Mid Terms

Ah Midterms the time within the class that the panic starts to set in and students who haven't turned in half of their assignments come to the realization that their actions (or lack of action) will actually have consequences! Since it is midterm time the emails have began to pour in with the excuses about why they haven't done their work. The dog died, (enter family member) has been really sick, they are taking 18 credits, blah blah blah. This is typically followed by the pleas for what they can do to raise their grade.

My typical response? Do YOUR WORK!

Breaching the contract

This time my gripe isn't with the students, it is with the universities. More than once this month universities that I have signed contracts with, and completed work for, did not pay me on time. I find it unprofessional that an employer for whom I have completed all of my work on time and up to par is 5-7 days late paying me for my services.

One of the universities has yet to pay me for three weeks of work. I was supposed to be paid before Thanksgiving. I received an email on the payday stating that there was a "computer error" and that pay checks should be deposited the day after Thanksgiving. This would not be the end of the world IF it actually occurred. However it did not.

On a side note the "computer error" scenario presents several problems for me. 1. If you were supposed to mail checks out to people who should receive them on the pay date that means that you should have been aware at least three days prior to the pay date that there was a problem. 2. that this happened at all means that someone was not doing their job and did not catch the error.

As a result if payment has not been received for services rendered what options do I have? To not work in the classroom until I receive payment? To file a complaint with the labor board?

Not all snowflakes are deformed

I am reaching the end of my current class and I am vastly relieved that this batch of snowflakes are not half-melted when they got to me. The last class I taught was terrible. I seriously questioned whether or not I was teaching a special ed class and not a college course - I would bet at least half of them were borderline retarded. (So not PC I know).

This time I am pleasantly surprised that outside of the regular snowflakiness (i.e. begging to turn in late assignments, trying to haggle for that .1o of a grade, etc.) they are a reasonably intelligent group who is working hard. Which is good because the last class made me question my university and their admittance policy.

I am also starting to work at a new university for a trial class. My trial not theirs as I do not know if I like how they run their classes and the communication between the admin and the teachers is poor and so is the pay. However there is a possibility to get more classes at the same time here so I am hoping this is a good lead!

Does not pandering equal less classes?

This is something I have been considering. The last course I taught consisted of at least 20 students who were not prepaired for college level work. They did not know the basics of academic writing, often did not answer the questions in assignments (if they turned them in at all), and complained when I gave them the opportunity to redo assignments so they would not fail. Out of 22 students, only 2 got an "A", 5 failed, and the rest got C's. There are some who are of the school of thought that if students are failing it is the teachers fault, and there are others of the school of thought that students "earn" their grades.

I believe that I am a tough teacher. I have expectations of students which I clearly spell out in my Faculty expectations, and if a student does not meet these expecations then they will not pass the course. I do not think that my expecations are that high, they must cite their sources, both in disucssion assignments and written assignments, I do not accept late assignments, and I use a grading ruberic to grade papers which I provide to the students. Yet I find time and again that many times student cannot or will not meet these expecations.

I have found that my class offerings from the university I started at have been less and less. I find it hard to believe that there is no correlation between the low grades some students are getting in my class and this occurance. On one hand I wonder if I need to let up on some of my students. However I am hesitant to do so because I do not think it will do them justice in the long run. I also think that if the university lets so many students in who are not ready for college level work without remidial courses to bring them up to speed then it is "unfair" to penalize me with less work. (I have using the "F" word and sounding like one of my little snowflakes!) If my employeer has the word Univeristy in their name and not Community College then they need to hold standards accordingly.

What have others experiences been with this occurance?

Thinking about certification

I am thinking about getting some kind of "certification". I have a degree in psychology, however due to unfortunate circumstancing involving my practicum supervisor and lung cancer I was not able to complete it and therefore am not eligible for state liscensure.

So I have been looking at becoming a Nationally Certified Psychologist. I have been reading about it at the North American Association of Masters in Psychology. The trouble I am running into is how do I determine if this is a legitimate certification or a pound of bologna?

Any suggestions or experience from anyone?

Would you like some cheese with your whine?

It is the last week of class and all of the students who haven't been working on their final paper as they should have are beginning to complain that they do not have enough time. My 'favorite' snowflake is a student who did turn in their rough draft, which I graded and made comments and suggestions on. This student wasn't on the right track so I pointed them in the right direction. This students response? To complain in the student chat section of the course room that they "hated" my class, I "tore their paper apart", and they didn't have time to rewrite the whole paper. They went on to state that they didn't think my class should be "this hard".

I find I have a hard time bringing up any pity for these types of whiners. How do others deal with these students who are under the delusion that your online class should be "easier" and that you are being "unfair" because you expect them to turn in college level work without bitch slapping them into the middle of next week?

The pressure is building.

I need to stop checking me email after 9 p.m. because when I do I get snotty emails from ungrateful students which make my blood pressure rise. Case in point, I gave a student in my class a break on turning in her rough draft. She has been a good student, making progress in the class, and completing all of her assignments in a timely manner with good grades. She was in the middle of moving so I gave her the one day extension she asked for.

I grade her draft, give her feedback, and give it back to her with the 10% deduction for turning it in late. This is where the little shit catches herself up for not reading the faculty expectations like she says she did because she sends me an angry email stating I should have told her she would receive a 10% deduction for turning it late and I need to work with her.

Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot that my entire teaching career revolves around reminding students about simple facts that they told me they read and understood - NOT! What the hell are you thinking little snowflake? Do you honestly think I am going to cut you any more breaks after you a. lied about reading the faculty expectations (which is a minor thing to lie about) which tells me I cannot believe anything else you say, and b. had the brass balls to email me demanding that I be more forgiving than I already have been?

I would love to come into your reality honey, I think it must be full of candy mountains and fairies waiting to do your bidding - I suggest you come into my reality where you pull your head out of your ass and realize that the rules do indeed apply to you.

Dear Previous Prof.

I know you had my students in your class. I know you passed them when they did not deserve it, much like a second grade teacher will pass little Billy even though he can't read because they don't want him setting fires in the garbage can in the classroom anymore.

How do I know? I am so glad you asked! I know only five students in my class can read simple directions and only three of them can form a coherent sentence. Since this is not the obligatory "first" course every student has to take at this fine online institution I know that this should not be happening. You failed your job as the gatekeeper. You are supposed to keep these retards out. (Gasp, did online adjuncter say what I think they just said?). I have said it before and I will say it again. Not everyone belongs in college. My current class is a prime example of this.

Being what I like to consider a reasonably intelligent adult I can tell the difference between lazy, ignorant, and just plain stupid. The ignorant I can deal with, they just don't know any better - yet. It is the lazy and the stupid I have little time for, as they either cannot or will not learn what I have to teach them. At first I thought that with a little guidance and patience my student's would improve. However with just three passing papers for the first written assignment (on a curve) I am coming to the realization that this just will not happen. When my little darlings randomly put words together in the middle of their paper and expect me to decipher the meaning it becomes glaringly clear that you, my dear previous professor, have put me in this position.

I am sorry little snowflake I do not know what "In the voluntary sympathetic act to prepare the body in stressful emergency. The involuntary parasympathetic division provides a means for the body to maintain storage of energy sources" is supposed to mean.

You coddled them, didn't correct their writing ability, and clearly did not enforce plagiarism rules. They believe they are prime examples of stellar academic abilities. Now it is my job to crush their dreams. Thank you, I hope you enjoyed your good performance reviews at the expense of these student's education; because I know my reviews will be going right in the crapper since I am forced to teach them what you did not - accountability!

Sincerely,
I am going to find where you live and beat you with their rolled up papers.

Damn Dirty Grade Grubbers

I have posted the first week's grades and the grade grubbing has begun. Nothing sets my teeth on edge like an email that says "How come I didn't get full credit for (insert) assignment? I need an explaination. Thanks."

First off you little shit, I don't owe you an explaination. You owe me a complete assignment. Don't come whining to me after the fact if you cannot read simple instructions. It is worse when the student did well, but did not get "perfect" scores. They seem to have a stroke when I tell them that they will not always earn perfect scores for their assignments. That would mean they got every concept perfectly! (In which case maybe they should be teaching the course so the students can email them and whine). Sweet mother of god, I dislike whiney students. I would much rather have a struggling student who genuinely needs help understanding a concept but is will to put forth the effort for an 85% than someone who puts forth a s0-so effort and then can't understand why they are not getting a 100%.

From Famine to Feast

It has seemed in the last couple years things have come in boughts, teaching jobs, happy events etc. I am glad to say that right now things have gone from Famine to feast in my life. For two years now I have been applying to university after university trying to get more adjuncting jobs. The hours of mindless applying has finally paid off and I have one new contract for fall and two in the works for spring quarter. Needless to say I am very excited.

I have also finally crawled my way out of public education and recently accepted a job in the private sector. It pays a lot more, I can work from home and travel for the job, and I make my own hours. I finally found my dream job! For a long time I thought I was stuck in the bowels of public education, but it is this job that gave me a contact with the person who is to be my new boss. I guess it is true when they say everything happens for a reason and you end up where you need to be!

Changes in the works

I started teaching as an online adjunct because my job in the public education system did not pay the bills. I was over worked, over qualified, and under paid. After years of searching for a new job I finally have an offer. It is a GREAT offer, it pays almost 50% more than what I am making now, I can work from home so I can keep teaching (which is great), and best of all I will finally be using my degree in a manner in which I would like to.

Yet I find myself exteremely anxious about this move. I will be without insurance for 6 months. What if I get lonely working from home without co-workers to chat with on a daily basis? Change scares me and frankly makes my stomach a little queezy because I have no control over it. I know it is what I want to do, I know it is what I NEED to do. Now if I can just find the gumption to make myself DO it! :)

Self Actualize This!

Today there is an article that made be grit my teeth on RYS. To sum it up for those of you who do not want to read the article one teacher had a slacker in class who didn't show up for class, do his work, or pass his tests. So obviously the kid got an "F" stamped on him with the big rubber stamp he deserves.

Obviously the kid needs a rubber room though because he had his "therapist" or someone who was posing as his therapist contact the teacher and tell them that because the F was hurting his self esteem because the teacher didn't understand his creativity he needed to raise it to at least a "C".

My guess, the letter the teacher recieved is a fraud. No psychologist or psychiatrist I know would ever help a client avoid consiquences for poor judgement and behavior. That is counter intuitive to treatment. Had I recieved this letter I would have done a liscence check to see if this person even exhisted. If not then I would call the student on it and report the incident to academic honesty hoping that the little snowflake would land in a larger stinky pile of shit. If this was an actual person treating the student I would have to "tsk tsk" them with questions such as "How is avoiding responsbility and consiquences helpful for your client?" and "What gives you the impression that you or the student can dictate the grades earned in my classroom?"

The whole thing just blows my mind.

Do I need to buy the book?

This is one question I hate from my students, and at least one or two ask it every term. On one hand I realize that may professors will have students order several books and sometimes will not use all of them. I realize that students always have limited funds and this is irritating.

However, if I am only requiring you to buy one text for the whole class I think common sense should tell you that, yes, you DO need to buy the text book as this is where all of your material will be coming from.

I find that the students who ask this are also the same students who come to me and cry that they didn't know that the class had started and they missed their first assignment. Unfortunately I shoot their cries dead in the water as I send an email out three days before class starts telling them class is starting and they have an assignment due on the first day. Momma didn't raise no fool!

And it begins . . .

So I finally have my first class of the summer. . .too bad it is almost Fall so it barely even counts. My bank account has shrunk so much it can be considered a natural disaster area.

Anyhoo, class starts tomorrow and the hounds have already been released upon me. Questions, questions, questions, how do I find the discussion questions, I don't understand how to write the paper, can you think for me so I don't have to? So far it has only been three or four students and if this is as bad as it gets, even at three to four emails a day per student, I guess I can count myself lucky. After all it could be a lot worse.

Let's see what hits the proverbial fan tomorrow. . .

Lack of consistant classes leads to more Power Point Presentations

So my next class starts up soon, it will have been 14 weeks between assignments this last time. I have been getting good reviews, was awarded for teaching excellence, and have been going to university "training". Apparently none of this comes into play when the person scheduling the Adjuncts is assigning courses. I think this time they actually forgot about me because when I emailed them asking what was going on, it had been 10 weeks since I had heard from them, I suddenly got an assignment. *sigh*

I thought I had been making some progress in landing some additional universities. I have had several phone conversations with deans from various universities and community colleges, some even requested transcripts and that I fill out mountains of paper work. So far no training sessions and no classes. That is great since I enjoy spending my time doing meaningless paperwork!

On the plus side I have revamped my class "lectures" for the upcoming class, I have even included some power point presentations and graphics to keep the kiddies engaged. If it goes well I will do some more of these for the other classes I teach.

I read the article posted by the author of Teach Online regarding the narcissism of the up coming generations and I feel compelled to comment. There are so many factors that can play into this topic that I almost do not know where to begin! Let us start with the fact that the study discussed in this article found that in 2006 30% more students rated high on the narcissism scale. Some of the factors discussed was the "self esteem" push of the 1980's, the emergence of YouTube and Myspace, etc. Since part of narcissism is not being able to communicate and relate to others, a rise in online communication where you only need to pay attention to your views or those like yours, it is not surprising that the study has findings such as these. After all, if all of your communication can be about you and your likes, and you can block out anything confrontational to what you believe why would you not begin to believe you are better than you truly are?

Some things that it has not discussed was how schools are now pushed for children to be the same (NCLB). No one is better or worse, everyone is average. Everything is rated by a test score, your self worth is determined by your college application. The article is even skeptical of high school volunteers as they are often volunteering because it looks good on their transcripts, so the volunteering is for them, not those is need. They are then praised for this which re enforces the narcissism.

The subjects of this study were college students, and I have seen my fair share of "look at me's" in my classes. What I find more disturbing is the dramatic increase of the lack of empathy and ability to think of someone other than yourself I am seeking in the k-12 population. Very often the younger generation feels they should get things just because and cannot fathom why they should have to work for it when I tell them no in class. Granted they have a lower level of emotional and cognitive development, however I do not think this bodes well for the next 20-30 years of our society.

To me this study supports my stance that MySpace and Facebook (and other social networks) should not be used in an educational environment. If the goal of higher education is to teach students not only the theory of their chosen subjects but how to be productive citizens we need to stop the breakdown that got them where they are today. They need to be exposed to ideas they are uncomfortable with, they need to be challenged, and they need to think of how situations affect someone other than themselves!

Mac vs. Vista

I am looking into purchasing a laptop in the next year. Since there have been so many problems with Vista I am looking into a Macbook (just a basic one). What have people's experiences been with Mac and the new Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac?

In Response

RYS has a post up today regarding an opinion on how not every student should be in college. While this is the PC sentiment this is one that I totally agree with. In the past when I have voiced this opinion I have been Poo-Pooed "Oh, but everyone deserves an education." My response is "Really? Does everyone DESERVE an education."

I like chocolate cake. This is like me saying I deserve chocolate cake. Since I want some I should get it regardless of whether I am willing to put the time in, gather the ingredients, mix it together correctly and bake it. If I am not willing to do that then someone else should just give me some.

Frankly that is bullshit. If a student is not up to par in my class, cannot read or write, they do not deserve an "A" because they did not earn it. Do I find it sad? Yes, I do, however that does not mean I am going to push them along, it is not fair to them. After all, as an employer do you want a student who cannot form a coherent thought, I know I don't.

Continue My Education

I have been pondering the question of continuing my education so that I am eligible to teach more classes. I will only need 18 graduate credits to do so. I need to consider which courses to take. I am considering Criminal Justice as I see many places looking for instructors in these courses. I have not done the research yet to see how much this would cost me and weigh it against how much I could make to see if it is worth it. What does everyone else think? Good idea or bad idea?

Weird Email from University

I received what I think is an odd email from the university I work for. It was asking if I work for other universities, how long I have been teaching in higher education, and what (if any) publications I have. This was out of the blue after I have been teaching for them for over a year.

I thought this odd for several reasons. First since I am a contract worker I do not think that it is any of their business if I work for other universities. If they don't want me to teach anywhere else they can give me a long term contract where I am guaranteed classes or make me full time. Second, since they as a university do not pay me to do research, or pay for me to go to conferences why would they expect me to publish? As I understand it very few adjuncts publish for this very reason. (Not to mention the fact that being published, which I am, has not had any positive effect on my getting classes on a more regular basis from this university.)

I find that universities wanting it both ways, having the credentials of a full time professor, but don't expect the benefits of a full time professor, irritating.