Arkansas just passed a new law that lets veteran teachers who have worked past the amount of years they need for retirement to retire for two weeks and then reapply for their jobs. This will allow them to get paid full retirement while still receiving their full paycheck. With this new law, it will make it even more difficult for new teachers to find a job in Arkansas. Isn't that just great.
There never has been any logic in Arkansas politics. It is ridiculous. With this bad economy and this new law, these old-timers in Arkansas will teach until they die.
First day back in the classroom today after 3 days of meetings. (Yawn.) Seriously can't wait until next summer, and X-mas break at the least.
I know that experts on pedagogy are a great resource for the university, but goddammit they as a group need to lighten up and not take themselves so seriously. Just got evaluated and it was the 2nd time that students commented on the strange or negative energy that the evaluator gives off. That really freaks the students out and affects the energy of the class for a day or 2.
Friday we had a PD with an expert on writing instruction. This guy was a teacher in several different cities for several years; then he worked with Columbia Teacher's College as a staff developer; then he published a couple of his own books and now tours around the country doing research and conducting PD's. So he was talking about how, when he was a student, writing instruction was different. You would write something, then hand it in. Then the teacher would hand it back all marked up, showing you what mistakes you made and in all likelihood penalizing you for them. He made a good argument for the ineffectiveness of that approach. But I couldn't stop thinking, this is how you were educated, and you're a professional writer now. Do we not see the disconnect here?
But maybe he's a sad professional writer who drinks too much to escape the blows to his self-esteem dealt by all the marks on his papers. Besides,if you were a professional writer,the last thing you'd want to do would be to train competent replacements.
Anyone have experience (or know anything about) teaching at community colleges? My original plan was to work towards a PhD, but I'm not sure if I would honestly enjoy doing research all the time. Community colleges appeal to me for a few reasons: more emphasis on teaching than on research, less years of school required (MA compared to PhD), and you can still make a decent salary. Any input would be much appreciated!
Well, in general, there is A LOT more BS to put up with, and A LOT more administrative control over how and what you teach (at some places, not all), and there are A LOT of students who expect it to be grade 13, if not grade 12.5 or so. The class size is usually significantly bigger, and the range of courses that you get to teach, because there are basically only freshmen and sophomores, is really, really restricted. In English at the places around where I live, you'll teach 10-12 comp classes for every literature class, and that liturature class will 80% of the time be a general "intro to literature" course. I have a friend who teaches philosophy and heads the humanities division at a major urban community college, and he likes it well enough, but he told me you can't expect teaching to provide a tremendous reward on a daily basis. In fact, teaching is something he does because he has to: he gets more out of administrative work, and being active in his union.
I also caution against assuming you can get a full time job at a JC with an MA. The PhD market in many fields has been saturated for years, meaning there are plenty of PhD-types applying for/working at community colleges. Much depends on your field.
This. I have a good friend with a PhD in History who is not getting a new contract at his current university. I bet he would take a CC job right now if he could find one. It isn't a great time to be searching for a teaching job.
I taught part-time at several cc's in California. Did a couple of long-term substitute positions as well. I loved teaching cc's and found it to be very rewarding professional. I had quite a bit of freedom in the classroom to teach the way I saw fit, unlike at many universities, where lower division courses in my field *have* to be taught according to X pedagogical theory. I taught mainly at night and I loved the student body. They are by far my favorite student body: diverse in age, diverse in politics, diverse in socio-economic status, etc. And they were there b/c they wanted to be. A lot of "traditional" day students take night classes b/c the student body is so interesting and prepared. I once had a class w/ 25% w/ PhD's (several lawyers [I know... I know... but they're technically "doctors" of law], a couple of physicians, and PhD's in sociology, education, anthro, etc.)!!! Day students are a different breed, and depending on the school they vary greatly in level. Overall, I enjoyed teaching them, but not as much as the night students. In many states, cc's pay extremely well and have excellent benefits. B/c of that, the competition is fierce for these jobs. In some fields you will simply not get an interview if you don't have a doctorate (poli sci, history, I'm told). Universally, they are underfunded, sometimes chronically. Check out the Chronicle of Higher Education, specifically their forums on the profession, and the sub-forum on cc teaching. Good luck!
Simply amazing how virulent this flu season is. I have had more deans contacting me about undergrads this semester than in my entire career in higher ed, and we still have 7 more weeks of classes + finals!
College freshmen are worse. At least middle schoolers have parents who occasionally make them bathe in the morning. The flu has hit a ton of people out here in Western NY. Class sizes seem to have universally dropped by 5 students (not drops- documented health absences).
In some parts of the country, having a PhD has been no guarantee of having even a CC job for a very long time [unless you are willing to go the "5 or 6 adjunct positions" route]. My suspicion is that the parts of the country we could say this of are now more numerous than ever before. This is particularly true of the humanities and some of the social sciences, but increasingly you see it in ...say.. mathematics. Around Seattle or Boston, for instance, there are a surprising [to me] number of PhDs in these subjects teaching at the high school level, and doing so on a permanent basis. So to think that an MA alone will be sufficient for a career in CCs is to ask much of Fortuna [and she is well known to be a bitch with a Wheel].
That's my experience, too. Although this year, our Freshmen seem to be taking H1N1 seriously. I've had a few people miss, but most fall semesters, by mid-October it sounds like I'm teaching in a TB sanitarium, or an Elderhostel session for black lung victims. Of course, while our freshman class seems to have heeded the warning's, upper class students haven't learned from experience. Just last friday there was some girl hacking outside my office and not covering her mouth. "Hey, will you please stop coughing all over everything?" "I can't help it I'm sick." She was wearing a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops. It was 30 degrees outside. She left and the custodian came by and wiped down everything she coughed on after bombing the hallway with lysol. I took a purell shower myself. Edit: a quick check of Email suggests it's finally catching up with us: I'm going to be down at least three. I blame Gidget who hacked all over the hallway outside my office.
My hands are a scaly, exfoliating mess from all the purell treatments and hand washing I've been doing. It still amazes me how often students want to shake hands after talking to me. Lately I've been telling them I've got a kid at home with H1N1, which is both true and effective in fending off their courtesy without making me feel like a jerk. Some people have developed pretty elaborate public restroom routines designed to avoid touching the handles of faucets, towel dispensers, doors, etc. after they've washed. This one guy uses his elbows so much he looks like Red Skelton doing his Gertrude and Heathcliffe routine. Another guy got all pissy when somebody unknowingly coopted the length of paper towel he'd pre-cranked and left hanging for him to use once he'd done washing up.
I have brought back the "fist bump-blow up" at my middle school. The kids are catching on and it might keep me from getting sick. Just show this to your students... [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SXtWCBI2zg"]YouTube- Fist Bump Etiquette 101 Funny[/ame]