My Day in Pictures!
You may remember that last fall I was teaching Hebrew. Which made me all
However, I was teaching at an institution that I knew could not be completely trusted, because they’d done wrong by Sandra. In fact, I had to talk to Sandra and Don before I decided to even take the position, not only to make sure that I didn’t hurt them but to make sure it was a good idea to say yes.
And then, I got told that there were complaints I needed to fix but never given specifics.
Whatever, I made adjustments, made study guides, etc.
First mid-term, most grades were A-B range. So I was all like:
Thinking I’d fixed whatever the problem was and life was good! I mean, I’d taught well enough they were making As and Bs in HEBREW!
Except that the same day I’d brought the exams in to hand back, the Dean called me into his office to tell me the problems were not getting better and I was fired.
And then:
And there were a lot of tears. And a lot of still unanswered questions. And not a single clue as to what I did wrong or could have done better.
And a lot of self doubt. At this point, I pretty much thought I’d finish my dissertation some day and then get a job doing this:
(except, you know, less cute)
Because I clearly suck.
Follow that with a visit to the family and dealing with the insanity/pyschosis of the...what is it “Mommy” calls her, oh, right Dumb-Ass.
And you get super depressed Sandy
(again, except not quite as cute)
Wait, this is a happy post! Hold on! It’s getting better! That was more of a “What you missed” except you were all there and super supportive and along with the play and the adopted family (Sandra, Don, and the kids) and the church and yes Amberle and Scott (Ok, ok, I has lots of support! yay!) got me through all that.
So, last spring Don, who teaches kind of permanently adjunctively at William and Mary (you know, where Thomas Jefferson went to college...)
Was asked to teach too many classes. And he was all, “I can do 2 sections of 203 (History and Religion of Ancient Israel) and 2 Freshmen Seminars, but you’ll really need someone else if you want yet another section of
203. And here’s a name. Cause Don is
So I’m teaching 1 section at W&M and the Religion Department happens to be housed in the Wren Building, which is the oldest college building in the US, and I have a carrel in it, which makes me feel all special
And I think things are going well, until I get an e-mail from the Chair of the Department telling me there have been complaints. Which of course sends me right back to last fall and to:
But then I find out the complaints are kinda stupid:
“She said serpent instead of snake.”
“She said Moses didn’t have a stutter.”
Which makes me all
And
And
And I wind up working closely with one of the tenured faculty to fix any problems, and she’s reassuring me that I’m fine and it’s going to be ok.
Well, one of the things she suggests is that I let her or another faculty observe me, to see if there are any problems or things I could do better, and even if not, then they can see me teach and write better recommendations.
Which kinda makes me nervous, cause now I’ll be being judged by someone who, you know, will know if I screw up massively.
So, last Wednesday she came and sat in on my Psalms lecture.
And afterwards told me it worked and I did well but here are some ways to do even better.
Now, I’m still new at this, so constructive criticism that comes with high praise and assurance of doing well? Makes me feel:
and
Today, she came to watch me lecture on Job.
A tough book. And one she’s kind of an expert in.
Afterwards, she again tells me I’m doing really well.
That she loves how I’d already taken her thoughts from last time and tweaked myself to improve.
And how she wishes she could project as well as I do.
And gave me a couple of more small suggestions to make it even better, but over all says that I’m doing a great job, and to be less concerned with being “professional” and let more of “Sandy” come through
also, kinda:
AND today, I ran into the professor who first reported the “complaints” who said that he’s only hearing good things about my class now!
So, now I really feel like I can do this. The confidence that got shot out of the water last year has been completely restored and I feel hopeful!
And
And
Huh, tears of relief...yep, I’m still Sandy :)
However, I was teaching at an institution that I knew could not be completely trusted, because they’d done wrong by Sandra. In fact, I had to talk to Sandra and Don before I decided to even take the position, not only to make sure that I didn’t hurt them but to make sure it was a good idea to say yes.
And then, I got told that there were complaints I needed to fix but never given specifics.
Whatever, I made adjustments, made study guides, etc.
First mid-term, most grades were A-B range. So I was all like:
Thinking I’d fixed whatever the problem was and life was good! I mean, I’d taught well enough they were making As and Bs in HEBREW!
Except that the same day I’d brought the exams in to hand back, the Dean called me into his office to tell me the problems were not getting better and I was fired.
And then:
And there were a lot of tears. And a lot of still unanswered questions. And not a single clue as to what I did wrong or could have done better.
And a lot of self doubt. At this point, I pretty much thought I’d finish my dissertation some day and then get a job doing this:
(except, you know, less cute)
Because I clearly suck.
Follow that with a visit to the family and dealing with the insanity/pyschosis of the...what is it “Mommy” calls her, oh, right Dumb-Ass.
And you get super depressed Sandy
(again, except not quite as cute)
Wait, this is a happy post! Hold on! It’s getting better! That was more of a “What you missed” except you were all there and super supportive and along with the play and the adopted family (Sandra, Don, and the kids) and the church and yes Amberle and Scott (Ok, ok, I has lots of support! yay!) got me through all that.
So, last spring Don, who teaches kind of permanently adjunctively at William and Mary (you know, where Thomas Jefferson went to college...)
Was asked to teach too many classes. And he was all, “I can do 2 sections of 203 (History and Religion of Ancient Israel) and 2 Freshmen Seminars, but you’ll really need someone else if you want yet another section of
203. And here’s a name. Cause Don is
So I’m teaching 1 section at W&M and the Religion Department happens to be housed in the Wren Building, which is the oldest college building in the US, and I have a carrel in it, which makes me feel all special
And I think things are going well, until I get an e-mail from the Chair of the Department telling me there have been complaints. Which of course sends me right back to last fall and to:
But then I find out the complaints are kinda stupid:
“She said serpent instead of snake.”
“She said Moses didn’t have a stutter.”
Which makes me all
And
And
And I wind up working closely with one of the tenured faculty to fix any problems, and she’s reassuring me that I’m fine and it’s going to be ok.
Well, one of the things she suggests is that I let her or another faculty observe me, to see if there are any problems or things I could do better, and even if not, then they can see me teach and write better recommendations.
Which kinda makes me nervous, cause now I’ll be being judged by someone who, you know, will know if I screw up massively.
So, last Wednesday she came and sat in on my Psalms lecture.
And afterwards told me it worked and I did well but here are some ways to do even better.
Now, I’m still new at this, so constructive criticism that comes with high praise and assurance of doing well? Makes me feel:
and
Today, she came to watch me lecture on Job.
A tough book. And one she’s kind of an expert in.
Afterwards, she again tells me I’m doing really well.
That she loves how I’d already taken her thoughts from last time and tweaked myself to improve.
And how she wishes she could project as well as I do.
And gave me a couple of more small suggestions to make it even better, but over all says that I’m doing a great job, and to be less concerned with being “professional” and let more of “Sandy” come through
also, kinda:
AND today, I ran into the professor who first reported the “complaints” who said that he’s only hearing good things about my class now!
So, now I really feel like I can do this. The confidence that got shot out of the water last year has been completely restored and I feel hopeful!
And
And
Huh, tears of relief...yep, I’m still Sandy :)