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July 19, 2005
On Calendars
One way in which I am out of step with the contemporary academic management styles of outcomes and assessments is in making the calendar for my courses. Here I would like to be a free-to-be-you-and-me type of professor, walking in every day and dealing with what we've gotten to and reminding them to start reading the next book because we'll be there by next Wednesday.
I never have the slightest idea how long it will take to "cover" or "do" or "read" a book. How long does it take a group of 18 year olds (who I haven't even met yet!) to work through Gilgamesh? The Symposium? Argh! And I'm paired in a "learning community" for one of my three courses (I know, I know - I agreed to it. I must've been feverish.).
Posted by CrankyProfessor at July 19, 2005 11:30 AM
Comments
My stint as Graduate Director for the department ended in May (for which I thank God on my knees fasting*), and so my course reduction ended, so for the first time in 4 years I'll be teaching a freshman comp class in the fall. I'm very glad about that part of things, as I miss the freshman (I'm one of those professors who acrually enjoys freshman comp), and though I enjoyed getting to know the graduate students better, I'm glad to be back teaching a full load.
But.
I also agreed to be part of a Learning Community. And this means that not only must I invent my syllabus WAY before I usually do (which is at the last minute, although lately we've got more and more rules about what has to be on it, like goals and stuff -- what the hell does this mean? my goal is that everybody read, think, and write! I detest having to make up new ways to say this), I've got to synchronize it with the professors of history and sociology teaching the other classes that the Learning Community is taking.
This turns out to require MAJOR time. MAJOR. Because we have to spend MAJOR time in interminable meetings listening to everybody say the same things over and over.
Which makes it hard to figure out when your papers are going to be due.
So. We will be partners in cranky medievalist hell this semester.
Alas.
Time for the trebuchets.
*Points for identifying the origin of the previous phrase. I don't know how many points. But at least, the opoportunity to show off in the comments section.
Posted by: Anne at July 20, 2005 8:11 AM
With the right skimming skills and online dexterity, it takes 30minutes to an hour to "read" book and have something impressively meaningful to say about it.
And i agree with Anna- freshmen are great. In no other class do you walk into a room and have 20 people look at you with a smile on their faces that says, "I'm in college! Teach me!"
Posted by: Teach at July 29, 2005 3:51 AM
i beg you to resist your various departments
and administrations when they mandate
horseshit syllabi. in any case, i recommend
that you issue an *actual* syllabus --
call it something else if you feel you must --
including all (and only) the stuff the students
actually *need* to be prepared for the class
(eschewing all boilerplate nonsense that
looks just like every other syllabus and
for that reason begs to be ignored).
as far as google can tell me, the trebuchet quote
seems likely to've originated in the gaming world.
Posted by: vlorbik at August 1, 2005 11:58 AM