At Sewanee we had class dress. I see no problem with this. Except for maybe regulations on colors people wear. Maybe if we had fewer girls who wore those shorts with writing on the rear, the world would be a better place.
"Business (School) Casual." (Guess, A. Inside Higher Ed. 8/22/07.)
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Yay Sewanee's Right!
For good, accessible professors, a beautiful campus, and of course, lots of beer!
Sewanee: The University of the South (The Princeton Review online. Free registration required.)
Sewanee: The University of the South (The Princeton Review online. Free registration required.)
Monday, August 20, 2007
Love is in the air
Students are trickling back onto college campuses this week. I noticed a definite increase in people walking around, arguing on cell phones, looking lost, looking angry, not looking as they walk into the street. Typical undergrad behavior! (Or adults in DC. But that's a different entry.)
Many are also coming back to romance, either with a fellow student, a staff member, or a teaching assistant/professor. Although many colleges have made rules against student/teacher relationships, it happens anyway. Especially when grad students who might be 24 or 25 teach a class with 300 undergrads, some of whom are also 24 or 25. At my undergrad, we had more of the actual "professor-dates-student" scandals. One English professor married not one but two of his (pretty and blonde) students. Not at the same time, of course. This isn't "Big Love." The word of warning for his advisees was, "That's not his daughter in the photo. Don't ask." I can't imagine asking about anyone's photos in their office, but maybe some people are nosy. A Geology professor married a student. Both of these men had wives and left them for students. Ouch!
My boyfriend thinks I must have gone to school in a terrible and sick place. It's difficult to explain that my undergrad was on 10,000 acres of nothing except for 1,300 students, a few professors, and a handful of administrative staff. A single professor didn't have many options (and I know a few who surreptitiously dated students). As for the professors who left their wives, well, I don't know. Boys will be boys?
I think universities should manage the situation rather than prevent it. Anyone see that episode of "The Office" where Jan had Michael sign a romance release form? "That's what she said." Ok, so maybe you're not a fan of the show. I think this type of legitimization would a) make professor/student relationships more boring, since they're sanctioned and you have to sign a form. Anything forbidden is much more exciting, and b) legally protect the university for the most part, rather than create a "rule made to be broken."
On another note, if you watch the HBO show "Flight of the Conchords," the band's rabid fan has a picture of herself with her husband in the dining room in last night's episode. When asked about it, she says, "Oh,that's my husband. He's quite a bit older than me. He was a professor, at my college, and there were all sorts of legal barriers keeping me away from him, from his family. But in the end love won out!" Ok, so maybe it's funnier in the show. But the fact that these sorts of relationships come up so much in popular culture means that they are real.
"A Right to Romance." (Wilson, R. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 8/17/07)
Many are also coming back to romance, either with a fellow student, a staff member, or a teaching assistant/professor. Although many colleges have made rules against student/teacher relationships, it happens anyway. Especially when grad students who might be 24 or 25 teach a class with 300 undergrads, some of whom are also 24 or 25. At my undergrad, we had more of the actual "professor-dates-student" scandals. One English professor married not one but two of his (pretty and blonde) students. Not at the same time, of course. This isn't "Big Love." The word of warning for his advisees was, "That's not his daughter in the photo. Don't ask." I can't imagine asking about anyone's photos in their office, but maybe some people are nosy. A Geology professor married a student. Both of these men had wives and left them for students. Ouch!
My boyfriend thinks I must have gone to school in a terrible and sick place. It's difficult to explain that my undergrad was on 10,000 acres of nothing except for 1,300 students, a few professors, and a handful of administrative staff. A single professor didn't have many options (and I know a few who surreptitiously dated students). As for the professors who left their wives, well, I don't know. Boys will be boys?
I think universities should manage the situation rather than prevent it. Anyone see that episode of "The Office" where Jan had Michael sign a romance release form? "That's what she said." Ok, so maybe you're not a fan of the show. I think this type of legitimization would a) make professor/student relationships more boring, since they're sanctioned and you have to sign a form. Anything forbidden is much more exciting, and b) legally protect the university for the most part, rather than create a "rule made to be broken."
On another note, if you watch the HBO show "Flight of the Conchords," the band's rabid fan has a picture of herself with her husband in the dining room in last night's episode. When asked about it, she says, "Oh,that's my husband. He's quite a bit older than me. He was a professor, at my college, and there were all sorts of legal barriers keeping me away from him, from his family. But in the end love won out!" Ok, so maybe it's funnier in the show. But the fact that these sorts of relationships come up so much in popular culture means that they are real.
"A Right to Romance." (Wilson, R. The Chronicle of Higher Education. 8/17/07)
Friday, August 17, 2007
Teachers: Do Not Deviate
This article in the Washington Post points out the faults of standardized curriculum. Montgomery County, Maryland, fired a teacher who was highly praised by parents and created innovating experiences for her students, including an annual science project on stream pollution and nature walks. I guess actually experiencing science just doesn't match up educationally to sitting on your 3rd grade butt for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week reading about it.
As an educator and former classroom teacher, the part that upset me the most was one reason cited in Ms. Kim's hearing. Apparently she spent 50 minutes on a reading lesson for which the curriculum only allotted 20 minutes. If a teacher is no longer allowed to gauge her student's interest level, comprehension, and tailor the lessons to them, then teaching is no longer an art. I wouldn't even say it's a science. I think President Bush and Congress should develop robots to teach if this is what they think is best for children. Or outsource teaching to India. I certainly cannot see educated, caring professionals wanting to take a position such as this one.
"Teachers in Trouble, Parents Ignored: Part I." (Matthews, J. The Washington Post. Aug. 14, 2007).
I hope Ms. Kim is hired by one of the wonderful independent schools in the Washington area, where her passion for science and for teaching children will be appreciated.
As an educator and former classroom teacher, the part that upset me the most was one reason cited in Ms. Kim's hearing. Apparently she spent 50 minutes on a reading lesson for which the curriculum only allotted 20 minutes. If a teacher is no longer allowed to gauge her student's interest level, comprehension, and tailor the lessons to them, then teaching is no longer an art. I wouldn't even say it's a science. I think President Bush and Congress should develop robots to teach if this is what they think is best for children. Or outsource teaching to India. I certainly cannot see educated, caring professionals wanting to take a position such as this one.
"Teachers in Trouble, Parents Ignored: Part I." (Matthews, J. The Washington Post. Aug. 14, 2007).
I hope Ms. Kim is hired by one of the wonderful independent schools in the Washington area, where her passion for science and for teaching children will be appreciated.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Family
I wonder if blogs will become the new letters/journal. So many people a) complain about blogs; and/or b) lament the loss of letter and diary writing in our culture. I think they should take a look online. An old friend of mine responded to an old blog entry I wrote, and it occurred to me that we often treat these online forums as private places, when they are indeed public. I know, I'm a genius, it's only been in the news media for the past three years. So I'm slow.
I went to my cousin J's wedding this weekend - it was a wonderful ceremony in Estes Park, Colorado. The amazing thing about the wedding was that it was more like a family reunion. My dad and his two siblings (well, he has three, but that's a story for another day) and their children/significant others were all gathered in one place for a brief but happy moment. The joy of my Aunt J, the oldest sister, was palpable!
Everyone has difficulties with their families, but for many reasons I think my mother and father had it just about as bad as it gets. The forgiveness and love that I experienced this weekend, however, between siblings who all grew up in the same difficult household and by varied and circuitous paths made it out not only alive but well, will not long be forgotten.
I went to my cousin J's wedding this weekend - it was a wonderful ceremony in Estes Park, Colorado. The amazing thing about the wedding was that it was more like a family reunion. My dad and his two siblings (well, he has three, but that's a story for another day) and their children/significant others were all gathered in one place for a brief but happy moment. The joy of my Aunt J, the oldest sister, was palpable!
Everyone has difficulties with their families, but for many reasons I think my mother and father had it just about as bad as it gets. The forgiveness and love that I experienced this weekend, however, between siblings who all grew up in the same difficult household and by varied and circuitous paths made it out not only alive but well, will not long be forgotten.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
The Exhaustion of Team Building
Today and yesterday were team-building retreats for my team here at work, and I am EXHAUSTED. Just FYI. Not even capable of writing. However, I will say that it's an enormously useful activity, and part of the reason I'm exhausted is that I'm excited about what we might be able to accomplish. But I think I'm going to go home now. I'm sitting here waiting for my phone to ring with what might be another project for my students - I've been playing phone tag with this one client for over a week now.
Once I get back on track, I'm hoping to bring more about education and how it relates to my new job into the blog. But baby steps right now. I need to go home and put away my laundry. I'm only one person.
Once I get back on track, I'm hoping to bring more about education and how it relates to my new job into the blog. But baby steps right now. I need to go home and put away my laundry. I'm only one person.
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