Rigoberta Menchú famously said that her story was “not sad, because true” and although it has been alleged that what she says is not true, which is another matter, I say research is not difficult, for Menchú’s reason: it is true. Research is not difficult; to the contrary, it facilitates everything. It means you are … More Further Arguments for Research – and College
It is agreed, then: research and writing are not hard, if you are trained for them. The much harder aspects of academic work are: – dealing with anti intellectualism from various quarters – dealing with gender discrimination which is much more extreme in certain kinds of schools and also families – the backbreaking labor of … More That Administrative Answer
Today at lunch they asked where I was from in El Salvador, and last year in Oaxaca they were convinced I was from Mexico City. Ever since I moved to Louisiana people have considered me Hispanic; students have taken bets on what country I am really from; people ask me on the street. I was … More The Category “Hispanic”
I could really do something with these students if I had fewer of them, but even so I manage to say a few things of use to one or two now and then. I think my specialty is diagnosing undiagnosed intelligence. Student: I am having so much trouble with Spanish. There’s something about classes, and … More A Further Stroke of Brilliance by Me
I always wondered why people alleged they had no teaching problems but now I see: it is so as not to have to discuss problems we all know exist and that for various reasons do not have solutions that are within our power. I used to be the one to explain the odd situation to people so … More Now I See
It took some work to get to be as good as Charles Dutoit and these musicians, but don’t they seem to be enjoying themselves? Axé.
Tonight I went to class, the studio class I take in the art department, and told the professor for the second week in a row that I was too tired to start a new project, but could only revise old projects, because I was teaching five classes and doing administrative work and had a research … More “You should not be able…”
Hard is the picky work of keeping up with all your (required) course websites, all your e-mail, all your files, all the files and folders in different formats on the computers of which you will likely have more than one. That is true drudgery and when people say research and writing are the hardest things … More Other Hard Work, and Class Resentment from Me
I am starting to get punchy on this topic of difficulty and I declare that plenty of things are actually better hard – the table at which I write, for example. I think people who cannot handle difficulty should just hang it up. The hardest thing for me about academic jobs is listening to the … More Comme c’est dur, cher
I am about to put in 15 minutes each on four or five projects, each of which in fact deserve several hours. 15 minutes each is what I have for them today, so I will put in the 15 minutes so as to have started. It is my distinct impression that doing the 15 minutes … More On Cutting Corners
