I ask that every student of mine to come and spend 30 minutes with me in the office this semester. By the time they all come through the door, I'll have invested about 75 hours into student appointments this term, the most ever I've attempted here at BCC. Back at the other school, I probably had more student face time than anyone there, but then I lived and breathed student engagement (maybe a little too much, since I married one, eh?)
But seriously, this has been an enormous undertaking, when it should be the simplest of things: "hey, let's jaw around about your paper, topic, life..." I've had many people ask me why I am dedicated to this, when I could just be grading (or for that matter, reading, surfing the net...writing a blog--ahem!).
I explain it like this: I think it's very, very important to know who you are learning with (and I intentionally aim this both ways, for we're both learning in a meeting one on one). I'm learning about them, their learning styles, interests, strengths and weaknesses academically, but even more, I'm learning who they are. I'm learning how to better serve them, I think.
I also require a journal of my composition students, 3 100 word entries per week, roughly. Sure, there's kicking and screaming, but it has tremendous dividends for the student (of course, or I would not assign it). It's also very valuable to me, to again get to know my clients, my students.
I cannot put a finger on how all this knowledge plays out in the classroom, in grading, in pedagogy overall. I could never write a paper about it or prove it empirically, but I am sure it's having a positive effect.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Can't have it both ways...
SO, I'm something of a person of extremes. Oh, I'm open minded about most things, not inclined to polarized rants much....but in lifestyle and pattern, I tend to run hot or cold. I am one to be all out, in deep, 100% into something.
I suppose that sounds good, as if it suggested a degree of focus, a mindset of discipline, a forthrightness that is all-Kansas.
On the other hand, the ugly misshapen hand of truth, here's what happens to me: I get so far to an extreme it's hard to switch it up, to regroup, to reconfigure, to clock out. If, for instance, I were a mercenary, I would not know my bounds, and I might knock some one off in expression of my road rage. If I were a person of the cloth, I would not be able to reach the level of purity and intimacy with my deity that seemed The Right Place to be.
And so it is with work. I can run white hot for work, burning the proverbial candle in a blast furnace frenzy of focused labor. OR, I can be unplugged at home, not even checking email for days at a time, just building stuff, playing with kids, loving home (this extreme has only recently been learned and appreciated, say, in the last 5 years).
Unfortunately, it is VERY HARD for me to switch gears. When the new semester starts, I am now finding myself like a bear coming out of hibernation (at least in the winter) or like one of those groggy people who are just not morning people (I still cannot understand them!). I go through motions, but it takes me days and days to get my game on, to charge up my workforce engines.
And, alas, now that I'm fully engaged, I'm finding it VERY HARD to go home at night. Oh, I know it's where I'd rather be, that all this work is just what I do so that I can have a home and pay the bills....but it's extremely difficult for me to disconnect, to let it go, to leave work at work.
Why is that?
Used to be, I had a job that was something of a calling, a Mission. I was leading people out of apathy, helping to do my little part to save the world through service, to burn as purely altruistic as I could. That job, of course, was impossible to leave at work, for it was a lifestyle.
But now? grading papers and designing course content? I have a hard time pulling back from it, for I know that if I do, it's just going to be that much harder tomorrow to get back up in the saddle again. I will lose hours to ramping up, when I could otherwise just stay at it a few more hours...
...but I'd rather be home (in my heart of hearts) regardless of the lost time and inefficiency of retooling and warming up to it again. The reward of home and hearth and loved ones is much more powerful.
So, I go.
I suppose that sounds good, as if it suggested a degree of focus, a mindset of discipline, a forthrightness that is all-Kansas.
On the other hand, the ugly misshapen hand of truth, here's what happens to me: I get so far to an extreme it's hard to switch it up, to regroup, to reconfigure, to clock out. If, for instance, I were a mercenary, I would not know my bounds, and I might knock some one off in expression of my road rage. If I were a person of the cloth, I would not be able to reach the level of purity and intimacy with my deity that seemed The Right Place to be.
And so it is with work. I can run white hot for work, burning the proverbial candle in a blast furnace frenzy of focused labor. OR, I can be unplugged at home, not even checking email for days at a time, just building stuff, playing with kids, loving home (this extreme has only recently been learned and appreciated, say, in the last 5 years).
Unfortunately, it is VERY HARD for me to switch gears. When the new semester starts, I am now finding myself like a bear coming out of hibernation (at least in the winter) or like one of those groggy people who are just not morning people (I still cannot understand them!). I go through motions, but it takes me days and days to get my game on, to charge up my workforce engines.
And, alas, now that I'm fully engaged, I'm finding it VERY HARD to go home at night. Oh, I know it's where I'd rather be, that all this work is just what I do so that I can have a home and pay the bills....but it's extremely difficult for me to disconnect, to let it go, to leave work at work.
Why is that?
Used to be, I had a job that was something of a calling, a Mission. I was leading people out of apathy, helping to do my little part to save the world through service, to burn as purely altruistic as I could. That job, of course, was impossible to leave at work, for it was a lifestyle.
But now? grading papers and designing course content? I have a hard time pulling back from it, for I know that if I do, it's just going to be that much harder tomorrow to get back up in the saddle again. I will lose hours to ramping up, when I could otherwise just stay at it a few more hours...
...but I'd rather be home (in my heart of hearts) regardless of the lost time and inefficiency of retooling and warming up to it again. The reward of home and hearth and loved ones is much more powerful.
So, I go.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Polysyllabic
Here are some of the polysyllabic words and phrases from my list of words (yes, I jot down words that tickle my tongue or otherwise have some added-value to me):
Licorice Limelight
Post bottom Water-logged
Wig-Wam Paddyshack
Tailspin
Circumference
Shanty town
Uber-goober
Groundswell
Earth-shaking
Hinterlands
Underbelly
Barn swallow
Bin-buster
Licorice Limelight
Post bottom Water-logged
Wig-Wam Paddyshack
Tailspin
Circumference
Shanty town
Uber-goober
Groundswell
Earth-shaking
Hinterlands
Underbelly
Barn swallow
Bin-buster
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Beat Down
Hat hair
Matted grass
Shelter/rescue dogs
I am likewise beat down.
It doesn't matter how hard, how many days, how many weekend hours--I cannot seem to scale the pile of work I have to do.
I know, boo-hoo, right?
I've no answer to the problem. I've written about it many times in the past 4 years, I'm sure. This time, however, it's really wearing on me. I'd go see a shrink but that costs more time and money--and that, again, is the root of this entire problem.
So, shrink--out.
Therapeutic catharsis by way of....
Sleep, the elixir that calms my spirit. Sleep in bliss, in ignorance--alas, that's just denial, and when I wake, I know this and feel EVEN WORSE.
So, one might ask, what exactly am I doing blogging? How is this any better than 1-8, above? Well, it's not. In fact, maybe it's worse, because it's public. Dumb idea, huh?
Regardless, here I sit, beat down.
Stalemate.
Stagnate...
Ugh--I gotta do something!
This morning at 430 when I left for work, I was of the old school workaholic plan that led me through a dark decade past. My thinking: I will work through this (literally) by applying nose to grind stone until done. Enough pressure, over enough time, applied to said stone should smush it into submission.
I mean, surely it could all be done, right, even if for only a moment (like laundry or housework).
Maybe it would be different if it paid better. As-is, this job is too often paying about like laundry or housework! Oh well, at least I have a house, right?
Matted grass
Shelter/rescue dogs
I am likewise beat down.
It doesn't matter how hard, how many days, how many weekend hours--I cannot seem to scale the pile of work I have to do.
I know, boo-hoo, right?
I've no answer to the problem. I've written about it many times in the past 4 years, I'm sure. This time, however, it's really wearing on me. I'd go see a shrink but that costs more time and money--and that, again, is the root of this entire problem.
So, shrink--out.
Therapeutic catharsis by way of....
- exercise (you must be kidding)
- creative writing (at the same keyboard I should be grading from, so...no)
- nature hike (winter, ugh!)
- shopping (see money, above)
- web-surfing (see creative writing, #4 above)
- kids (guilty about not working)
- grilling (guilty about not working)
- sleep? ahhhhh, there it is!
Sleep, the elixir that calms my spirit. Sleep in bliss, in ignorance--alas, that's just denial, and when I wake, I know this and feel EVEN WORSE.
So, one might ask, what exactly am I doing blogging? How is this any better than 1-8, above? Well, it's not. In fact, maybe it's worse, because it's public. Dumb idea, huh?
Regardless, here I sit, beat down.
Stalemate.
Stagnate...
Ugh--I gotta do something!
This morning at 430 when I left for work, I was of the old school workaholic plan that led me through a dark decade past. My thinking: I will work through this (literally) by applying nose to grind stone until done. Enough pressure, over enough time, applied to said stone should smush it into submission.
I mean, surely it could all be done, right, even if for only a moment (like laundry or housework).
Maybe it would be different if it paid better. As-is, this job is too often paying about like laundry or housework! Oh well, at least I have a house, right?
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
The Guild
I am amused and engaged by a web series, The Guild. I have been rationing my episodes, for there are only 4 seasons of the show available (and it would consume me if I let it, like all my other viewing obsessions kept at bay). As they describe the show: A comedy web series about a group of online gamers, and how they interact online and offline. Winner of they YouTube and Yahoo best web series awards in 2008, winner of three Streamy Awards in 2009. It's a comedy written for gamers, about gamers, by a gamer. Plus it stars Felicia Day, and that alone makes for great screen time.
The show features obsessive gamers who come to interact in RL encounters they sometimes regret. One character in the show haunts me: Clara. This is the SAHM who is more into cyberspace than parenting. Of course, the show's rendition of this is over-the-top, but it resonates with me. Sometimes I may check my email or do some work online when my kids are standing by, impatiently waiting to play, etc. I want to always make flesh and blood priority over ones and zeros. At times it is difficult, for RL encounters are messy and cannot be turned off readily--and that, of course, is the point of The Guild.
Pick this episode up at about 4min in to see Clara interact with her kids:
Give it a view and review it here, too!
The show features obsessive gamers who come to interact in RL encounters they sometimes regret. One character in the show haunts me: Clara. This is the SAHM who is more into cyberspace than parenting. Of course, the show's rendition of this is over-the-top, but it resonates with me. Sometimes I may check my email or do some work online when my kids are standing by, impatiently waiting to play, etc. I want to always make flesh and blood priority over ones and zeros. At times it is difficult, for RL encounters are messy and cannot be turned off readily--and that, of course, is the point of The Guild.
Pick this episode up at about 4min in to see Clara interact with her kids:
Give it a view and review it here, too!
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Peas in a Pod
My wife and I spent a romantic weekend in a bed and breakfast. For us, it would have been romantic to simply be able to converse uninterrupted (we have 4 kids) and in private (we also have 3 other adults living in our house). We were able to have free-flowing, unobstructed dialogue (the B&B was virtually unplugged, too, a reconstituted 1880's hotel, rooms were sans wifi, TV, etc.) for hours!
A result of all that is not the happy conception of yet another child.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Instead, we were able to compare notes on some life goals, and we were able to learn that we are, even after nearly a decade, both on the same page. In fact, we were very close on our goals, virtually synchronized. We also were able to learn each others priorities anew, too. I, for instance, did not know she still wanted to get a degree; she did not realize how very important it is to me to build onto the house.
People need time and space. Married people need some of that together. We very seldom (quarterly, semi-annually) get time like that. It was the best Valentine's gift EVER.
A result of all that is not the happy conception of yet another child.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Instead, we were able to compare notes on some life goals, and we were able to learn that we are, even after nearly a decade, both on the same page. In fact, we were very close on our goals, virtually synchronized. We also were able to learn each others priorities anew, too. I, for instance, did not know she still wanted to get a degree; she did not realize how very important it is to me to build onto the house.
People need time and space. Married people need some of that together. We very seldom (quarterly, semi-annually) get time like that. It was the best Valentine's gift EVER.
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
White Out
Why the blog blackout? Two weeks w/o a post?
I blame it on the snow, the white out. The snow as complicated my life with the burden of snow days. On the work front, that has meant reconfiguring things (takes time). On the home front that has meant playing in the snow, shoveling snow, navigating snow (all take extra time). Snow has amplified the cabin fever everyone in my house suffers from, too.
Thus, all these other factors have overwhelmed my time remaining for blogging, reading blogs, catching up on bookmarks, organizing my computer files, etc...
...and now, another snow day!
Let me clarify: I am not unhappy about a snow day. No way!
So what--I have spent time differently. It's a way I spend time in the winter that is exclusively a winter investment. Nothing to be grumbling too much about, especially when this summer I'll be battling weeds and swiping sweat from my eyes.
Snow is fun, even when shoveling it. Perhaps this is that it remains a novelty here, compared to MN or somewhere that it is a 6 month long hardship.
Not everyone gets a snow day, so yet again, I am grateful for my line of work. 3 months off in the summer, a month off in winter, a week off for spring break....and a snow day now and again! Yippee for me (and my fellow educators, who know that all this 'time off' is not really, entirely 'off' too often).
I'm going to embrace this day like I do leap day, consider it a bonus, something even more special than vacation or weekends or the rare 'personal' day. I'll do somethings differently today, and I'll hope to make the most of every moment.
Hope it snows where you are, and that you, too, can make this day special.
I blame it on the snow, the white out. The snow as complicated my life with the burden of snow days. On the work front, that has meant reconfiguring things (takes time). On the home front that has meant playing in the snow, shoveling snow, navigating snow (all take extra time). Snow has amplified the cabin fever everyone in my house suffers from, too.
Thus, all these other factors have overwhelmed my time remaining for blogging, reading blogs, catching up on bookmarks, organizing my computer files, etc...
...and now, another snow day!
Let me clarify: I am not unhappy about a snow day. No way!
So what--I have spent time differently. It's a way I spend time in the winter that is exclusively a winter investment. Nothing to be grumbling too much about, especially when this summer I'll be battling weeds and swiping sweat from my eyes.
Snow is fun, even when shoveling it. Perhaps this is that it remains a novelty here, compared to MN or somewhere that it is a 6 month long hardship.
Not everyone gets a snow day, so yet again, I am grateful for my line of work. 3 months off in the summer, a month off in winter, a week off for spring break....and a snow day now and again! Yippee for me (and my fellow educators, who know that all this 'time off' is not really, entirely 'off' too often).
I'm going to embrace this day like I do leap day, consider it a bonus, something even more special than vacation or weekends or the rare 'personal' day. I'll do somethings differently today, and I'll hope to make the most of every moment.
Hope it snows where you are, and that you, too, can make this day special.
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