer is someone who doesn't bother to do anything that isn't totally about themselves and their self-interest. And at the same time, the organizer is someone who makes hugely sympathetic noises. Now, if this organizer were someone who contributes to other folks' work, then I probably wouldn't resent this activity. I might even be willing to participate just to be supportive. (I've been known to do that, and in fact my other obligation is partly that.)
In looking for my post linked above, I went through a bunch of Aprils on the blog, and I realized that I complain a lot in April. It's a hard time of year, of course, the end of the academic year, with lots of projects and lots of programming to go to, spring teasing us while we get a bit more snow or cold weather, and so on.
Tuesday, February 03, 2015
Show Your Work
In response to the social discourse these days about how little faculty folks work, one of my colleagues has come up with a brilliant idea.
We have to put little calendar things on our door to show when we're in class and when our office hours are. We've done that for ages, though recently we've moved from a little index card sized form to using a regular sheet of paper with a weekly calendar filled in, so that it's way easier to see.
My colleague's innovation is to also give information about all the other work zie needs to do, whether every week or at various times. So, for example, zie shows committee meetings on the calendar, and grading and prep time, research time, and also has a list of stuff for advising and other "seasonal" sorts of tasks, with information about them. The list talks also about grading in evenings and weekends.
Zie shared the idea with the rest of us, and now our doors give students and anyone who passes by a much better sense of how we use our time.
Do you folks put up weekly calendars? What information do you include? Does your calendar tell the "whole story" of your work week?
I heard that one local chair is putting hir weekly work totals on the department facebook site, which students and others can see.
Get the story out there, beloved colleagues. We work more than six or nine or twelve hours a week, even if those are the times we spend in a classroom with students.
We have to put little calendar things on our door to show when we're in class and when our office hours are. We've done that for ages, though recently we've moved from a little index card sized form to using a regular sheet of paper with a weekly calendar filled in, so that it's way easier to see.
My colleague's innovation is to also give information about all the other work zie needs to do, whether every week or at various times. So, for example, zie shows committee meetings on the calendar, and grading and prep time, research time, and also has a list of stuff for advising and other "seasonal" sorts of tasks, with information about them. The list talks also about grading in evenings and weekends.
Zie shared the idea with the rest of us, and now our doors give students and anyone who passes by a much better sense of how we use our time.
Do you folks put up weekly calendars? What information do you include? Does your calendar tell the "whole story" of your work week?
I heard that one local chair is putting hir weekly work totals on the department facebook site, which students and others can see.
Get the story out there, beloved colleagues. We work more than six or nine or twelve hours a week, even if those are the times we spend in a classroom with students.
Monday, December 22, 2014
Courthouse
I went to the county courthouse today to pay my real estate taxes.
While I was at the counter, someone came to inquire about where to file divorce papers, and someone else came and looked lost, and so on. And it occurred to me that while for the people working there, the county courthouse is a place to work, and probably there are good days and bad days, otherwise, paying real estate taxes is probably the most pleasant reason for someone else to be there. It's not like paying taxes is my favorite, but I'm paying taxes because I'm lucky enough to own (well, with the bank) property. And I'm not getting a divorce, or making some less pleasant payment. (And let's face it, I like having roads to drive on, schools to educate local kids, and so forth. I'd gladly pay more in taxes for better schools and road maintenance.)
Paying taxes in my town is probably a lower key affair than in some places. I walked into the building, was called to the window counter by a worker almost immediately, gave her my paperwork, and so forth.
There was a really lovely photo up on the wall, and I mentioned how lovely it was, and the worker said yes, she really liked it, too. And then she mentioned that one of her grandkids, just graduating from college, had majored in photography, and took some great pictures, too. So I said I bet she was really proud, and she told me about some other grandkids, and I congratulated her, and she beamed.
And then my taxes were paid, and I left, and the counter was empty until someone else went to pay stuff. (There were two workers at the counter, and they pretty much invited people up to the counter as soon as they walked in, so it wasn't like our little conversation was holding up a long line.)
My annual visit to the county courthouse done, I went on my way to turn in grades. Paying my taxes sort of marks the end of fall semester every year.
While I was at the counter, someone came to inquire about where to file divorce papers, and someone else came and looked lost, and so on. And it occurred to me that while for the people working there, the county courthouse is a place to work, and probably there are good days and bad days, otherwise, paying real estate taxes is probably the most pleasant reason for someone else to be there. It's not like paying taxes is my favorite, but I'm paying taxes because I'm lucky enough to own (well, with the bank) property. And I'm not getting a divorce, or making some less pleasant payment. (And let's face it, I like having roads to drive on, schools to educate local kids, and so forth. I'd gladly pay more in taxes for better schools and road maintenance.)
Paying taxes in my town is probably a lower key affair than in some places. I walked into the building, was called to the window counter by a worker almost immediately, gave her my paperwork, and so forth.
There was a really lovely photo up on the wall, and I mentioned how lovely it was, and the worker said yes, she really liked it, too. And then she mentioned that one of her grandkids, just graduating from college, had majored in photography, and took some great pictures, too. So I said I bet she was really proud, and she told me about some other grandkids, and I congratulated her, and she beamed.
And then my taxes were paid, and I left, and the counter was empty until someone else went to pay stuff. (There were two workers at the counter, and they pretty much invited people up to the counter as soon as they walked in, so it wasn't like our little conversation was holding up a long line.)
My annual visit to the county courthouse done, I went on my way to turn in grades. Paying my taxes sort of marks the end of fall semester every year.
Monday, December 08, 2014
It's Official
I have a half share in a big snow blower, which is sitting in my garage at this very moment. (I'm sharing with some neighbors, which is great, let me say.)
I guess I really am a midwesterner now.
Also, I had a conversation this morning about forcing bulbs.
Uffda.
I guess I really am a midwesterner now.
Also, I had a conversation this morning about forcing bulbs.
Uffda.
Sunday, November 23, 2014
Relief
I spent the weekend at my siblings, hearing one of the kids play a concert.
I'm supposed to go there for Thanksgiving, too.
But the drive beats me up. It's not horrible, but it's long enough that I want to relax after, and not do work. But the work needs to be done.
My in law and I were watching a Netflix show (since I subscribe), and enjoying it, and talking about how we could watch more over the Thanksgiving weekend. But then my sibling said that no, the TV would be on football. My in law suggested that there wouldn't be that much football, but my sibling insisted that there will be three games on Thanksgiving, and they will be on, one after the other, on the TV.
As I drove back today, going slow because the fog was intermittently nasty, I just felt grumpy and headachy.
And when I got back, one of my friends had invited me to Thanksgiving, and it sounds casual and relaxed, and there will be chatting, and laughter, and good potluck food.
So I just decided to accept my friends' invitation. And as soon as I did, I just felt so much better.
I have no urge to drive a long ways, sit around while my sibling dominates the family room with football on TV, and then drive a long ways home, and hope to get some of the work I have to get done done.
Now I have to call my sibling and tell the news. Or call my in law, who's likely to be the only person disappointed, but I know zie will be fine.
My driving this weekend was more stressful than usual:
1. About two weeks ago, the left turn signal started not working sometimes. It's about half the time, and if it doesn't work, I can flip it again and it will work. Still, it's irritating, and I've been trying to find a time to get the car in.
2. On the way, my check engine light went on. It's done this before, and the car repair people say not to worry about it. Why have the light and then say not to worry? I do worry.
3. I discovered that one of my rear brake lights is out.
4. My CD player isn't working. It's got two CDs stuck in there (it holds up to six), and it won't do anything now. That meant instead of listening to a book on CD, I had to find radio stations to listen to. There are WAY too many religious and country stations for my taste, and way too few rock stations, and no Spanish language stations that I can find.
I'm supposed to go there for Thanksgiving, too.
But the drive beats me up. It's not horrible, but it's long enough that I want to relax after, and not do work. But the work needs to be done.
My in law and I were watching a Netflix show (since I subscribe), and enjoying it, and talking about how we could watch more over the Thanksgiving weekend. But then my sibling said that no, the TV would be on football. My in law suggested that there wouldn't be that much football, but my sibling insisted that there will be three games on Thanksgiving, and they will be on, one after the other, on the TV.
As I drove back today, going slow because the fog was intermittently nasty, I just felt grumpy and headachy.
And when I got back, one of my friends had invited me to Thanksgiving, and it sounds casual and relaxed, and there will be chatting, and laughter, and good potluck food.
So I just decided to accept my friends' invitation. And as soon as I did, I just felt so much better.
I have no urge to drive a long ways, sit around while my sibling dominates the family room with football on TV, and then drive a long ways home, and hope to get some of the work I have to get done done.
Now I have to call my sibling and tell the news. Or call my in law, who's likely to be the only person disappointed, but I know zie will be fine.
My driving this weekend was more stressful than usual:
1. About two weeks ago, the left turn signal started not working sometimes. It's about half the time, and if it doesn't work, I can flip it again and it will work. Still, it's irritating, and I've been trying to find a time to get the car in.
2. On the way, my check engine light went on. It's done this before, and the car repair people say not to worry about it. Why have the light and then say not to worry? I do worry.
3. I discovered that one of my rear brake lights is out.
4. My CD player isn't working. It's got two CDs stuck in there (it holds up to six), and it won't do anything now. That meant instead of listening to a book on CD, I had to find radio stations to listen to. There are WAY too many religious and country stations for my taste, and way too few rock stations, and no Spanish language stations that I can find.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Trending
Back in the stone ages, when I was a student, it was pretty common to have class MWF from 3-4. And not unheard of to have a lab on Friday from 2-5, even.
It was common enough that the Geology department had a legendary course, Geology 500, which met every Friday at 5pm for departmental beer and chat.
In more recent times, Thursday has become the new Friday, and around here, at least, it's rare for us to have a class on Fridays that goes later than 2pm. I taught a MWF 1-2pm course last semester, and the classroom wing was nearly empty except for me and my students.
I feel the urges, too. Most of us in my department can manage a "non-teaching" day during the week, working around our usual 11 credit hour load. For folks on a MWF basic schedule, that usually means you choose either Tuesday or Thursday for the "non-teaching" day.
Folks who teach most of their classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays usually choose either Monday or Friday for their "non-teaching" day; there are times when you can manage both, or sometimes one and Wednesday. It's easy to see the appeal, isn't it?
Students, too, like the same scheduling, often. That's especially true for students who try to fit a whole week of work into four days, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, to support themselves while they work at classes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Or some of them like to "go home" a lot, and plan their schedules around those visits. Or whatever.
I think there's been a mutual movement, with faculty and students both wanting more Tuesday/Thursday courses, and fewer courses late on Fridays.
Yesterday, I was advising a student and talking with him about what courses to take in the coming semester. He's in a fairly rigid program, and has to take certain set general ed type courses. So, he'd filled in his schedule, but was on the low side of credits for the semester, especially if he wants to graduate in a timely manner.
Here's what his schedule looked like:
Monday afternoon, late, three hours, upper level option for major.
Tuesday / Thursday, starting at 9:30, running three straight courses.
Every single course he needed, except for the Monday afternoon course, was only offered during those three prime slots on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting at 9:30. We looked at options for general ed courses, all T/T in the three prime slots. We looked at program courses, all T/T in those prime slots.
So I looked. And out of 40 some courses in my department from sophomore level up, only 10 are on Mondays, Wednesdays, and or Fridays. (Some are a late evening one day a week, and I counted those).
I think we (including me) have done ourselves a world of hurt this semester by scheduling so many of our courses against each other. In budget-driven times, I wonder if some of our courses are going to be cancelled, and those of us with contracts will suddenly be teaching more comp or something.
Here are my fingers crossed for decent enrollment in my Chaucer course!
It was common enough that the Geology department had a legendary course, Geology 500, which met every Friday at 5pm for departmental beer and chat.
In more recent times, Thursday has become the new Friday, and around here, at least, it's rare for us to have a class on Fridays that goes later than 2pm. I taught a MWF 1-2pm course last semester, and the classroom wing was nearly empty except for me and my students.
I feel the urges, too. Most of us in my department can manage a "non-teaching" day during the week, working around our usual 11 credit hour load. For folks on a MWF basic schedule, that usually means you choose either Tuesday or Thursday for the "non-teaching" day.
Folks who teach most of their classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays usually choose either Monday or Friday for their "non-teaching" day; there are times when you can manage both, or sometimes one and Wednesday. It's easy to see the appeal, isn't it?
Students, too, like the same scheduling, often. That's especially true for students who try to fit a whole week of work into four days, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, to support themselves while they work at classes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Or some of them like to "go home" a lot, and plan their schedules around those visits. Or whatever.
I think there's been a mutual movement, with faculty and students both wanting more Tuesday/Thursday courses, and fewer courses late on Fridays.
Yesterday, I was advising a student and talking with him about what courses to take in the coming semester. He's in a fairly rigid program, and has to take certain set general ed type courses. So, he'd filled in his schedule, but was on the low side of credits for the semester, especially if he wants to graduate in a timely manner.
Here's what his schedule looked like:
Monday afternoon, late, three hours, upper level option for major.
Tuesday / Thursday, starting at 9:30, running three straight courses.
Every single course he needed, except for the Monday afternoon course, was only offered during those three prime slots on Tuesdays and Thursdays, starting at 9:30. We looked at options for general ed courses, all T/T in the three prime slots. We looked at program courses, all T/T in those prime slots.
So I looked. And out of 40 some courses in my department from sophomore level up, only 10 are on Mondays, Wednesdays, and or Fridays. (Some are a late evening one day a week, and I counted those).
I think we (including me) have done ourselves a world of hurt this semester by scheduling so many of our courses against each other. In budget-driven times, I wonder if some of our courses are going to be cancelled, and those of us with contracts will suddenly be teaching more comp or something.
Here are my fingers crossed for decent enrollment in my Chaucer course!
Saturday, October 04, 2014
Lawn Turds
Some of my neighbors rented a lawn aerator this weekend; they got a group of us together, and each of us is aerating in turn, making the little lawn turds (they look like goose turds, but without the geese). It took a couple of hours, but with so many of us in, each of us didn't have much to pay for the rental.
The aerator thing isn't too complicated, but boy is it heavy! I got a workout.
I couldn't pull the handle thing to raise the spikes and had to get a neighbor to help every time. Other than that, I'm now a minimally experienced aerator operator.
Learn something new every day!
The aerator thing isn't too complicated, but boy is it heavy! I got a workout.
I couldn't pull the handle thing to raise the spikes and had to get a neighbor to help every time. Other than that, I'm now a minimally experienced aerator operator.
Learn something new every day!
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Ten Thousand Miles
Yes, real riders ride that in a season. Still, those have been ten thousand mostly really good miles.
Today, for example.
There's a biggish bike race in the area, with both men's and women's pro races, so I left my house early and drove a while. I wasn't sure how timing would go, but I wanted to be at the first sprint point before the men's race went through. The sprint point is about 20 miles from the start, and the men started at noon, and the women at 1:30, so figuring 30 miles an hour, I wanted to be at the sprint point by 12:40. Of course, as I was planning this, I was thinking of the Dauphine, Tour, Giro, Vuelta, etc. Big crowds, lots of screaming.
I'd scoped out some maps, and figured out that about 15 miles from the sprint point town is a town that's an endpoint of a bike trail, one of those rails to trails things. So my plan was, if I got to the area early, I'd stop there and go for a ride, figuring the time ahead, and then go to the town with the sprint point. And then between the men's and women's races going through the sprint point, I could also take a short ride if I wanted. And that's how it worked out.
I stopped at the trailhead, and figured if I rode for 40 minutes (thinking 20 out, 20 back), then I could hop in the car, drive to the town with the sprint point in time to park, find my way, and so on. I only rode just over 9 miles there, but it was beautiful, not windy, and quiet, and relaxing, with flowers, birds, and me riding along. The day was slightly overcast, and just a perfect temperature for riding.
Along the way, I passed by a guy sitting on the ground next to a TT bike, a beautiful Felt. Naturally, I slowed to check to make sure he was okay, and he said he was, just had two flats and was waiting for his friend to pick him up with a car. He said the path got really bad ahead, and he'd had two flats.
I turned around maybe five minutes later (at the end of my 20 minutes out), and saw him again and checked to make sure he was okay. I told him my plans to go see the race, and commiserated on the flats, and asked him what tires he was using (because I carry a 25mm tube, and would have shared, but I don't know if it would work on 23 or 27 mm tires). But he said he didn't know, just whatever the bike came with; he'd just been set up on it.
What a bummer is that? Brand new bike and two flats on what has to be a pretty early ride? BUMMER!
But also, isn't it weird that someone who does triathlons (he said so, when I told him I thought his bike was beautiful, which it is) doesn't know what sort of tires they're rolling? (I'm not nearly as geeky as to own a TT bike, and I know I'm riding 25mm Gatorskins.)
But anyway, he was hanging out waiting, and not hurt or anything, so I went on my way.
I got to the small town where the sprint point was.
Luckily, there was someone in a yellow vest, looking vaguely official, so I asked and he just waved at the street and said to park wherever, just out of the traffic lanes. So I did, just a bit past where he was (near a bar and grill, and near an open tent with stuffs happening). As I drove past, I saw a sign marked "Sprint 200 m," so I drove 200 meters, and there was a little sign saying "sprint" and a little line across the road.
I parked and walked back to the bar, bought a diet coke, used the restroom, and went back out to talk to the yellow vest guy, who said that he expected the men's race to come through in 15 minutes or so. (I was earlier than I'd expected, since it didn't take long to get from the trailhead to the town.)
So I went and waited on some steps leading to a wedding chapel right in front of the sprint point and relaxed with my coke. After a while, a car drove up, parked off the road, and two judges (with official looking judges' shirts on) and another yellow vest guy got out, and the yellow vest guy put out two traffic cones on either side of the road at the sprint point. And then we all waited.
And after a few minutes, the official cars came through, and then ZOOM, the race went buy, all nearly in a bunch, with a little stringing out in front so that one guy won the sprint fairly obviously. And then the rest of the cars went by, with a couple of straggling bikers.
I cheered for all of them, from the first to the last, though I felt silly because it was only me, and the two judges, and the yellow vest guy, and they weren't cheering.
The excitement ended at 12:50 or so, which meant the men had taken 50 minutes to ride the 20 miles, and they were all bunched. The women's race was due to start at 1:30, and then I figured it would take them a bit longer, but at least 50 minutes to get to the sprint point, so I had an hour and a half to do what I wanted. And what I wanted was to bike some more.
So I got on my bike and headed out riding the race route backwards. I had 7 miles to make the 10K on my odometer, so I knew I wanted to ride at least 3 and a half miles out. And I figured I was starting at 1, and needed to be back by about 2:20 (but if for some reason I weren't, I'd just cheer from the side of the road where I was, but so long as I was back, I'd be able to put my bike away and such). And off I went.
And it was a slog. There was a little hill, but then mostly flat, but my legs just felt awful. I was riding at about 50-60 rpm (the rotation of my pedals), which is slow, even for me, and I just felt like I was riding through thick mud. There was a headwind, and I was feeling it, but even more, it felt like just a slog.
So I rode to 1:30, and I'd gone about 4 miles, and I decided if my legs were just that bad, I'd turn around and go back, and that would be fine. So I turned around.
And suddenly, I was seriously flying. The headwind was now a tailwind. So when I hit the 10K on my odometer, I was going down a very slight hill at 24 miles an hour, feeling more like a real biker, spinning at 90 rpm and grinning. It took me maybe 10 minutes to make it back to town, maybe a little more, but the whole time, that tailwind was helping a lot. So I went a bit beyond the sprint point, and up a little hill, past a different yellow vest guy, who cheered for me, which totally made me laugh.
I rode back in, changed clothes in my car in the parking lot of a little park (out of the way, and not highly visible to anyone), went to the tent thing, which was a benefit to raise money for a scholarship thing for folks studying to be EMTs and such, made a donation and got a pulled pork sandwich, some baked beans, and some potato salad, and enjoyed my lunch. I think most of the town was there, all in t-shirts to honor the young woman in whose name the benefit was being held, since she'd died several years earlier in a car accident. (You can learn a lot in a small town if you ask politely and donate for a sandwich.)
Then I wandered back to the sprint point, and hung out until a new judge and yellow vest guy drove up, and then I cheered as a lone breakaway rider (#61) passed. She was more than three minutes ahead (but with 50 more miles to go, that didn't seem likely to hold, or maybe?) and then the rest of the peloton came through, and I cheered for all of them.
And then I walked back to my car, and drove home quite happy with my day.
Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Civics
I went to my first ever City Council meeting last night.
I wonder how many people have been to one? I got the sense that there are a few people who go fairly regularly, especially if an issue they care about is up for discussion. But the rest of us, I'm guessing most adults have never been.
(I live in a small city, and know through a colleague a council member. I also, it turned out, know another council member because we used to live next to each other when I first lived in town. How sad is it that I didn't know I knew that second council member? And barely recognized him when I saw him sitting up, though he recognized me and came and said hello before the meeting started.)
The council is making a decision on how best to repair a fairly important road in town, and last night was the final discussion before the vote tomorrow. I went to listen, mostly, and to be supportive of the folks who are trying to influence the decision in favor of more bike and pedestrian friendly alternatives. The road is in horrible shape, even for our generally horrible roads (thanks, tax cutters!).
The meeting started with the city engineer explaining what their plan was, complete with overhead pictures (shown on a big screen) with detailed stuff about lines, paving plans, and so forth. Then city council folks asked questions. And then they opened the meeting up to anyone who wanted to speak. The council president said at the beginning of the meeting that anyone who wanted to speak should get up when the podium is open, wait if someone else is there first, and that everyone gets 5 minutes, and then the council can ask the person questions.
And that's how it went. Everyone was polite (it's the upper Midwest), and everyone who wanted to speak got to, so far as I could tell (the meeting lasted 2 and a half hours).
While there was some water management and such, the controversial part of the city engineer's drawings showed mostly two car lanes in each direction, with one to be marked as a shared lane with bikes, and then different solutions for a center turn lane or left turn lanes at different areas along the almost a mile stretch (it's largely businesses along that street).
The bike/pedestrian advocates were arguing for a bike lane and wider pedestrian walk instead of the second car lane on each side. (You have to remember that when we plan for these sorts of streets, we also have to think about snow on the sidewalks from the plows.)
So it was interesting, because the road reworking is supposed to last 40 years, say (that is, it will be resurfaced more often, but not reworked in terms of the major structures), and that means everyone is trying to think about what the community will look like in 40 years, how much we'll drive, how much we'll need other alternatives, and so forth. It's so complicated!
The bike and alternative transportation advocacy group in town (I didn't even know there was one) had written a letter before asking that the city engineer draw up an alternative showing the bike lane and increased pedestrian area, but they hadn't done that. (There had been many meetings with neighborhood groups and such to give lots of people a chance to talk about plans and what folks in the area want to happen.)
The lack of an alternative drawing meant that most of the bike lane advocates got asked by city council members if changing the plans would mean that the city would have to put off this major repair for another year. And, of course, they pretty much had to say that it would be hard to put off the repair, but they wanted the city to do it right, so yes, it would have to be put off.
Anyway, I'd be willing to bet that the council is going to go with the city engineer's plan, and while it won't be as bike and pedestrian friendly as it might be, it will be a significant improvement over what's there now in all sorts of ways.
I'm glad I went, and will probably try to be a little more aware of stuff happening in town, but I wouldn't want to have to go to this sort of meeting every week!
I wonder how many people have been to one? I got the sense that there are a few people who go fairly regularly, especially if an issue they care about is up for discussion. But the rest of us, I'm guessing most adults have never been.
(I live in a small city, and know through a colleague a council member. I also, it turned out, know another council member because we used to live next to each other when I first lived in town. How sad is it that I didn't know I knew that second council member? And barely recognized him when I saw him sitting up, though he recognized me and came and said hello before the meeting started.)
The council is making a decision on how best to repair a fairly important road in town, and last night was the final discussion before the vote tomorrow. I went to listen, mostly, and to be supportive of the folks who are trying to influence the decision in favor of more bike and pedestrian friendly alternatives. The road is in horrible shape, even for our generally horrible roads (thanks, tax cutters!).
The meeting started with the city engineer explaining what their plan was, complete with overhead pictures (shown on a big screen) with detailed stuff about lines, paving plans, and so forth. Then city council folks asked questions. And then they opened the meeting up to anyone who wanted to speak. The council president said at the beginning of the meeting that anyone who wanted to speak should get up when the podium is open, wait if someone else is there first, and that everyone gets 5 minutes, and then the council can ask the person questions.
And that's how it went. Everyone was polite (it's the upper Midwest), and everyone who wanted to speak got to, so far as I could tell (the meeting lasted 2 and a half hours).
While there was some water management and such, the controversial part of the city engineer's drawings showed mostly two car lanes in each direction, with one to be marked as a shared lane with bikes, and then different solutions for a center turn lane or left turn lanes at different areas along the almost a mile stretch (it's largely businesses along that street).
The bike/pedestrian advocates were arguing for a bike lane and wider pedestrian walk instead of the second car lane on each side. (You have to remember that when we plan for these sorts of streets, we also have to think about snow on the sidewalks from the plows.)
So it was interesting, because the road reworking is supposed to last 40 years, say (that is, it will be resurfaced more often, but not reworked in terms of the major structures), and that means everyone is trying to think about what the community will look like in 40 years, how much we'll drive, how much we'll need other alternatives, and so forth. It's so complicated!
The bike and alternative transportation advocacy group in town (I didn't even know there was one) had written a letter before asking that the city engineer draw up an alternative showing the bike lane and increased pedestrian area, but they hadn't done that. (There had been many meetings with neighborhood groups and such to give lots of people a chance to talk about plans and what folks in the area want to happen.)
The lack of an alternative drawing meant that most of the bike lane advocates got asked by city council members if changing the plans would mean that the city would have to put off this major repair for another year. And, of course, they pretty much had to say that it would be hard to put off the repair, but they wanted the city to do it right, so yes, it would have to be put off.
Anyway, I'd be willing to bet that the council is going to go with the city engineer's plan, and while it won't be as bike and pedestrian friendly as it might be, it will be a significant improvement over what's there now in all sorts of ways.
I'm glad I went, and will probably try to be a little more aware of stuff happening in town, but I wouldn't want to have to go to this sort of meeting every week!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)