Our department open house was tonight, and we always have a silent auction, so tonight I came home with an obscenely large basket (like, the size you use when you pick apples) full of gourmet foods like feta stuffed peppers and tropical salsa and whatnot. (The students do really good drumming up donations, and the textbook reps usually produce the ( Read more... )

We've been interviewing people for a one-year temp position in the department, and yesterday was the final day of interviews. (And if I have to have one more awkward lunch with a complete stranger, I'll scream--no idea how I got stuck with lunch duty. Well, actually I do. It's because I said I didn't want to do dinnersAnyway, the final candidate ( Read more... )

I have had, all in all, a pretty successful semester as a professor. I had a couple of conference presentations. I was very active in the University community (and ultimately may become the faculty advisor to a sorority). I got a great evaluation from my colleagues. My first honors thesis advisee defended his thesis with flying colors ( Read more... )

All of a sudden this week, I found myself with one panel proposal, two conference papers, and one journal article to review. My decision will determine whether or not these people get publications. I always thought it would be cool to do this, but now, all I feel is the crushing press of responsibility. Also, guilt. Lots of guilt ( Read more... )

So I'm teaching this graduate course right now (I know, I know, I'm unnerved by it as well), and we've been talking a lot about the online disinhibition effect. You only have to go to the comments section on any large website or blog to see it in action. People lose their shit and go off the deep end, just because people can't track them down. ( Read more... )

Two of my girls stopped me as I was walking back to my building before class and said, "We have two questions for you. One, can we have class outside?"

I said as long as it was unanimous, I'd take them outside for the last lecture of the semester. It was 80 goddamn degrees. In Michigan. In April. This is a momentous occasion ( Read more... )

Today, there were a surprising number of students that actually showed up for classes. I was impressed. So impressed, in fact, that I let my class of primarily seniors color with crayons ( Read more... )

"Reliability in testing means that, provided the thing you're measuring doesn't change, the measurement doesn't change either. If the bathroom scale said 125 pounds one morning, and 140 pounds the next morning, it's not a reliable measurement. If it said 125 pounds one morning, and 125 pounds the next morning, it is a reliable measurement. ... ( Read more... )

I did indeed go next door and surprise my old Spanish teacher. I asked her the dreaded question that teachers hate: "Do you remember me?" And I was shocked when she looked at me blankly, then smiled, and said "Missy ( Read more... )

I just got last year's evaluation report. Haha, yes, I said last year.

I mean, I got the memo from last year that said, essentially, "great teacher, nice work, recommend for future appointments" and thought Yay! and then didn't really think much more about it until I was putting together my file (at my work, you keep this massive record of ( Read more... )