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Via Historiann, I’ve been introduced to an interesting blog, Prone to Laughter. In particular, I was struck by her idea for an enhanced form of grading wherein instructors could give feedback to the students in a variety of categories: content mastery; original & creative work; writing quality, discussion contribution and effort on a simple 1-4 point scale.

While I shudder to think at adding to my workload (I have 128 students in the Ancient Civ course with the end of registration still weeks away), there’s something to be said for adopting or adapting a multi-faceted assessment system. I might apply this, with in my tiny senior seminar (they’ve all been capped at eighteen — I’ve never taught a seminar with so few students). For the last few years, I’ve used a portfolio as their end-of-term assessment in lieu of the more-commonly applied final examination.
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It’s a ways into my recovery and I’m still not where I want to be. Some mornings, as today, I awaken with more soreness than the previous day. The arthritic symptoms migrate out of the back and into the elbow. The knees are really letting me know they’re there and objecting to these crazy schemes of rising up from my seat or attempting to take the stairs at a jaunty pace.

I’m trying not letting it discourage me. I’m back to walking a mile a day (wish it was more but that’ll do for now). Beyond the basic maintenance duties of life, I’m focusing on the encyclopedia administration (a big deadline’s coming into view!) and writing a book review as well as the last elements for an article while I polish off my senior seminar plans. These are all obligations to which I agreed months ago but which have been made a little bit more challenging thanks to my illness.

I could pretend to be superwoman but that would be silly. I’m not. I’m your average, middle-aged and slightly out-of-shape academic. There’s only so much that I can do with the time that’s given to me.

That means I have to say “no”. Like many out there, I don’t enjoy saying that. I don’t like to turn down requests. Many of them are interesting opportunities, I find.

However, today I said “no” to a request that I lead a graduate student workshop on applying for grants. I love to lead these workshops, but a clear head reminds me that there would be several hours of prep involved as well as the workshop hours and, from past experience, a few hours fielding phone calls and advising individual students who seek more help on perfecting their applications. Realistically, I can’t commit to all of these tasks and do them well while at the same time working on my physical recovery.

Yes, being a grown-up sucks. Back to encyclopedia work now!

Sadly, nowhere exotic or even wildly productive. I was felled by a virus that went from your run of the mill flu-like misery into something that attacked all of the tissue in all of my joints. Fortunately, I’m on the mend, in no small part to the quick intervention of one of the doctors in my family practice (socialized medicine is awesome, people — I saw the doctor pretty much instantly in their after-hours clinic and then filled my prescription next door in the immediate aftermath).

But, on the downside, I’m pretty much behind for six days of productivity that I’d hoped to enjoy. When your hands hurt too much to use a keyboard and you can’t contemplate getting up from a chair without a painful wince, you’re more than limited. But I’m on the mend and I do have all the materials here from which to finish my next writing projects on which I have to focus. Term starts soon, after all!

I’m under increasing pressure to shorten my syllabi. They’re now at a maximum of two pages (printed on one double-sided sheet).

I used to construct eight to ten page course manuals, by the way. They included not only the schedule and assignments but all of the readings, optional readings, sample tests, citation guides, terms to know and other materials for research assistance. As well as seemingly endless statements of policy as expected by the university.

(Funnily enough, the university policies are only available as a bunch of clunky PDF links. These days, I’ve moved as many policy statements as possible to our course management system rather than try to post these long statements or URLs on the paper syllabus. In part, to save money. In part, to save my sanity and those of my students.)

With our budget crisis, we’ve gone from nearly no reproduction budget in the department to pretty much no copying allowance at all. (They took over my old office as a copy room. Fine for those faculty members who can afford to spend money on copies, I suppose! I haven’t seen a copy card in the past year but have mostly resorted to printing multiples out on my printer for which I buy my own paper and cartridges. Yet another example of how an institution saves money by shedding expenses to someone else’s dime. In this case? Mine.)

Today, another email directive comes down from on high with yet another paragraph of boilerplate disclaimer we’re supposed to add to our syllabi. You know, the kind of statement that avers that students cant’ blame us if there’s a strike or emergency that derails the schedule and the university reserves the right to change deadlines and dates, etc., etc. Of course, we’re supposed to find room to put this into the syllabus for every course we teach.

I’d love to see the administration give us a few extra dollars in the department budget to make that happen! I’ve managed to shoehorn in the required text but it wasn’t easy. I’ll just keep my fingers crossed they don’t ask for more insertions.

is that there are only forty spaces left in the Ancient Near Eastern course for the fall. This is now on course to be the largest class that I’ve ever taught on this campus (previous record was 112 in Western Civ).

It’s a daunting enough prospect but I think I’m prepared sufficiently for the start of term. My course plans have been tweaked to deal with the grading challenge and, besides reviewing my presentation material to ensure everything will be readable in the auditorium, it’s all ready except for the last two topics I wanted to substantially revise (I try to thoroughly revise three topics every time I run a class, even if it’s just swotting the recent work on the subject). Otherwise, I’m letting go of the anxiety and just noting the passing benchmarks with amusement.

Speaking of teaching, you should read Timothy Burke’s persuasive post on putting syllabi online. I’m wrestling with the second draft of my new senior seminar plan and will share that here, in hopes of getting some helpful commentary before the term starts in September.

Also, any archival research might appreciate Historiann’s Secret Agent Historians, Part Deux where she’s inspired a number of historians to share their stories of being bullied or silenced over their research subjects. Fortunately, I’ve never had such an experience outside of random acquaintances hectoring me for the irrelevance of my research and teaching fields.

As students prepare for the start of term (still weeks away here), an amusing chart with a kernel of truth:

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