What do professors mean when they talk about their flexible work schedules? I understand when they say it about graduate school, although I point out that anyone who didn’t then make their own schedule and stick to it, did not make progress to degree and ultimately dropped out or was dropped from the program. I … More Another Iconoclastic Question
A third of the semester is gone. One of my five classes (remember, I have five classes and five graduate committees, and administrative work and a major grant proposal and research, and in order to do this work I must fight obstruction daily) — well as I say, one of my classes did a really … More On Enemy Propaganda
I do not take paid advertising, which fact allows me to talk about some things I like … like Linux Certified, arguably the best company of any kind I have ever dealt with. Especially in the jungle that is computing now. Their machines are good and they talk to you live by phone about how … More Nostalgique
The prose that is hard to write is not the prose in which you formulate your research ideas. It is the prose that justifies the purchase of books to entities which believe universities can conduct research without them. And the teaching that is hard is not the teaching in which you actually draw upon your … More Writing is Fun, and Publishing Is Easy
Scene: Christmas party. Person: So what are you doing for Christmas, Z? Graduate Student Zero: The main event is, go to the MLA. Professor for whom I am a Research Assistant [overhearing]: That is a bad idea. You have not filed your dissertation. You will have no interviews. Graduate Student Zero: I have seven. Do … More Further Examples of Poor Advice
Consider the condescending tone taken toward faculty here. Blended learning can be a dirty word among some members of your faculty. The fears of embarrassing technical snafus, poor student attendance, and job insecurity often enter the discussion when it comes to using lecture capture in a blended learning model. This web seminar will explore why … More Déguelasse
When I open Facebook, one of the things I learn is which of my former students are shipping out to Afghanistan and Iraq; I see their friends wishing them well. Two left this afternoon; I had no idea they had even gone into the military. Their friends rushed in to talk about “when you get … More Equinox
When did they first know they would teach, people ask; others, how did you choose your major? I, as we know, point out that for various reasons having to do with the realities of professions I might do well to have another, and that I know what that would be; I have noted before that … More When Did You Know Your Subject?
I spent too much time poring over microfilm and now I have to finish grading. I don’t know how long it will take but if I say 5 minutes per exam that will be 300 minutes or 5 hours. That was for effect but the audio is better here. Axé.
In a lonely cabin on the frontier, I, Clinton Rollins, attempting no literary style, pass the time by penning my memories. And as an old man my thoughts wander back: The things that happened fifty years ago … Spanish-Americans I have known — whom I have grown to … More Cardenal: With Walker in Nicaragua, I
coldhearted scientist وداد 