Productivity trap

Perhaps it is something we can call the productivity trap. The real reason to work is for pleasure, you get things done and life flows through you and you change, moving up one more level of consciousness. But when the focus is products in a line you have what might be good old fashioned alienated … More Productivity trap

Decorated veterans

I have decided that all persons who entered my graduate program deserve veterans’ benefits, and that those of us who finished deserve decorated veteran status. It was like going through war. When I sat on my first PhD exam elsewhere, I ws amazed at how easy it was and more amazed at how pleasant the … More Decorated veterans

C’est fascinant

My student went home to another state for a routine medical procedure and his documentation turns out to come from a clinic on an Indian reservation! This is a first for me, so rare, finding Native Americans from the U.S. in college here! And his class says I have strange course goals for a foreign … More C’est fascinant

Violent workplaces

Every day I feel as though I have been beaten with a stick and I think it is my violent workplace. Anything having to do with academic senate, AAUP, or lower division students is cataclysmically violent, like going to war; building safety personnel are unpleasant, and most faculty in my main subunit are working hard … More Violent workplaces

Encore une fois

Speaking as someone who does not particularly like to teach and only went into academic work because of having had it explained that this was all about research, and very little about teaching, I proclaim that: Contra what the professors say it does not save time or energy, or lead to happiness, health, or new … More Encore une fois

Survey

When your institution grants or denies tenure and/or promotion, does the candidate see the documents generated, and are they given a reason for the decision? At one of my former institutions, for instance, you had to be good in research and teaching and at least adequate in service. They told you ahead of time how … More Survey